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American Muslims for Palestine

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American Muslims for Palestine
Formation2006; 18 years ago (2006)
FounderHatem Bazian[1]
TypeNonprofit organization
HeadquartersPalos Hills, Illinois[2]
National policy director
Osama Abu Irshaid[3]
Key people
Taher Herzallah and Kareem El-Hosseiny[3]
Websitewww.ampalestine.org Edit this at Wikidata

The American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) is an American nonprofit organization founded in 2006.

AMP holds conferences and training sessions for coalition building and legislative advocacy,[4] such as hosting annual Palestine Advocacy Days, that provide workshop panels and encourage attendees to meet with American Congress members.[5][6] AMP works with Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow to bolster Palestine solidarity campaigns.[7][6]

History

AMP was founded in 2006 by Palestinian-American UC Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian,[8] who is also the co-founder of Students for Justice in Palestine.[9] The organization opened its first office in 2009 in Palos Heights, Illinois.[10]

Policy positions

AMP supports the BDS movement's call for a boycott of Israel to put pressure on the country to comply with international law and human rights. The group hopes that a boycott will put an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, grant full equality to Arab Israelis, and promote the right of return for the Palestinian refugees.[11] AMP does not take a position on one-state solution or two-state solution as a resolution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[12]

Campaigns

AMP co-signed a letter with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) in 2012 calling on the University of California system to protect student civil liberties from efforts to censor Palestine-related activism.[13]

AMP has organized several billboard and bus advertisement campaigns in New York City and Washington, D.C. to end U.S. foreign aid to Israel.[14] During the 2014 Gaza war, in which over 2,000 Palestinians were killed,[citation needed] it organized protests against Israel's conduct. In 2015, it ran a bus advertisement campaign in advance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress calling on members of Congress to boycott the speech.[citation needed]

In December 2016, AMP hosted an event endorsed by 15 other[specify] Syrian advocacy and relief organizations in support of the Syrian resistance at Aleppo in the Battle of Aleppo by encouraging attendees to lobby Congress.[15] Later that month, AMP hosted a protest with Council on American–Islamic Relations and JVP calling on Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to reverse the moratorium on resettling Syrian refugees.[16]

In 2017, JVP, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, the left-wing anti-war organization Code Pink, and AMP organized a letter campaign signed by 32 Democratic congresspeople urging United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to assist Palestinian protester Issa Amro, who was facing criminal charges in Israel.[17]

During the 2017 crisis on the Temple Mount, AMP organized a protest called "Aqsa Under Attack" in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.[18] During the 2018 Gaza border protests, AMP's local chapter in New Jersey protested outside the offices of Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, calling them to instigate an investigation on Israel using the Leahy Law.[19]

During the 2021 Israel-Palestine conflict, AMP, along with other Muslim advocacy groups, called for a boycott of President Biden's Eid al-Fitr celebration at the White House due to his support of Israel during the conflict.[20]

Reactions

In 2013, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a report in which it described AMP as one of the most "influential and active anti-Israel groups"[21] The AMP has said that pro-Israel groups like the ADL deliberately use "false anti-Semitism charges" as a way to limit free speech, silence political activism, and intimidate vocal pro-Palestinian activists.[22]

Middle East historian Asaf Romirowsky says that it "grew out of the network of Muslim Brotherhood organizations in America" and has an Islamist view of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[23]

According to AMP director Kristin Szremski, the organization "typically ignores these smear campaigns because they're aimed, in part, to detract us from our work."[12]

A national board member of AMP was prevented from entering Israel as part of an interfaith delegation in 2017.[24] In 2018, Israel officially barred members of AMP from entering Israel due to the organization's support of the BDS movement, which calls for a global boycott of Israel.[25][26]

According to Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, several of AMP's key personnel have previously worked for the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, or the Islamic Association of Palestine, all of which have had legal difficulties resulting from convictions of providing material support for terrorism to Hamas.[27]

In July 2024, a federal judge ruled that AMP must provide documents to the Attorney General of Virginia Jason Miyares regarding alleged fundraising violations.[28]

References

  1. ^ "Dr. Hatem Bazian, Chairman". Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  2. ^ "About AMP". American Muslims for Palestine. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Staff and National Board". American Muslims for Palestine. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  4. ^ "Palestine Alive". Islamic Horizons. Vol. 45. January 2016. p. 58.
  5. ^ "American Muslims for Palestine Holds Fourth Advocacy Day". WRMEA. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "'American Muslims for Palestine' lobbies Congress on children's rights, funding for refugees, and opposing anti-boycott laws". Mondoweiss. March 26, 2018. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  7. ^ "Anonymous attacks on American Muslims for Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace signals 'escalation' against Palestine solidarity movement". Mondoweiss. May 13, 2017. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  8. ^ "About : Hatem Zaizan". September 29, 2015. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  9. ^ "Cal Berkeley's Latest Effort to Erase Jewish History From Israel". Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  10. ^ "FAQs : American Muslims for Palestine". Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  11. ^ "What is BDS". American Muslims for Palestine. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Szremski, Kristin (December 15, 2016). "AMP Is Here To Stay; False Charges Need To Stop". Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  13. ^ Abunimah, A. (March 25, 2014). The battle for justice in Palestine. Haymarket Books. p. 191. ISBN 9781608463244. OCLC 864789666.
  14. ^ Pollak, Susan. "Conflict Apparent on Public Transit". Washington Jewish Week, [S.l.], 17 abr. 2014. v. 50, n. 16, p. 5.
  15. ^ Swedberg, Nick. "Southland residents rally on Aleppo's behalf". Daily Southtown. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  16. ^ Cherney, Elyssa. "Multifaith group urges Rauner to change stance on Syrian refugees". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  17. ^ "US lawmakers urge Tillerson to help Palestinian going on trial in Israel". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  18. ^ "Temple Mount Tensions Coming to D.C.: Protest to Be Held Outside Israeli Embassy". Haaretz. July 27, 2017. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  19. ^ "Activists urge Cory Booker, Bob Menendez to speak out on Gaza killings". North Jersey. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  20. ^ "Gaza war: US Muslim groups call for boycotting Biden's Eid celebration". Middle East Eye. May 16, 2021. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  21. ^ "ADL Releases List of 'Top 10 anti-Israel Groups' in the U.S". Haaretz. October 21, 2013. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  22. ^ Lorber, Ben. "In the US, we need a Muslim-Jewish alliance ..." Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  23. ^ Baum, Steven K.; Kressel, Neil J.; Cohen, Florette; Jacobs, Steven Leonard (February 4, 2016). Antisemitism in North America: New World, Old Hate. BRILL. pp. 92–93. ISBN 9789004307148.
  24. ^ "U.S. Interfaith Delegation Barred From Boarding Flight to Israel 'Over BDS Activism'". Haaretz. July 25, 2017. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  25. ^ "Israel Publishes BDS Blacklist: These Are the 20 Groups Whose Members Will Be Denied Entry". Haaretz. 2018. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  26. ^ "Israel publishes 'BDS blacklist' of 20 groups barred from entering country". i24NEWS. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  27. ^ Maltz, Judy (November 17, 2023). "What Is Students for Justice in Palestine, the Group Igniting U.S. Campus Wars Over Israel". Haaretz. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  28. ^ Parker, Samuel B. (July 17, 2024). "Judge rules pro-Palestine group must provide documents for Miyares' probe". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
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