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American Muslims for Palestine
Read the full, comprehensive report: Profile: American Muslims for Palestine (PDF).
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) is the leading organization providing anti-Zionist training and education to students and Muslim community organizations in the country. Founded in 2005, AMP promotes extreme anti-Israel views and has at times provided a platform for anti-Semitism under the guise of educating Americans about “the just cause of Palestine and the rights of self-determination.”
Although the size of its membership remains unclear, the Chicago-based non-profit organization operates several chapters across the country. While its educational efforts have been primarily geared toward providing the Muslim community with inflammatory rhetoric and false accusations against Israel to promote advocacy for Palestine, AMP has also placed a heavy emphasis on supporting and helping coordinate the activity of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the primary organizer of anti-Israel events on campus with dozens of chapters.
To mark the start of the 2014-2015 academic year, for example, AMP Chairman and University of California, Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian, announced and promoted an “International Day of Action on College Campuses” to be held on September 23, the day before Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
AMP seeks to delegitimize and demonize the Jewish state. Its materials are prominently featured at its events and conferences, in its publications and through materials available on its website.
In March 2013, AMP unveiled a billboard campaign on Metro North stations in suburban New York falsely accusing Israel of “apartheid.” The ad, which was announced on the first day of the Jewish holiday of Passover, features the silhouette of an Israeli soldier aiming a gun at a Palestinian child and called for an end to “unconditional American aid for Israel.”
In March – April 2014, AMP again embarked on an anti-Israel ad campaign on Washington D.C. area bus sides calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel. The ad ran on a popular tourist route during D.C.’s Cherry Blossom Festival and stated: “We’re seating April 15 so Israelis don’t have to!”
AMP has its organizational roots in the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), an anti-Semitic group that served as the main propaganda arm for Hamas in the United States until it was dissolved in 2004. Since its creation in 2005, AMP continues to work closely with some former IAP leaders who currently hold positions as AMP board members.