Americans for Justice in Palestine Educational Foundation (AJP) is a Palestinian-interests advocacy group and the fiscal sponsor of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), an agitation group that has been criticized by the left-leaning Anti-Defamation League for promoting “extreme anti-Israel views” and providing “a platform for anti-Semitism under the guise of educating Americans about ‘the just cause of Palestine and the rights of self-determination.’”¹

AJP is funded by undisclosed donors, and has received more than $6 million in donations since 2010. ²

Funding

Since 2010, AJP has received over $6 million in donations, but does not disclose any specific donor information. ³ The Foundation claims to be a “public benefit corporation” that it uses its revenue for publishing books, funding research on international relations, and providing funding for conferences. ⁴

Board of Directors and Staff

Hatem Al Bazian is the president of Americans for Justice in Palestine. Al-Bazian is a founder and the national chair of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and is a co-founder of Zaytuna College, a Muslim liberal arts college in Berkeley, CA. Al-Bazian sits on the boards of the Islamic Scholarship Fund and the Muslim Legal Fund of America and is the chair of the Northern California Islamic Council. ⁵ Sandy Stephan, the wife of Hatem Al Bazian, is the secretary of the board. ⁶

Munjed Ahmad is the vice president and treasurer of AJP, and formerly served as the national vice Chairman of AMP. ⁷

Board member Osama Abuirshaid works as the national policy director of AMP. Abuirshaid serves on the board of AMP and the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), and co-authored the controversial study: “Hamas: Ideological Rigidity and Political Flexibility,” which the United States Institute of Peace published in 2009. ⁸

Board member Shakeel Syed (sometimes spelled Sayed) serves on the board of AMP. ⁹ Syed is the former executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. Syed sits on the boards of the ACLU of Southern California, Public Law Center, and Death Penalty Focus. ¹⁰

Board member Kareem El-Hosseiny is the government relations coordinator at AMP. ¹¹ In 2017, El-Hosseiny was arrested for waving a Palestinian flag at the confirmation hearing of Trump administration Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. ¹²

Staff member Taher Herzallah is the associate director of outreach and community organizing for AMP. In 2017, Herzallah was also arrested at the confirmation hearing of Ambassador Friedman. ¹³ In 2010, Herzallah was arrested for conspiring to interrupt a speech given by the Israeli Ambassador to the United States at UC Irvine. ¹⁴

Boim Family Lawsuit

In 2017, Stanley and Joyce Boim, the parents of a teenager who was killed in Jerusalem in a 1996 terrorist an attack attributed to Hamas, filed a lawsuit against Americans for Justice in Palestine and American Muslims for Palestine. The lawsuit sought to claim the remainder of the $156 million judgment the couple won in a 2004, and names the AJP Education Fund and AMP as the “alter egos” of the groups (now defunct) that the jury then found liable. ¹⁵ As of 2018, the suit remained active. ¹⁶

1. “American Muslims for Palestine” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed April 10, 2019. https://www.adl.org/resources/profiles/american-muslims-for-palestine.
2. “AJP Educational Foundation Inc.” ProPublica. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271365284.
3. “AJP Educational Foundation Inc.” ProPublica. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271365284.
4. AJP Educational Foundation Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2018, Part III, Line 1.
5. “Dr. Hatem Bazian, Chairman.” American Muslims for Palestine, 2020. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.ampalestine.org/about-amp/staff/dr-hatem-bazian-chairman.
6. “Hatem Ahmad Bazian.” Prabook. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://prabook.com/web/hatem_ahmad.bazian/582747.
7. “AMP strongly refutes The Daily Beast allegations.” American Muslims for Palestine, December 9, 2014. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.ampalestine.org/newsroom/amp-strongly-refutes-daily-beast-allegations.
8. “Dr. Osama Abuirshaid.” American Muslims for Palestine, 2020. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.ampalestine.org/about-amp/staff/dr-osama-abuirshaid.
9. “Staff and National Board.” American Muslims for Palestine, 2020. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.ampalestine.org/about-amp/staff.
10. “Convention Speakers.” Al-Awda. Accessed April 23, 2020. http://al-awda.org/conference13/convention-speakers/.
11. “Kareem El-Hosseiny.” LinkedIn, 2020. Accessed April 23, 2020.Kareem has a account https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelhosseiny/.
12. Schulberg, Jessica. “6 Protesters Were Arrested. Only The 2 Arab Muslims Face Misdemeanor Charges.” HuffPost, April 20, 2017. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/protest-friedman-unequal-punishment_n_58f8f6a3e4b00fa7de123264.
13. “Taher Herzallah.” American Muslims for Palestine, 2020. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.ampalestine.org/about-amp/staff/taher-herzallah.
14. “‘Irvine 11’: 10 students sentenced to probation, no jail time.” Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2011. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/irvine-11-sentenced-probation-no-jail-time.html.
15. Stempel, Jonathan. “Parents sue U.S. Palestine group over son’s death linked to Hamas.” Reuters, May 12, 2017. Accessed April 23, 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-hamas-lawsuit/parents-sue-u-s-palestine-group-over-sons-death-linked-to-hamas-idUSKBN1882MD.
16. Shankar, Abha. “Judge Reinstates Hamas/American Muslims for Palestine Lawsuit.” Algemeiner.com, January 9, 2018. https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/01/09/judge-reinstates-hamasamerican-muslims-for-palestine-lawsuit/.