Extremist AROC seeks to reinstate discredited California Model Studies Curriculum

The extremist San Francisco based Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) is attempting to breathe life into the dead horse of the widely discredited California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum.

You may remember Lara Kiswani, head of the AROC,  for her assault on Jewish elders.  Witnesses reported her physically ripping signs from the hands of the elders, and doing a victory lap with the destroyed signs held high over her head.

Lara Kiswani after her assault on a Jewish elder

Does Lara Kiswani seem like the type of person we want influencing curriculum for young people?

From the Progressive Zionists of California, a grassroots coalition of California Democrats:

Lara Kiswani and the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) have helped sponsor a petition called “Save CA Ethnic Studies” which states, “Will it [the California Department of Education] institute a Ethnic Studies curriculum that uplifts the stories of all communities of color or reject one that includes Arab Americans—bending to the desires of pro-Israel groups [emphasis added]….”

Progressive Zionists points out that it was not "pro-Israel" groups alone objecting to  the "exclusionary and antisemitic Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum".  It widely condemned by a consortium of groups, including Armenian Americans, Greek Americans, Hindu Indian Americans, Assyrian-Americans, Sikh Americans, Korean Americans, on the grounds that it was "not inclusive enough".

They write:

To be clear, diverse communities came together to respond to the curriculum based on their own concerns. Claiming in this petition that they are “bending to the desires of” Jewish groups erases their lived experiences and concerns. This dangerous trope of Jews controlling other minorities deeply motivated the Poway, Pittsburg, New Jersey mass murders and the repeated attacks on Jews in Brooklyn and Monsey. PZC condemns this language as both racist and antisemitic.

We encourage the IQC to continue to reject extremism and antisemitism in the curriculum, and commend them for the progress they have made so far. It is crucial that the kind of hatred and misinformation Kiswani has trafficked in not be allowed to become the norm or sanctioned within any public education curriculum.  

Read the full statement here:

Progressive Zionists of California (PZC) Concerned about efforts to reinstate an exclusionary and antisemitic Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum.

Oakland Block the Boat Fail. 5th Anniversary edition. And Zim keeps on Truckin.

San Francisco's Arab Resource Organizing Center is celebrating the 5th anniversary of their failure to permanently prevent Zim cargo from off-loading in Oakland.

The  2014 action, dubbed "Block the boat" was a triumph of bullying, ultimately achieving nothing.  Zim trailers still abound in the Bay area.

Oakland Block the boat fail

Oakland Block the boat fail

Oakland Block the boat fail

Even in the tumultuous world of international shipping, with the on again, off again tariffs, Zim's doing just fine financially, with total revenue of $834.3 million in Q2 2019, a 3.9 % increase from last year. Thats in spite of the best efforts of the BDS holes.

In the 2nd quarter of 2019, ZIM carried 731 thousand TEUs, its' second highest carried volume ever.

Zim's doing quite well, thank you

AROC's narrative and the reality of their attempt to keep Oakland free of the scourge of olives and artichoke hearts are far removed

Rather than an action reflective of "activists working in close partnership with members of ILWU Local 10, "  as claimed by AROC, the gates to the docks were physically blocked, with activists using their bodies, their bikes, and their children to prevent workers from uploading the ships.

Yeah, nothing says "close partnership" more than yelling obscenities.

Oakland Block the Boat Bullying

Is this what solidarity looks like?
                                                                 

AROC and  the Block the Boat campaign made it clear that the "B" in BDS stood for bullying.

Its not surprising that AROC would consider this event as one of the "most successful" in US history.  Sound and fury, signifying nothing.  Wishing them many more such "victories"

Read what really happened 5 years ago at the Oakland dock here: 

No Solidarity in Oakland, as protesters bully Longshoremen

Block the Boat has morphed into Operation Annoy Zim's Customers

Reem's of Oakland: Photos of attackers emerge

Reem's in Fruitvale has been widely criticized for its lionization of convicted murderer Rasmea Odeh. Yesterday, a non-violent vigil meant to focus community attention on the local cafe's glorification of violence ended in an assault on the participants, including a 78 year old survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto

Lara Kiswani, the Executive Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) in San Francisco Bay Area has been identified as one of the attackers. She is reported to have ripped a sign out of a participants hands, then strutted around the outside patio with the remnants.

Ellen Brotsky, a self identified member of Jewish Voice for Peace can also been seen on the footage attacking the non-violent protesters

Ellen Brotsky and Lara Kiswani  with stolen signs

This person  was reported to have assaulted a wheel-chair bound activist, cruelly twisting her fingers in an effort to steal her sign. 

Sara Kershnar of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) also made an appearance, participating in the mayhem until the police arrived, then tossing on a lime green National lawyers Guild Legal Observer hat.  (Pssst, Sara- the National Lawyers Guild Manual for Legal Observers specifically says  "...we ask people to commit themselves to act as Legal Observers and not protesters, and avoid blurring of lines between Legal Observer and activist.")

Oops. Fail.

As morally reprehensible as it might be, Reem Assil and her customers have the right to glorify a murderer, but they do not have the right to attack those in opposition. Organizers of the vigil are planning on returning to Fruitvale Station, committed to the sacred task of educating the community about the dangers of incitement and indoctrination and how they act as an obstacle to peace, both in Oakland and overseas.

These are just empty words from an interview with Reem Assil in Berkeleyside:  “People are afraid of politics, but now more than ever people are asking. If my food can stir up a conversation — even if it’s a hard conversation — that’s what I want it to do. I welcome that in my space.”  Yet when people attempting to engage in the very hard conversation Reem says she welcomes- they are met with abuse, harassment and assault.

Ad Wars Escalate in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In response to a wave of anti-Israel advertisements appearing on Bay Area buses, Israel advocacy group StandWithUs  recently sponsored a 4 week run of their own ads.  The ads were displayed on 20 buses, throughout the city. StandWithUs has countered anti-Israel messaging on  Northern California public transit eight times since 2011. 

Nothing upsets the forces of darkness as much as when the Jews fight back. This  counter messaging upsets the local extremist Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC) who have called for a public meeting to pressure the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority to stop accepting these ads.

From Facebook:

NO MORE RACIST BUS ADS!

Bay Area Community Meeting

Thursday, October 27th
6pm
518 Valencia Street, SF

Upset at seeing racist ads on SF Muni buses? Want to do something about it? 

Join us on October 27th for a community meeting.

What is the history and organizing behind these racist ads?
What are strategies that have been used to challenge them in the past?
What do we want to do to stop these racist attacks?

In this climate of heightened anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia, most recently with the targeted racist attacks on community leaders on college campuses, Arab and Muslim families continue to have to face the inclusion of hate speech and racist attacks against them on public transportation. For years the Bay Area community has fought back against these ads and their violent nature. Yet time and time again, we find that the city continues to allow them to drape buses throughout San Francisco. We will not let this go unchallenged. Let's come together to figure out how we want to challenge racism in SF.

Lara Kiswani and her colleagues at AROC understand full well that the pro-Israel messaging ads on MUNI is in direct response to the propaganda war their associates have launched against the Jewish state.  

As StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein has explained in the past:

“StandWithUs will not allow anti-Israel campaigns to go unanswered, no matter where they appear.  Our goal is to set the record straight, and to inform the public about Israel’s challenges and extraordinary achievements in helping make the world a better place.”  

In addition to San Francisco, SWU  ads have appeared in New York City; Houston, Texas; Missoula, and Helena, Montana; Washington, DC; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Chicago, Denver, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 

The ads and billboards will stop when the anti-Israel messaging stops. Its that simple, AROC.

San Francisco rethinks its partnership with extremist AROC

In May, the San Francisco Board of Education passed a resolution for the Unified School District to begin Arabic- and Vietnamese-language and cultural classes for the 2017 school year. Sponsored by board members Sandra Fewer, Matt Haney and Shamann Walton, the resolution was passed unanimously on May 26.

The resolution called for the district to work with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) to develop “culturally appropriate professional development opportunities” for the language programs.

Why would the School District even consider a partnership with this extremist group?

The San Francisco based AROC has been widely condemned for its extremist rhetoric, and for the open support of terror at its events. At the AROC sponsored "Block the Boat"  rally in Oakland last year, Hamas flags were flown, and signage that glorified  gun violence were displayed.   AROC co-sponsored the now infamous rally at San Francisco State University that featured the theme “My heroes have always killed colonizers”. They’ve distributed handouts glorifying the Intifada- the campaign of terror that left thousands of Israelis and Palestinians dead.

AROC tabling

Just last year, in a panel discussion at UC Berkeley, the executive director of AROC, Lara Kiswani told a tearful Jewish student pleading for co-existence “As long as you continue to be on that side [of Zionism] I’m going to continue to hate you.”

Responding to requests from the Jewish community , the seven-member Board is reviewing the resolution.

From the San Francisco Examiner:

“We fully support implementing language pathways in Vietnamese and Arabic. [The opposition] is of this group that has been named in the resolution [and] made these really ugly and divisive statements,” said Jeremy Russell, a spokesman for the Jewish council.

District officials have not confirmed whether the Arab group will remain listed as a resource in the resolution, and the Board of Education in the coming weeks intends to collectively respond to community concerns regarding the resolution.

AROC has responded, with (yawn) a petition.

For more information, see:

Arab group’s partnership with S.F. schools raises alarm

Group pushing Arabic-language curriculum in SF schools faces backlash over remarks

Israel haters nearly sneak one by S.F. school board

The moral inversion of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC)

 Shattered glass. Blood. Carcasses of bombed out buses. Broken bodies. Broken families and broken lives.  This is the legacy of the Intifada.

Since the start of the second Intifada, through 2013 1,227 people have been killed by Palestinian terrorism . 8,549 more have been wounded.  Each of these people has a name. And a story. And a family that loved them.

To "Support the Intifada" is to support the deaths of innocents.

The San Francisco based  Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) proudly supports the Intifada and the deaths of innocents.

From an AROC event-  Stickers: "Support the Intifada"

AROC, incidentally was one of the sponsors of a now notorious event at San Francisco State University where attendees were encouraged to make placards declaring  "My heroes have always killed colonizers"

Lara Kiswani is the current  Executive Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center. At a BDS panel at UC Berkeley several months ago, Lara was quoted as saying, "Bringing down Israel really will benefit everyone in the world, and everyone in society." To a supporter of Israel who issued a tearful plea for co-existence, she snarled  "As long as you continue to be on that side, I'm going to continue to hate you." 

Lara's hateful rhetoric surprises no one. Hate speech, glorification of terror and genocide are commonplace at AROC sponsored events and rallies.

AROC  and its allied organizations now have the Jewish Community Relations Council in their crosshairs accusing the group of "attacking " Arab, Palestinian and Muslim organizations, and calling the JCRC a 'narrow-minded, special interest group".

A brief glance at the JCRC website shows, in complete contrast to the extremist and hateful rhetoric of the AROC, a community organization deeply committed to justice for all.

JCRC Stands With Community Under Siege

June 18th, 2015

JCRC today mourns the victims of last night’s horrific shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina. We share our condolences with their families and stand in solidarity with the African American community and AME churches across the nati

JCRC Expresses Deep Concern About Racism in Law Enforcement

May 18th, 2015

JCRC is greatly dismayed by the recent tragedies and the continued racial divide within our society. We stand with the African American community, as we have for generations, in calling for an end to racial prejudice and discrimination.on.

Speaking Out in Support of the Yezidis

April 15th, 2015

Tragically, the Yezidi community now lives under precarious threat from ISIS. The Yezidis are a little known community, and it is all too easy to forget, to turn the page, to move on. But today we pause, on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, to reaffirm the importance of memory and of action.

The moral inversion of AROC and their arrogant assault on a Jewish community institution proves what we've long suspected. Their vision of "Justice'  is "Just us", and they are not a partner in building a more inclusive Bay Area.

Lara Kiswani of the AROC: The face of pure hatred.

On Nov. 12 a panel discussion was held at at U.C. Berkeley organized by the BDS Caucus of UAW 2865, the union for 13,000 University of California graduate student workers. The panel included 3 advocates for BDS, Michael Letwin, Clarence Thomas and Lara Kiswani and featured rhetoric so disturbing, a student left the room in tears.

From the J weekly, the weekly newspaper of the Northern California Jewish community, written by Jewish community hero, Tammi Benjamin-Rossman

Ms. Benjamin-Rossman is a lecturer at U.C. Santa Cruz and co-founder of the Amcha Initiative, a nonprofit that combats anti-Semitism on college campuses.

"Bringing down Israel will really benefit everyone in the world and everyone in society, particularly workers.”

These words were spoken by Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, at a Nov. 12 panel discussion at U.C. Berkeley organized by the BDS Caucus of UAW 2865, the union for 13,000 University of California graduate student workers. Those grad student-teachers and other workers will be voting on a union resolution to boycott Israel on Dec. 4.

Throughout her talk, Kiswani made crystal clear that the goal of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel is not to legitimately criticize Israeli policy, but rather to bring an end to the Jewish state, and she claimed that UAW 2865 members will be playing an important role in achieving that goal should they approve the BDS resolution in their vote next week:

• “BDS is about isolating Zionism.”
• “I think you should boycott any Zionist institution, academic, organization, whether it be from 1967 occupied Palestine or 1948 occupied Palestine, because BDS really should be about shifting the cultural framework and shifting how we see Israel and isolating it and making it feel unwelcome anywhere and everywhere.”
• “We have demanded that the world take a stand in isolating Israel everywhere.”
• “We’re resisting colonialism in Palestine, and colonialism entails all of occupied Palestine from Haifa to Jerusalem to Ramallah.”

Make no mistake: Calling for the elimination of the world’s only Jewish state is anti-Semitic. Not only do the United States and Canada consider denying Jews the right to self-determination a prime example of anti-Semitism, but the vast majority of Jews around the world experience BDS and other attempts to “bring down Israel” as a deeply anti-Semitic assault on the entire Jewish people.
 
Read the full account here. The entire panel discussion is available here

The Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) has a long history of extremist rhetoric, intolerance  and promotion of violence

Anti-Israel Activists miss the boat. Block the Boat fail.

In 2010, anti-Israel activists at the Port of  Oakland  sought to block a Zim cargo ship from docking. They issued press-releases declaring victory well before the targeted Zim ship had even steamed through the Golden Gate. Mainstream media was complicit in spreading their lies.

Photo from the San Francisco chronicle

Fast forward.

Its deja vu all over again.

The same activists, spearheaded by the extremist Arab Resource and Organizing center planned a similar action for this weekend, organizing largely via social media.  Originally calling for  activists to meet at the West Oakland BART station at 5 am, they inexplicably changed direction, re-issuing a call for action at 3pm.

There is some speculation that they knew they would be unable to achieve critical mass at 5am, while most of the local anarchists were still sleeping off their beer hang-overs, and that was the primary reason for the change. 

From Jane Jewell, of  the Marin county group 14 friends of Palestine

But there is also some speculation that the organizers were made aware that they were targeting the wrong ship.  Although it appears on the Zim website, the EverLasting is not a  Zim vessel. It was a fools choice for the Block the Boat organizers: Do they block the wrong boat, or do they block a boat that hasn't arrived yet?

Via twitter:
The Everlasting was off-loaded without incident, and the Piraeus became the focus of the action.

At 3, several hundred gathered at the West Oakland Bart station, and began the march to the docks. It was a typical Bay Area "peace" rally.

And as usual in the Bay area, not a single of the sponsoring "human rights" groups said a word about this glorification of violence . And as usual, although the protesters were happy to declare "victory", there was no real effect on port functions.

From the Oakland Block the boat march

The flag of the terror group Hamas was proudly displayed.

Hamas terror flag at Oakland block the boat march

No one would ever mistake the Block the boat activists for patriots, as they joked about burning American flags

From John Driscoll, of the Port of Oakland

At about 4:30 pm today, approximately 500 protesters entered the Port's maritime area (seaport) and demonstrated along Middle Harbor Road, near the Oakland International Container Terminal.  The protest was related to the Gaza-Israel conflict in the Middle East.

As of 5:30 pm, the protesters were leaving the seaport.  As a cautionary measure, law enforcement is maintaining a presence on-site.  Seaport operations were not impacted by the protest.  Operations scheduled for tonight and tomorrow are currently expected to proceed as planned.

As of 6:30, the Piraeus had not yet docked.
 

Wishing the haters of peaceful co-existence many more such victories.

The protesters did accomplish one thing from this utterly pointless maneuver.  A fundraiser for "The Vagina Monologues."  scheduled for the waterfront was cancelled and forced to relocate. The organizers scrambled to find a last minute venue to relocate their event

The Block the boat action has done more than hurt the reputation of the Port of Oakland as a stable hub for U.S. shipping.  The block the boat activists have proven themselves to be bad neighbors all around.  I'm certain no one is surprised.

UPDATE: In spite anti-Israel activists claims to the contrary,  the Longshore and Shipping News reported  Thirty ILWU members worked the ship, starting at 10 PM Tuesday and completing the work at 4 AM Wednesday.

Block the Boat Interruptus: Blockade of Zim Ship at Oakland Docks Postponed

If anything, the enemies of Israel excel at self-promoting.  A proposed plan by Islamists and anarchists  to  march on the Oakland port to prevent a Zim ship  from off-loading was widely publicized,  with the San Jose  Mercury news and other media outlets picking up the story.    Zim is one of the leading carriers in the global container shipping industry, and was targeted because of its close ties with  Israel.  The Zim fleet’s illustrious history began by transporting refugees from war-torn Europe back home to the land of Israel.

This tactic was tried before in 2010, with mixed results.   The Father’s Day action in 2010 ultimately claimed to have prevented a Zim liner from off-loading, though the claim of  ‘victory” was issued well before the ship had actually docked.   Again, the mainstream media was complicit in the spread of misinformation, printing verbatim press releases issued by activists.

This years’ march on the docks, coordinated by an extremist anti-Israel group, the Arab Resource and Organizing Center ( AROC ), in conjunction with local anarchist groups and the pitiful remnants of the Occupy Oakland contingent was to take place on Saturday, Aug 2.  After an initial wave of self-congratulatory press releases, there are now wide-spread reports of cancellation. 

The coalition had failed to make inroads with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union ( ILWU)  , who were justifiably skeptical  about having their names linked  with these extremist groups.

Some anarchists groups itching for a fight  have expressed their desire to march on the docks nonetheless. Nothing like some random chaos and destruction and good old fashioned breaking and smashing in the name of peace, after all.

UPDATE:
"Block the Boat" is now scheduled for August 16, with or without union support

Jewish Voice for Peace gets noticed

The attention seeking group Jewish Voice for Peace must be glowing with pride. They've been noticed.

First NGO Monitor released a scathing indictment. 

The strategy, as stated by JVP’s executive director Rebecca Vilkomerson, is to create “a wedge” within the American Jewish community to generate the impression of polarization over Israel.  The tactic is to dilute support for Israel in the Jewish community, toward the goal of reducing or eliminating the United States government’s economic, military, and political support for Israel.

That was followed by a report from the venerable Anti-Defamation League  stating:

The group’s positions on BDS, its willingness to partner with anti Israel organizations that deny Israel’s right to exist and legitimize terror, and its refusal to support a two state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, demonstrate JVP’s hardline stance. 

 In fact, JVP consistently co-sponsors rallies to oppose Israeli military policy that are marked by signs and slogans comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, demonizing Jews and voicing support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. JVP has never condemned or sought to distance itself from these messages. Indeed, JVP’s Executive Director Rebecca Vilkomerson recently gave an interview to American Free Press a conspiracy-oriented anti- Semitic newspaper.

Jewish Voice for Peace embracing conspiracy theories at SF rally. Photo by  Zombie

The unbridled hypocrisy of Jewish Voice for Peace may very well be their most defining characteristic. Both the NGO Monitor and the ADL report highlight JVP's willingness to partner with some of  the most extremist groups in the country. For all their "we are against the occupation" rhetoric, they have no trouble partnering  with some of the most committed Israel-haters out there- groups that would not accept the existence of Israel within any borders.

Just recently, in our own Bay area, JVP partnered with the Arab Resource Organizing Center for their Day of Rage against investment Giant Tiaa-Cref

Arab Resource Organizing Center partnering with JVP  

In this announcement from the  Arab Resource Organizing Center, a  "Day of Divestment from Israel" is promoted, with "solidarity" groups JVP, Sabeel and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). Carol Sanders of JVP is listed the contact person.

How extreme is AROC? At the recent fundraiser for their Youth Group AYO, geared toward young Arabs ages 14-22, they featured bumper stickers  "Support the Intifada" - the uprising that left thousands of civilians dead on both sides of the conflict. Hardly the words of a peace group.

In spite of their grandiose self-serving proclamations regarding racism and anti-Semitism, the Los Angeles chapter of JVP promoted a May 17  event featuring the man who described the burning of synagogues as "a rational act",  notorious anti-Semite Gilad Atzmon.

Hosting BDS summer camps,  sponsoring rallies where "Zionist Scum your time has come" is chanted, aiding and abetting those that would destroy Israel as the state of the Jewish people- all in a days work for Jewish Voice for Peace.

JVP Joins its partners in slime in Tiaa-Cref Divestment Song and Dance

Why is Jewish Voice for Peace held in such disdain by members of the Jewish Community? One key reason is that they don't hesitate to stand side by side with those who seek the destruction of the Jewish homeland.  In San Francisco on  Tuesday July 16,  JVP is pairing with anti-Israel activists from Code Pink, the Arab Resource Organizing Center, and Sabeel  for a Day of Rage directed towards financial giant Tiaa-Cref, for refusing to capitulate to their divestment demands.  

Looks like San Francisco is getting a "flash mob".
That'll show those investment  bankers....
Pity the poor New Yorkers who will be putting up with mimes.

But at  least they'll be quiet.

UPDATE:
Here's the full list of JVP's day of rage actions against Tiaa-Cref. Let us know if you are planning a counter- we'll be happy to post your info.

Ann Arbor
5:00 pm
TIAA-CREF offices- 333 Maynard Street
Boston
12:15 PM meet in Harvard Square (the pit)
12:30 - March to TIAA-CREF

Chicago
12: 00 pm
TIAA-CREF office - 200 N. LaSalle Street
Denver
5 pm
TIAA-CREF Office - 17th & Broadway
Detroit
11:30 am
TIAA-CREF Office- 2000 Town Center in Southfiled, Michigan
Ithaca
12:00 pm
Meet in the center of Dewitt Park, then march to TIAA-CREF Ithaca Office-  130-131 E. Green St (between Palmers Pharmacy and Urban Outfitters)
Los Angeles
Time/Date TBA
Louisville
Time/Date TBA
New York
5 pm
TIAA-CREF office- 750 3rd Avenue between 45th&46th Streets (4/5 to Grand Central)
Philadelphia
8:15 am
TIAA-CREF office at 1835 Market Street, corner of 19th Street
Sacramento
Time/Date TBA
San Francisco
12:00 pm
TIAA-CREF Office- 560 Mission St. (near 2nd St.)
Seattle
Time/Date TBA
Washington D.C
July 14th, 2:00 pm
 In front of Columbia Heights Mall -- at the Columbia Heights Metro Station on 14th St.-- just north of the intersection with Irving St.

Poll: Palestinian Support for Suicide Attacks Highest in Arab World

From Pew Global Attitudes:

A survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project March 21-April 26, indicates that 68% of Palestinian Muslims say suicide attacks in defense of Islam can often or sometimes be justified, a level of support essentially unchanged from 2007.

In Egypt, support for suicide bombing is actually on the rise - 28% believe it can be justified, up from 8% in 2007.



"Ideas about the role of Islam in society vary across Muslim nations. In Pakistan, Jordan and Egypt, solid majorities believe laws should be based strictly on the teachings of the Quran, while this is a minority viewpoint in Turkey, Lebanon, Indonesia and the Palestinian territories. Views about Islamic fundamentalism also vary widely -- in Pakistan for instance, Muslims tend to sympathize with fundamentalists, while Lebanese and Turkish Muslims favor those who disagree with fundamentalists"

Husam and Lily, Together At Last

Picture from, "Staff & Collective" at AROC.


Lily Haskell is located on the far left. She actually looks happy.

Lily Haskell, Program Director
Lily Haskell is a Moroccan American activist who has been working with AROC since 2007. She has previously interned with the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Chapter, and worked with several youth development organizations: Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center, Girls Inc of Alameda County, and Diversity Works. As a volunteer, she currently also organizes with Break the Siege. Previously, Lily has contributed and led Arab organizing and educational initiatives through cultural and political work, as well as anti-war organizing. Lily graduated from Wesleyan University with a Bachelors Degree in Sociology.

Husam Zakharia is located on the far right, a smug look with eyes closed.

Husam Zakharia, Legal and Outreach Coordinator
Husam Zakharia began working for the Arab Resource and Organizing Center in 2009. He has volunteered time to the organization before working, with ADC-SF and AROC on and off for four years, and has been on the board organizing at UC Berkeley for Students for Justice in Palestine. He has also assisted in coordinating university-wide elections for UC Berkeley's Associated Students of the University of California and has won campaigns for CalSERVE (Cal Students for Equal Rights and a Valid Education). Husam is a co-owner and operator of the Berkeley Free Clinic and currently volunteers his time as a lay health care worker treating acute illnesses in the East Bay. He has a degree from the University of California Berkeley majoring in Near Eastern Studies, with an emphasis in Arabic Language and Literature.

Both of them are cretins. Anti-semitic and proud of it. Haters of the Jewish community. They freely associate with other anti-semites and groups that seek the destruction of Israel, the slaughter of Jews, and the demonization and deligitimization of the Land of Israel with the use of lies and half-truths.

Lily Haskell.

She is a member of AROC, Arab Resource and Organizing Center, as well as a former intern of the National Lawyers Guild/San Francisco. On December 9, 2008, at an anti-Israel rally, with use of a bullhorn, Lily led this vile chant:

"Israel Supporters watch your backs, or we'll push you down a shaft!"

This was said in response to the untimely demise of our brother Dan Kliman who just recently had fallen to his death in an elevator shaft.

Three of us heard this loud and clear. This vile woman, Lily Haskell, entertained no moral qualms whatsoever, took no issue with issuing a threat in public, in front of police and bystanders, knowing full well that only we would understand its meaning. Her evil behavior will not be forgotten.

Husam Zakharia. Also a member of AROC, and another cretin. An anti-semite who recently assaulted a young Jewish woman on UC Berkeley Campus.

The assault and battery even made the news in Arutz Sheva:

Anti-Israel Activist Attacks Jewish Girl on Campus

So, Lily and Husam are indeed together at last. Now we know where Husam gets his paycheck that allows him to take one class at UCB in order to maintain a presence there. Our eyes are on you Husam, you asshole. As for you Lily, let go of the hate, let go of the hate.