The Olive Branch and Students Supporting Israel Clubs: The Full Story

Image Courtesy of The Catholic University of America

By Patrick D. Lewis

The leadership of CUA’s Palestinian cultural club, The Olive Branch, has responded to allegations that their organization is antisemitic, pro-terrorism, and has misused university funding. The allegations were made in a petition started by an off-campus group and by the founder of an unofficial pro-Israel campus club.

On February 21, a petition started on Change.org titled “End Jewish Hate on Campus” touched off the controversy. The petition, which was started by the user “Catholics Against Antisemitism,” says Catholic University “continues to support a student club that openly glorifies terrorism and promotes antisemitic rhetoric, all with university funding.” 

The petition goes on to say that The Olive Branch has “referred to Hamas terrorists as ‘martyrs,’” “promoted events like ‘Drag for Palestine,’” and used university-provided funding to “promote a radical agenda that contributes to a hostile environment for Jewish and pro-Israel students.” The petition calls on the university to revoke approval for The Olive Branch, investigate how university student funding is used, “publicly condemn antisemitism on campus,” and take “meaningful action” in defense of Jewish and pro-Israel students.

On the same day, February 21, an article appeared in the conservative online publication The College Fix reporting on “tension” directed at a recently-founded yet still unapproved CUA chapter of the international organization Students Supporting Israel (SSI). 

Felipe Avila, a junior nursing major and founder of the chapter, provided an interview to The College Fix in which he said he felt an “obligation” to found the club to support and stand with Jewish and Israeli students and because he felt the presence of The Olive Branch was creating and “echo chamber” on campus when it came to discussing the events in Palestine and Israel.

“I founded the chapter of Students Supporting Israel to give students a platform to stand against rising antisemitism on campus,” Avila said. “The approval for this vital club has been delayed, and OCA [Office of Campus Activities] has informed me that the decision is now with upper administration.”

In a phone call, Associate Vice President Jon Sawyer, university Dean of Students, said that getting a club approved is a complex process for any group and that it can take time to move through the many administrative and bureaucratic steps to approval.

In the past couple of years, new political student organizations have all been denied, with the administration’s preference being to limit them to the current five: College Republicans, College Democrats, Young Americans for Freedom, Progressive Student Union, and the American Solidarity Party. As the feeling is that these five organizations represent the full political spectrum well, it is unclear whether any new political student organizations such as SSI will be approved. 

Avila went on to tell The College Fix that The Olive Branch posted a flyer for an external event called “Queeraoke: A Night of Drag and Karaoke for Palestine,” and that it was later deleted from their Instagram stories. 

The article went on to say, “a statement to its social media ‘honoring their martyrs,’ with another post including Hamas as part of that group. The depiction of symbols on these posts such as keffiyehs and watermelons are apparently ‘scandalous’ at the private Catholic university, Avila told The Fix.”

In response to the allegations, The Olive Branch released the following statement. 

Our club stands to bring both cultural and humanitarian awareness for the Middle East (West Asia) and North African regions. Guided by inter-religious principles, we condemn any and all non-compliance with International Law, including governments and states engaging in ethnic cleansing and genocide. Our actions as a club revolve around facilitation of social justice initiatives through nonviolent actions, organization of cultural events, sharing our foods, traditions and rich histories. In addition we work to educate our campus and community about any human rights violations committed in the region. Finally, and most importantly, we work to create a safe space for our community and allies of our cause on campus. 

The Olive Branch President Natasha El-Khatib confirmed in an interview that the club reposted a “queeraoke” from an external organization and that the club later removed it after the school “requested that we unlike the picture.” She also denied that the club had referred to Hamas fighters as martyrs. 

“We did not list anything in regards to Hamas,” said El-Khatib when asked about posts referring to martyrs. “I think I even talked about, like, my cousin’s husband’s family that he’s lost.” She continued, “most of them are kids, so I don’t know how they would be part of that.”

Ozhan Kazempour, one of The Olive Branch’s executive board members, also explained that the Islamic understanding of martyrdom differs from the Christian definition, which might be more familiar to CUA community members. 

“In eastern cultures, anyone who dies as a result of political conflict, whether they are militant or not… are considered a martyr,” Kazempour said. That includes anyone killed during bombing and fighting in Gaza, the West Bank, and other areas in the Middle East.

Sawyer said in a phone call that the school’s student affairs office frequently works with clubs to determine whether posts that are being considered or have already been made are in line with school policies and the club’s own constitution and that it is not uncommon for the school to recommend or request that posts be removed or edited to comply with those guidelines. The Olive Branch has regularly been in open communication with OCA to ensure they remain within university guidelines since their founding.

The petition to remove The Olive Branch does not include a screenshot, link to, or quote from the alleged post that labels Hamas members as martyrs. It gained 45 signatures within a couple days of being posted but has since stalled. Links to the petition were posted on several Reddit pages, including several from which it was removed by subreddit moderators and garnered some reaction, including one commenter who said he had reported El-Khatib to a pro-Israeli doxing website and expressed hope that she would be “deported soon.”

El-Khatib said this is not the first time she has experienced hate for cultural background. Last year, when she was getting The Olive Branch running, El-Khatib began posting quotes on her dorm room door from Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr., and others. The notes were frequently torn up and thrown away, which then escalated to messages being left across from her room that belittled events in Gaza. Law enforcement officials later investigated the incident as a hate crime. 

The College Fix article reported that The Olive Branch blocked one of their reporters on Instagram after the reporter contacted the club via DM. El-Khatib confirmed that she had blocked the reporter, who she said worded their questions in a way that showed they had not researched the situation beyond what Avila had told them. 

“It’s just trying to probe and get reactions,” El-Khatib said.

“It’s not surprised anybody involved that we got pushback,” said Kazempour.

Both El-Khatib, who is Jewish herself on her mother’s side, and Kazempour also said that antisemitism has no place in their organization. At past events they have read passages from The Bible, Torah, and Qur’an to include all three Abrahamic religions. 

The petition directs media inquiries to a Gmail address and does not provide any additional information about the organization that started it. A statement request sent to the address was returned without the name of a spokesperson and a follow-up asking for more information about the organization was not returned. Avila, in an email, described “Catholics Against Antisemitism” as “an outside grassroots organization.” He did not reply to a question asking if he was involved in the petition. Students Supporting Israel’s headquarters did not reply to a request to discuss the CUA chapter.