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Person

Avraham “Miko” Peled

Nationality:

Israeli, American
Born:

1961
Occupation:

Anti-Israel Activist & Author

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Avraham “Miko” Peled is an anti-Israel activist and author. He has been accused of antisemitism due to his statements on social media. Peled has described Israel as a “terrorist state,” and “apartheid regime.” 1 2

Peled is described by the Palestinian Return Centre, a Palestinian refugee advocacy organization, as “considered by many to be one of the clearest voices” of support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, an international campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel by isolating the country economically through consumer boycotts, business and governmental withdrawal of investment, and legal sanctions. 3 4

Background

Miko Peled is an anti-Israel activist and author born in Jerusalem in 1961 into a prominent Israeli family. 5 Peled’s grandfather, Avraham Katsnelson, was a signatory of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, and his father, Mattityahu “Matti” Peled, was a member of the Israeli military who fought in Israel’s War of Independence in 1948 and was a brigadier general during the Six Day War in 1967. Matti Peled would later become a prominent peace activist and left-wing member of the Israeli parliament (the Knesset), who called for Israeli withdrawal from the territories taken in the 1967 war. 6 Zalman Shazar, Peled’s great-uncle by marriage, served as Israel’s president from 1963 through 1973. 7 8

Career

Miko Peled joined Israel’s special forces after high school, earning him the red beret. Peled later surrendered his status to become a medic before burying his service pin after the 1982 Lebanon War. 9

Peled has written multiple books. The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine details his family’s history, including the lives and work of his grandfather and father. His second book was titled Injustice: The Story of The Holy Land Foundation Five, and according to promotional materials “describes the persecution and then the closure,” of the Holy Land Foundation, which the U.S. government investigated for its suspected ties to Hamas. The organization was removed from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s list of registered charities, and ultimately five former leaders of the organization were arrested, charged, and convicted on 108 criminal counts, including money laundering, tax fraud, and supporting terrorism. 10 11 12

Peled is also a contributor to several online publications including the radical pro-Palestinian MintPress and Electronic Intifada, and Democracy Now!, a left-of-center media organization best known for producing a daily public television and radio show also titled “Democracy Now!” hosted by left-leaning journalists Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman, who founded the organization in 1996 as a left-of-center alternative to mainstream media. 13 14

Peled is described by the Palestinian Return Centre, a Palestinian refugee advocacy organization, as “considered by many to be one of the clearest voices” of support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, an international campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel as the expression of the Jewish people’s right to national self-determination by isolating the country economically through consumer boycotts, business and government withdrawal of investment, and legal sanctions. Critics allege that the movement crosses the line from opposition to Israeli policy or to the administration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into open antisemitism. 15 16

Controversy

On September 14, 2016, in response to the U.S. Department of State providing Israel with security funding, Miko Peled wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Then they’re [sic] surprised Jews have [a] reputation 4being [sic] sleazy thieves.” 17

Peled was invited to virtually speak at Georgetown University in October 2020, resulting in a petition that claimed remarks he had made previously constituted “hate speech.” The petition was created by the Georgetown Israel Alliance and was signed by more than 130 students. Three other student organizations also requested the event be canceled; these organizations were the Georgetown University College Democrats, the fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi and GIA, and the Jewish Student Association. 18

While the petition stated that different opinions and perspectives are important when discussing the conflict between the Palestinian territories and Israel, “Mr. Peled’s rhetoric crosses a line into hate speech, as demonstrated by his social media accounts and speeches at past events.” 19

The petition cited social media entries by Peled, including the 2016 “sleazy thieves” tweet as well as a tweet in which he compared the Israel Defense Forces with the Gestapo of Nazi Germany. 20

The petition was denied and Peled spoke at the event, where he claimed antisemitism and anti-Zionism were mutually exclusive, adding that “antisemitism is a form of racism,” while “anti-Zionism is a struggle against or a stance against a racist political ideology. Zionism is a racist political ideology.” Peled also accused Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing, according to student newspaper The Hoya. 21

One student accused Peled of being antisemitic during the question-and-answer portion of the event. The student referenced past social media posts, including one in which he claimed, “#Zionism is a sign of dual loyalty at best, at worst you are actually paid agents working for a foreign, racist government.” In response to the accusation, Peled claimed it was false, stating he was not antisemitic, and that “none of it is true. None of it happened. I did not express any form of antisemitism in any of my expressions at all, ever.” 22 23

References

  1. Agency, Anadolu. “Israel a ‘terrorist state, apartheid regime’, son of Israeli General says.” Middle East Monitor. November 23, 2023. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231123-israel-a-terrorist-state-apartheid-regime-son-of-israeli-general-says/.
  2. Peled, Miko. “Then they’re surprised Jews have reputation 4being sleazy thieves. #apartheidisrael doesn’t need or deserve these $$.” X (Twitter). September 14, 2016. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://twitter.com/mikopeled/status/776147480299835392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E776147480299835392%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthedailyaztec.com%2F78998%2Fnews%2Fsjp-hosts-movie-screening-after-controversy-with-scheduled-speaker%2F.
  3. “Miko Peled.” Return Week III. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://prc.org.uk/en/speaker/5/miko-peled.
  4. “Calling out BDS anti-Semitism.” Canadian Jewish News. August 26, 2015. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://thecjn.ca/perspectives/opinions/calling-bds-anti-semitism/.
  5. “Miko Peled .” Just World Books, September 12, 2022. https://justworldbooks.com/authors/miko-peled/.
  6. “Matityahu Peled.” The National Library of Israel. Accessed August 8, 2024. https://www.nli.org.il/en/a-topic/987007498403105171.
  7. “Beware of the general’s son.” Canadian Jewish News. April 9, 2012. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://thecjn.ca/perspectives/opinions/beware-generals-son/.
  8. “The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine.” War Resisters League. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20150421205634/http://www.warresisters.org/content/general%E2%80%99s-son-journey-israeli-palestine.
  9. “The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine.” War Resisters League. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20150421205634/http://www.warresisters.org/content/general%E2%80%99s-son-journey-israeli-palestine.
  10. “Miko Peled » Just World Books.” Just World Books. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://justworldbooks.com/authors/miko-peled/.
  11. Miller, Judith. “U.S. Contends Muslim Charity Is Tied to Hamas.” New York Times. August 25, 2000. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/25/us/us-contends-muslim-charity-is-tied-to-hamas.html.
  12. “U.S. Muslims Taken Aback by a Charity’s Conviction.” New York Times. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/us/26charity.html.
  13. “About Miko.” Miko Peled. August 7, 2008. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://mikopeled.com/booking/about/.
  14. “About.” Democracy Now!. March 25, 2024. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.democracynow.org/about.
  15. “Miko Peled.” Return Week III. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://prc.org.uk/en/speaker/5/miko-peled.
  16. “Calling out BDS anti-Semitism.” Canadian Jewish News. August 26, 2015. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://thecjn.ca/perspectives/opinions/calling-bds-anti-semitism/.
  17. Peled, Miko. “Then theyr surprised Jews have reputation 4being sleazy thieves. #apartheidisrael doesn’t need or deserve these $$.” X (Twitter). September 14, 2016. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://twitter.com/mikopeled/status/776147480299835392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E776147480299835392%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthedailyaztec.com%2F78998%2Fnews%2Fsjp-hosts-movie-screening-after-controversy-with-scheduled-speaker%2F.
  18. McLean, Caitlin. “Activist Accused of Antisemitism Speaks at Virtual GU Event Despite Student Backlash.” May 23, 2022. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://thehoya.com/23102577/news/activist-accused-of-antisemitism-speaks-at-virtual-gu-event-despite-student-backlash/.
  19. McLean, Caitlin. “Activist Accused of Antisemitism Speaks at Virtual GU Event Despite Student Backlash.” May 23, 2022. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://thehoya.com/23102577/news/activist-accused-of-antisemitism-speaks-at-virtual-gu-event-despite-student-backlash/.
  20. McLean, Caitlin. “Activist Accused of Antisemitism Speaks at Virtual GU Event Despite Student Backlash.” May 23, 2022. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://thehoya.com/23102577/news/activist-accused-of-antisemitism-speaks-at-virtual-gu-event-despite-student-backlash/.
  21. McLean, Caitlin. “Activist Accused of Antisemitism Speaks at Virtual GU Event Despite Student Backlash.” May 23, 2022. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://thehoya.com/23102577/news/activist-accused-of-antisemitism-speaks-at-virtual-gu-event-despite-student-backlash/.
  22. McLean, Caitlin. “Activist Accused of Antisemitism Speaks at Virtual GU Event Despite Student Backlash.” May 23, 2022. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://thehoya.com/23102577/news/activist-accused-of-antisemitism-speaks-at-virtual-gu-event-despite-student-backlash/.
  23. Peled, Miko. “#Zionism is a sign of dual loyalty at best, at worst you are actually paid agents working for a foreign, racist government.” X (Twitter). April 8, 2019. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://twitter.com/mikopeled/status/1115254243328499712?s=20.
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