‘Extensive overlaps’ between BDS and terror groups revealed

Khalida Jarrar, a senior Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's (PFLP) political figure, walks with people after she was released from an Israeli jail, in Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 28, 2019 (photo credit: ABED OMAR QUSINI/REUTERS)
Khalida Jarrar, a senior Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's (PFLP) political figure, walks with people after she was released from an Israeli jail, in Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 28, 2019
(photo credit: ABED OMAR QUSINI/REUTERS)
The Shin Bet announced on December 18 that it arrested approximately 50 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), ending the investigation into the August 23 terror attack that killed 17-year-old Rina Shnerb and revealing the organization’s ties to BDS, JNS reported. Shnerb’s brother and father, both of whom were with her during the explosion were injured, but survived.
One of those arrested was Khalida Jarrar, who is said to be the head of the terror group’s operations in the West Bank, served as the vice chairperson, director and board member of the BDS organization Addameer, according to JNS. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement calls on the world to put pressure on Israel through economic, academic and cultural measures.
“With regard to Jarrar, this is really the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the BDS/terror connection,” Marc Greendorfer, president of the Zachor Legal Institute and author of “The New Antisemites: The Radicalization Mechanism of the BDS Movement and the Delegitimization Campaign Against Israel,” told JNS.
“Jarrar is simply one example of the extensive overlaps between terror organization leadership and BDS, going all the way to the top, where the organizing and operational leadership of BDS [the BDS National Committee, or BNC] includes a coalition of groups designated as foreign terror organizations by the United States and other countries,” Greendorfer told JNS.
In a report entitled, “Terrorists in Suits,” Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs revealed that Hamas and PFLP members invaded organizations involved in BDS, according to JNS. The report stated that 30 terrorists, 20 of whom were imprisoned for their crimes, held senior positions in the 13 BDS organizations that were investigated. More than 100 connections between terror organizations and BDS were uncovered.
According to an report, Addameer, which claims to support Palestinian prisoners, is actually an offshoot of PFLP. The report further states that more than half of Addameer’s employees, both former and present, including its lawyers, are linked to PFLP, JNS reported.
The Palestinian NGO Network, of which Addameer is a member, is a member of the BDS National Committee, according to JNS.
The BDS movement was funded by terrorists, and it is being led by terrorists across the world. There must be a wide recognition of these connections, and countries must wake up to that fact and take action,” Yifa Segal, director of the International Legal Forum told JNS.
“This problem doesn’t affect only Israel; it is also affecting countries across the West. They aim to entrench institutional and civilian support for terrorism, to effectively recruit manpower; to raise funds, as well as to radicalize the population and subvert democratic values,” Segal continued, adding that they  “on college campuses and in parliaments hiding under the guise of legitimate human-rights organizations.”
The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), US Palestinian Community Network, Palestinian Youth Movement, Students for Justice in Palestine, Middle East Children’s Alliance and Jewish Voice for Peace are just a few of the US-based organizations of which Addameer is a member, JNS reported. Additionally, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and USCPR have posted Addameer materials on social media.
“BDS and terror are two sides of the same coin, and Jarrar is the rule, rather than the exception, in this regard,” Greendorfer said.