The United States Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) is a network of left-of-center activists and pressure groups which pushes to end the political and military influence of Israel over its neighboring territories, the status of which is disputed between the Jewish state and Palestinian Arab nationalists. The organization also demands that the United States government end its diplomatic, financial, and military backing of Israel, and attempts to shift American public opinion away from supporting the country and its interests. ^{1 2}

USCPR ties the Palestine-advocacy movement to other left-of-center causes, arguing that they are all connected and that activists for diverse issues must collaborate. ³ The network’s parent organization, Education for Just Peace in the Middle East, has been accused of indirectly supporting the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which the United States government has designated a terrorist organization; the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the complaint, though those challenging the group’s actions appealed. ⁴

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a prominent left-of-center activist group which claims to represent Jews who sympathize with the Palestinian independence movement, has indicated its support for the USCPR. ⁵ The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a major left-of-center grantmaking entity, has backed the group. ⁶

Ideology and Objectives

The USCPR states that it opposes antisemitism while also taking a “stand against Zionism,” which it defines as “a political system that privileges the rights of Jews over the rights of others.” The organization also argues that “the charge of antisemitism” is often “used spuriously to silence legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies and practices.” The USCPR supports self-determination and self-governance for Palestinian Arabs in the region, as well as what it calls their “right of return” to territories under Israeli control from which the organization claims they were forcibly removed. The organization describes Israel’s policies towards Palestinians as “apartheid,” a reference to South Africa’s policy of racial segregation throughout most of the 20th century. ⁷

Initiatives and Affiliates

The USCPR explicitly supports the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) campaign, which pushes for governments and corporations to isolate Israel economically. ⁸ This includes backing legislation, including House Resolution 496, a pro-BDS bill introduced by far-left Democratic U.S. Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN). The USCPR has also opposed the proposed Combating BDS Act, which would allow state governments to deny contracts to private businesses on the basis of their stance towards the Israel-Palestine conflict. ⁹

In addition to backing the BDS movement, USCPR encourages its supporters to boycott the Israeli tourism industry, claiming that it “erases Palestinians” from the region’s history, “appropriates Palestinian culture,” and “whitewashes” Israel’s policies towards Palestinian territories. The organization equates tourism to Israel with colonization, drawing parallels with travel to locations in the United States which were acquired through expansion, such as Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The USCPR calls on its sympathizers to boycott a variety of travel programs, including Christian pro-Israel pilgrimages, university study-abroad programs, and the Birthright program for Jewish-diaspora young adults. The organization also calls on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activists to boycott Israel, which the USCPR accuses of “pinkwashing,” a term for playing up tolerance for sexual minorities in Israeli society to contrast with other Middle Eastern countries and the Palestinian territories in particular. ¹⁰

The USCPR also pressures religious groups, especially Christian denominations, to adopt neutral or pro-Palestine positions. Since 2015, the organization has reported successfully convincing some Presbyterian, Episcopal, Congregational, and Lutheran congregations, as well as the Unitarian Universalist Association, to back the pro-Palestine movement in various ways. ¹¹

The USCPR has endorsed House Resolution 2590, which U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) proposed in April 2021. The legislation would place restrictions on American taxpayer funding for Israel and would implement new measures to track how Israel uses American tax dollars. The USCPR touted the broad support for the bill among prominent left-of-center activist organizations, including the anti-border security pressure group United We Dream, the anti-law enforcement Movement for Black Lives, and the Justice Democrats, a far-left lobby within the Democratic Party. ¹²

In July 2022, the USCPR signed onto a letter by U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) which called on the United States Department of State to condemn the Israeli government for designating several Palestinian pressure groups as terrorist organizations. Other signers included far-left congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as activist organizations such as JVP, the left-of-center Jewish lobbying group J Street, and Amnesty International USA. ¹³

Controversies and Opposition

In November 2019, the pro-Israel Jewish National Fund and 12 American citizens living in Israel filed a lawsuit against Education for Just Peace in the Middle East, the parent organization of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. The plaintiffs claimed that the organization was liable under the Anti-Terrorism Act for several injuries from incendiary devices launched into Israel by unidentified attackers in the disputed Palestinian territories. According to the plaintiffs, the USCPR was complicit because it collected funds in the United States to support the Boycott National Committee, a Palestinian political coalition that includes the militant group Hamas, which the United States government has labeled a terrorist organization. ¹⁴

The USCPR filed a motion to dismiss, claiming a lack of evidence, and the District Court for the District of Columbia granted the motion in March 2021. According to the court’s opinion, the accusations against the USCPR were “to say the least, not persuasive.” In response, the plaintiffs appealed the case to the District of Columbia Circuit Court. ¹⁵

Stand With Us, an explicitly pro-Israel Jewish group, has accused USPCR of “promoting hate and supporting racist terrorist groups.” ¹⁶ The Anti-Defamation League, one of the most prominent Jewish advocacy organizations in America, has criticized USPCR for “incendiary” commentary against Israel and Zionism. ¹⁷

In January 2022, the Washington Free Beacon reported that recently elected New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (D) had hired Naomi Dann, a former associate of the USCPR. Dann had worked with the organization on an attempt to have then-Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2015 address to Congress cancelled. In a statement, Lander announced that he had “full confidence” in Dann and claimed that she did not support the BDS movement. ¹⁸

Leadership

Ahmad Abuznaid is the executive director of the USCPR. He is also the founder of Dream Defenders, a legal activist group opposed to private prisons and capitalism which encourages disruptive protest practices such as blockading bridges and inciting riots. ¹⁹

Sana Siddiq is the manager of policy and advocacy programs at the USCPR. She previously worked for Unite Here, a major labor union for hospitality industry employees, as well as other left-of-center labor organizing causes. ²⁰

Rima Kamal is the operations associate at the USCPR. She previously worked for the Jerusalem Fund, a pro-Palestine philanthropic entity, and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, a Christian-influenced migrant resettlement organization. ²¹

Financials

In 2020, the USCPR’s parent organization, Education for Just Peace in the Middle East, generated more than $1.1 million in total revenue, with more than 99 percent of funding coming from donations. ²²

Between 2017 and 2021, the left-of-center Rockefeller Brothers Fund contributed more than $410,000 to the USCPR. ²³ Billionaire left-of-center philanthropist and activist George Soros’ Open Society Foundations donated $300,000 to Education for Just Peace in the Middle East in 2018 “to promote freedom…in a world without racism and oppression.” ²⁴

1. About Us, U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://uscpr.org/about-us/
2. “U.S. Military Funding to Israel.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://uscpr.org/militaryfunding
3. “About Us.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://uscpr.org/about-us/
4. “Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund v. Education for a Just Peace in the Middle East.” Charity & Security Network. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://charityandsecurity.org/litigation/keren-kayemeth-leisrael-jewish-national-fund-v-education-for-a-just-peace-in-the-middle-east-d-b-a-us-campaign-for-palestinian-rights/
5. “Solidarity with the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights.” Jewish Voice for Peace. March 5, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2020/03/solidarity-uscpr/
6. “Education for Just Peace in the Middle East.” Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.rbf.org/grantees/education-just-peace-middle-east
7. “About Us.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://uscpr.org/about-us/
8. About Us, U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://uscpr.org/about-us/
9. “We have a right to boycott for justice!” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://uscpr.org/right2boycott
10. “Ethical Travel to Palestine & Challenging Apartheid Tourism.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://uscpr.org/travelpalestine
11. “Occupation Free Faith Communities Network.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://uscpr.org/campaigns/faithcommunities/
12. “End U.S. Funding of Israel’s Human Rights Abuses.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://uscpr.org/campaigns/end-funding-human-rights-abuses
13. “Pressley Leads Letter to State Dept. Regarding Israeli Government’s Criminalization of Six Palestinian Human Rights Organizations.” U.S. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. July 18, 2022. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://pressley.house.gov/media/press-releases/pressley-leads-letter-state-dept-regarding-israeli-government-s-criminalization
14. “Jewish National Fund v. Education for a Just Peace in the Middle East.” Charity & Security Network. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://charityandsecurity.org/litigation/keren-kayemeth-leisrael-jewish-national-fund-v-education-for-a-just-peace-in-the-middle-east-d-b-a-us-campaign-for-palestinian-rights/
15. “Jewish National Fund v. Education for a Just Peace in the Middle East.” Charity & Security Network. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://charityandsecurity.org/litigation/keren-kayemeth-leisrael-jewish-national-fund-v-education-for-a-just-peace-in-the-middle-east-d-b-a-us-campaign-for-palestinian-rights/
16. Facts, “The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights,” Stand With Us. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.standwithus.com/factsheets-uscpr
17. Anti-Defamation League, “Antisemitism and the radical anti-Israel movement on U.S. campuses, 2019,” March 5, 2022. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.adl.org/resources/reports/antisemitism-and-the-radical-anti-israel-movement-on-us-campuses-2019
18. Alana Goodman, Collin Anderson. “NYC Comptroller Has ‘Full Confidence’ in Anti-Israel Activist at Helm of His Press Shop.” The Washington Free Beacon. January 11, 2022. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://freebeacon.com/democrats/nyc-comptroller-has-full-confidence-in-anti-israel-activist-at-helm-of-his-press-shop/
19. “Staff.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://uscpr.org/staff
20. “Staff.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://uscpr.org/staff
21. “Staff.” US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://uscpr.org/staff
22. “Education for Just Peace in the Middle East.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/421636592
23. “Education for Just Peace in the Middle East.” Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.rbf.org/grantees/education-just-peace-middle-east
24. Awarded Grants, “Education for Just Peace in the Middle East,” Open Society Foundations. 2018. Accessed August 22, 2022. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?grant_id=OR2018-45969