UC Berkeley Student Says There Was 'No Malice Involved' in Her Use of 'Intifada' in Student Senate Campaign

A University of California, Berkeley student said she meant no malice when she used the hashtag "#Dintifada" in her student senate campaign, rooted in the word "intifada," which a pro-Israel campus group said evoked images of “death, destruction, and some of the bloodiest scenes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Sumayyah Din announced her candidacy Sunday with a series of slogans and hashtags: “My vision encompasses a collaborative force on campus that utilizes our collective identities for an inclusive campus climate. … Vote the Independent Voice for an independent Choice! #DIN4THEWIN #JoinTheDinasty #DINTIFADA #DOIT4THEDIN.” "Dintifada" is also her Twitter handle.

Pedestrians walk by an entrance to the UC Berkeley campus on May 22, 2014 in Berkeley, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The UC Berkeley student group Bears for Israel said it was “appalled” by Din’s use of the term "intifada," which refers to the Palestinian uprisings against Israel.

More than 1,000 Israelis were killed in Palestinian suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada between 2000 and 2005.

“For many, this word seems innocent enough. But for the Jewish community, it immediately sparks memories of death, destruction, and some of the bloodiest scenes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Bears for Israel posted on Facebook. “UC Berkeley is a place of learning, not of hatred. Its Senate candidates should promote dialogue between groups, not violence.”

But Din said she didn't intend to hurt her fellow classmates, writing an op-ed in the Daily Californian student newspaper “to clear up any misunderstandings.”

“I want to explain my reasoning behind the hashtag, however, in the hope that you will understand there was no malice involved, but rather the opposite — I meant to spread the authentic meaning behind the word I find so inspiring,” she wrote.

She added:

Breaking it down, my last name, Din, colloquially means faith, and “intifada” means uprising, resistance or rebellion. When put together, the inspiration I draw from #dintifada is a representation of a faith-filled resistance — a compassionate and resilient means of survival. In my role as a student, this translates to challenging institutions, contemporary thinking and other potential obstructions to social justice.

Furthermore, the word intifada is a representation of the Palestinian struggle, a struggle with which I have and always will stand in solidarity. The use of this word gives the Palestinian people hope, and I find it extremely disturbing that students are delegitimizing the reality Palestinians go through on a daily basis by saying this word is “triggering.” To me, this word is uplifting, it is beautiful, and it represents the struggle of all oppressed people.

“It should be noted that the intifada uprisings were a violent time for both Palestinians and Israelis and deserve to be appropriately mourned, but my reference to it in no way was or will be a call of hatred toward Jewish people,” she wrote.