Hamas had operatives on American campuses, claims rescued hostage

In a case filed at the New York Southern District Court against Within Our Lifetime and its leader Nerdeen Kiswani, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and representative Maryam Alwan, Columbia-Barnard Jewish Voice for Peace and representative Cameron Jones, and Columbia University Apartheid Divest and lead negotiator Mahmoud Khalil on Monday, plaintiff Ziv said that his Hamas kidnappers referred to protests planned by terrorists when speaking about having American operatives.

Ziv was working as a security guard at the Nova Music Festival, and he fended off terrorists and evacuated people before being taken as hostage to Gaza. He was kept as a hostage in Gaza for 246 days before being rescued alongside three other captives in an Israel Defence Force (IDF) operation in June last year, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The lawsuit alleged that Columbia SJP renewed its dormant Instagram activity three minutes before the attack and that National SJP seemed to have presented propaganda material during or before the attack and argued that affiliated groups had been financed and supported by Hamas through organizations that the terrorist group founded.

The lawsuit alleged that the Palestine Committee was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas in 1988 to fund and support its operations, creating arms like the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and the Islamic Association for Palestine.

After HLF and IAP were exposed, American Muslims for Palestine allegedly founded key members of the group. The first National SJP convention was sponsored by AMP, which as per the case filed at the court, has no independent corporate structure and is controlled by AMP.

Columbia SJP is a chapter of NSJP, while WOL is a rebranded New York City Students for Justice in Palestine. According to the lawsuit, Columbia JVP has close ties with the local SJP chapter, as do the national bodies. The suit alleged that JVP is used to provide cover to SJP against charges of antisemitism.

The lawsuit read, "Upon information and belief, and based upon statements made to Plaintiff Shlomi Ziv by his Hamas captor, Hamas and AMP/NSJP provided financial, organizational, and other support to CUAD and the Columbia AMP/NSJP Affiliates for the Encampment."

Khalil, who represented CUAD through the protests in New York City, is now at the centre of the US federal government's campaign to deport pro-Hamas activists from the US.

CUAD, WOL and Columbia SJP have repeatedly offered support to the concept of armed political violence. In the lawsuit, it was said that these groups collaborated with groups like Samidoun, which is not sanctioned by the US for serving as a branch for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, The Jerusalem Post reported.

In March last year, CUAD, NSJP, and WOL hosted Samidoun International Coordinator Charlotte Kates and her husband, alleged PFLP senior official Khaled Barakat, in a "Resistance 101" lecture.

During the lecture, a leading NSJP member spoke about the threat of imprisonment for contact with Hamas, and Barakat mentioned that he speaks to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and PFLP members about how they care about the support from American students more than what the US president does.

Kates asserted that there was "nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader of Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas, these are the people that are on the front lines defending Palestine and fighting for its liberation."

In an October 8 NSJP toolkit, it was said that SJP chapters were part of a "unity intifada" movement for people of Palestine and Gaza terrorist "factions" that seemed to be "participating under unified command," the report said.

NSJP said, "We as Palestinian students are part of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement." It further said, "This is a moment of mobilization for all Palestinians. We must act as part of this movement. All of our efforts continue the work and resistance of Palestinians on the ground." (ANI)