Human Right Program at Harvard Law School

Patrisse Cullors, an embattled co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, once called for an "end" to Israel, describing the Jewish state as an "imperialist project."

Cullors made the inflammatory remarks during the 2015 panel discussion "Globalizing Ferguson: Racialized Policing and International Resistance," a forum hosted by Harvard Law School.

"Palestine is our generation's South Africa," she said. "And if we don't step up boldly and courageously to end the imperialist project that's called Israel, we're doomed."

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At the time, Cullors had recently returned from what she described as a "historic" 10-day trip to Gaza. She told the audience there could be "a whole conversation about the settlements that we witnessed and the stories of murder and death at the hands of Israelis and Zionists."

She went on to describe Palestinian solidarity as a "crucial" aspect of the Black Lives Matter movement, even encouraging people to support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign designed to economically and diplomatically cripple Israel.

Cullors also urged those at the forum to research and support Rasmea Odeh, a convicted terrorist sentenced by Israeli courts to life in prison for a bomb attack that left two students dead. Odeh was released in 1980 as part of a prisoner exchange and went on to commit immigration fraud in the U.S.

Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described BDS as "anti-Semitic" in November 2020, calling the controversial movement "a cancer."

Omar Barghouti, one of the founding members of the BDS campaign, said more than once during a 2009 interview that he is opposed to a two-state solution, which he described as "immoral."

"I am completely and categorically against binationalism," he said, "because it assumes that there are two nations with equal moral claims to the land and, therefore, we have to accommodate both national rights."

The resurfaced footage of Cullors comes not long after the official Black Lives Matter movement tweeted its commitment to "ending settler colonialism in all forms" amid the continuing conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza led by the terror group Hamas.

Black Lives Matter stated it will "always" side with Palestinians.

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