The protests and riots happening on university campuses from coast to coast are not random, independent occurrences. Neither are they “student led.”  Instead, a network of anti-Israel groups, many with direct ties to Hamas and Hezbollah, have been using social media, the Chinese Communist Party communications app WeChat, and other platforms to organize and direct the chaos. Some of these organizations are directly paying protesters, with some receiving 24-28 dollars per hour.

Westchester People’s Action Coalition Foundation (WESPAC)

Located in White Plains, New York, Westchester People’s Action Coalition Foundation appears to be a small-town charity focused on “local” Westchester County initiatives.

In reality, the group serves as a pass-through organization, slipping massive amounts of money to organizations whose activities — including violence — prohibit them from receiving charitable donations. In what some have described as a “money laundering scheme,” the group collects tax-exempt contributions and forwards those funds to protest groups.

WESPAC primarily funds groups that promote antisemitism.

National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is the most visible leader of the nationwide protests. Founded in 2001, at the University of California Berkeley, SJP is just one of the so-called “student organizations” that WESPAC funds. Because SJP hides behind WESPAC’s charity status, no one knows its budget or the extent of its expenditures. SJP has chapters on some 200 college campuses.

Almost immediately after the October 7 massacre, SJP sent out a “tool kit” to jump-start pro-Palestinian protests. The materials included Palestinian flags, toy paragliders, and signs printed with machine-gun-toting terrorists riding paragliders. The materials proclaimed “Glory to the resistance” and included a statement informing recipients: “We as Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement…not in solidarity with this movement.”

SJP primary founder Hatem Bazian is a UC Berkeley lecturer on Near Eastern, Asian American, and Asian Diaspora Studies. Bazian is known for frequently quoting a passage of Hamas’ official charter, which is taken from an Islamic religious text that commands the violent slaughter of Jews — not just the Jews in Israel but ALL Jews.

Materials published and promoted by SJP over more than two decades frequently echo if not quote Hamas. In the days following the October 7 massacre, SJP released an official statement declaring the attack to be a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance.” SJP promoted continuing violence by also officially declaring that “this is what it means to Free Palestine: not just slogans and rallies, but armed confrontation with the oppressors.”

Within Our Lifetime (WOL) is another WESPAC-funded group.

WOL organizer Abdullah Akl also serves as the Muslim American Society’s director of advocacy and civic engagement. U.S. federal prosecutors have long contended that Muslim American Society “was founded as the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood of America.”

Within weeks of the October 7 massacre, WOL fueled attacks on American Jews by publishing a map of Jewish organizations and instructing its members to “make these locations a stop in your protests. picket and leaflet outside of them, make supporters of genocide uncomfortable.”

The United States Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) is similar to WESPAC. The USCPR also serves as an umbrella organization, funneling money to anti-Israel protest groups that can't get nonprofit 501(c)3 status. The organization has repeatedly been tied directly to Hamas. USCPR funds many anti-Israel, antisemitic organizations, the most visible of which is the deceptively named Jewish Voice for Peace, which has also been front and center at the protests.

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Founded in 1996, JVP claims to represent Jewish views, but the vast majority of the organization’s leaders and members are not Jewish.

In 2019, Facebook’s transparency feature revealed that the group’s social media manager lives in Lebanon, not on a U.S. college campus. The group’s stated goal is to drive “a wedge” within the American Jewish community, with aims to alienate Americans from Israel.

In 2020, JVP hosted an online event featuring and celebrating convicted terrorist and plane hijacker Leila Khaled, calling her a “Palestinian resistance icon.”

As I said above, these university protests are not student led. They are being coordinated and funded by outside organizations determined to topple not just Israel but America too. Congress MUST intervene and hold every single one of these university presidents, staff, and protesters, as well as the organizations funding them, accountable for the damage they have done.

In our next piece, I will detail who is funding the funders. I’ll give you a hint — the paper trail goes right back to Nazi, Germany. Don’t miss it.

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3).

Mat Staver
Chairman
Christians in Defense of Israel

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SOURCES:

“National Students for Justice in Palestine.” InfluenceWatch, Accessed May 3, 2024. Influencewatch.org/non-profit/national-students-for-justice-in-palestine/.

Offner, Mike. “‘Jewish Voice for Peace’ Is Neither.” The Times of Israel, November 17, 2023. Blogs.timesofisrael.com/jewish-voice-for-peace-is-neither/.

“Students for Justice in Palestine.” Discover the Networks. Accessed May 3, 2024. Discoverthenetworks.org/organizations/students-for-justice-in-palestine-sjp/.

“The NGO Network Orchestrating Antisemitic Incitement on American Campuses.” NGO Monitor, April 25, 2024. Ngo-monitor.org/reports/ngo-network-orchestrating-antisemitic-incitement-on-american-campuses/.

“United States Campaign for Palestinian Rights.” InfluenceWatch. Accessed May 3, 2024. Influencewatch.org/non-profit/united-states-campaign-for-palestinian-rights/.

‌Weichselbaum, Simone, and Alexandra Chaidez. “Who’s Behind the Pro-Palestinian Protests That Are Disrupting Biden’s Campaign Events and Blocking City Streets?” NBC News, March 20, 2024. Nbcnews.com/news/us-news/s-palestinian-protests-us-rcna143666.

“WESPAC Foundation.” InfluenceWatch. Accessed May 3, 2024. Influencewatch.org/non-profit/wespac-foundation-inc/.