Overview: Riad Bahhur has produced anti-Israel documentaries, encouraged anti-Israel activism on the Sacramento City College (SCC) campus and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
He is a professor in the International Studies Program at SCC.
Producing Anti-Israel Documentaries
In 2014, Bahhur co-produced an anti-Israel documentary called “Two Blue Lines" with anti-Israel filmmaker Tom Hayes.
The documentary’s trailer opens with images of an Israeli flag — a Star of David flanked by two blue stripes — and Hayes stating: “You cannot come into an area, where other people are living, establish a state, confiscate their lands, and expect to live in safety… And that’s what happened, they came and conquered and confiscated."
These words are immediately followed [00:00:41] by footage of the aftermath of a bus bombing in Israel. The images opening the trailer accompanying Hayes’s commentary, start with a portrayal of soldiers inspecting a vehicle and questioning passengers.
On March 13, 2015, the film was shown as part of an event sponsored by the anti-Israel Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) organization. At the event, Hayes thanked Bahhur for his contribution to the film.
Bahhur also co-produced another anti-Israel film with Hayes, released in 1998, titled “The People and the Land." That film reportedly accused Israel of violating Palestinian human rights and criticized the United States “for sending billions of tax payers’ dollars to aid Israel while cutting back on domestic programs."
The making of that film and Riad’s involvement was chronicled by Hayes in an interview published on the If Americans Knew website.
The anti-Semitic organization If Americans Knew (IAK) was founded by anti-Israel agitator Alison Weir. IAK has been condemned for anti-Semitism by both the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the anti-Israel U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR).
Supporting Anti-Israel Activism on Campus
On February 16, 2016, Bahhur was a featured speaker at an event, sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), titled “Thirsting for Justice."
In an article published on October 23, 2014, Bahhur was quoted encouraging the establishment of a pro-Palestinian student organization on campus. In the article, Bahhur stated that “if students wanted to form a club for Palestinian rights, there would be some support for them from the faculty. I would support a Palestine rights club."
In October 2014, Bahhur offered students of the International Studies Program at SCC a class credit opportunity to attend an event whose purpose was “speaking out against the current occupation of Gaza."
In May 2011, Bahhur featured as a speaker at the first annual “Remembering the Nakba: A Palestinian Celebration" event in Sacramento. According to a report chronicling the event, “Bahhur discussed the history of Palestine and Israel, and stressed the importance of remembering the past."
Supporting BDS
Bahhur signed the “Middle East Scholars and Librarians Call for Boycott of Israeli Academia" published on August 6, 2014.
In signing this petition, Bahhur and others committed “not to collaborate on projects and events involving Israeli academic institutions, not to teach at or to attend conferences and other events at such institutions, and not to publish in academic journals based in Israel."
Bahhur also signed an open letter to United States President Barack Obama and the American Congress, dated July 31, 2014, condemning “the disproportionate harm that the Israeli military, which the United States has armed and supported for decades, is inflicting on the population of Gaza."
The letter exclusively blamed Israel for the Gazan civilian crisis and called upon the administration “to suspend US military aid to Israel, until there is assurance that this aid will no longer be used for the commission of war crimes."
The letter was in response to Operation Protective Edge (OPE).
Israel commenced Operation Protective Edge (OPE) in July 2014, to stop rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians and to destroy Hamas attack tunnels.