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Within Our Lifetime-United for Palestine (WOL) is a New York-based, radical anti-Israel organization founded in 2015 that routinely expresses support for violence against Israel and calls for the abolition of Zionism.
Since Hamas’ brutal terror massacre across southern Israel on October 7, 2023, WOL and its co-founder and leader Nerdeen Kiswani have continued to share extreme anti-Zionist and antisemitic positions on social media and at anti-Israel protests as well as in webinars and reports.
Some of the most heinous antisemitic rhetoric and incidents seen in New York City since October 7 have been perpetrated by WOL supporters and members, including vociferously demanding the expulsion of Zionists from New York society.
Since October 7, WOL has hosted or co-sponsored some 100 anti-Israel rallies many of which included explicit support for violence against Israeli civilians by U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations Hamas, The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Hezbollah, the Houthis and affiliated individuals such as Leila Khaled and Hamas’ military wing spokesperson Abu Obaida. WOL also expressed enthusiastic support for Iran’s unprecedented April 13 drone-and-missile attack on Israel.
Latest developments
On June 10, 2024, WOL co-organized a protest outside the New York City venue hosting the Nova Exhibit -- which commemorates the lives of the 364 people massacred at the Nova music festival by Hamas-led terrorists during the October 7 attack. Their protest featured antisemitic and dehumanizing messaging, glorification of the Oct. 7 assault, and explicit support for terror organizations.
Outside the exhibit, a protestor prominently waved large flags of US-designated terror organizations Hamas and Hezbollah. A sign reading "Zionists are not Jews & not humans" was also spotted at the WOL-organized protest.
A WOL-organized protest in New York City outside the Nova Exhibit on June 10, 2024. (Screenshot/Twitter)
Protesters outside the Nova exhibit were filmed shouting "long live the intifada" setting off flares and smoke bombs, harassing attendees, and making hand signals of inverted triangles, which have come to signify support for violent Palestinian so-called “resistance” against Israel. Red triangles first appeared in Hamas propaganda videos post October 7 showing attacks against Israeli military targets and Israeli soldiers.
Protesters organized by WOL make inverted triangle hand signals outside the Nova Exhibit in New York City on June 10, 2024. (Courtesy)
At the protest, Kiswani told the crowd that the Nova Music Festival was “like having a rave right next to the gas chambers during the Holocaust.”
In nearby Union Square on that same day, at a protest co-organized by WOL, one individual was filmed yelling at counter-protestors, “I wish Hitler was still here. He would have wiped all y’all out.”
Others held a sign that read: “It is right to rebel. Hillel go to hell!” Hillel is the premier Jewish student organization on U.S. college campuses. Printed on top of the “i” in Hillel was an inverted red triangle.
The protests drew sharp rebukes from lawmakers including progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), NY Governor Kathy Hochul, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, and the Biden administration.
WOL responded with a statement justifying the protest outside the Nova Exhibit, which it labeled “zionist [sic] propaganda,” as well as the October 7 attack. “We will not condemn October 7th. We will not condemn our people’s resistance forces,” the organization said.
On the same evening of the June 10, 2024 protests, as a group of WOL-led anti-Israel activists were protesting on a New York City subway car, an individual among them was recorded yelling, "Raise your hand if you're a Zionist! This is your chance to get out!" as the crowd repeated these comments in unison.The NYPD released a "wanted" poster for the individual on June 19, 2024.
In response, Kiswani doubled down on the offending rhetoric, tweeting: "We don’t want zionists [sic] in Palestine, NYC, our schools, on the train, ANYWHERE. This is free speech, it is saying we don’t want racists here."
In late May 2024, WOL members including Kiswani also took part in the storming of the Brooklyn Museum, where hundreds converged inside and outside the building and unfurled banners denouncing the museum’s "silence on genocide.”
The protesters were also seen holding posters praising the Intifada. (Intifada is a reference to two historical periods in the late 1980s and early 2000s during which Palestinian terrorists committed indiscriminate acts of violence against Israelis, including suicide bombings, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,000 people.)
Protesters co-organized by WOL stormed the Brooklyn Museum on May 31, 2024. (Screenshot/Twitter)
Several protesters were arrested at the museum by the NYPD, including Kiswani. Following the arrests, WOL called for “sustained action” against the Brooklyn Museum and declared that “aggression demands a response, and the crackdown on Palestine demands escalation.”
WOL has also encouraged the encampments that spread across US university campuses in the spring and summer of 2024, urging more “direct actions” and “escalation” such as takeovers of buildings and spaces and direct confrontation with law enforcement.
In a document that circulated in late April 2024, WOL wrote that "the universities are ours for the taking" and laid out a vision for sustained encampment actions including plans for escalation.
"If we force open the gates of the university, share our struggles, understand we have a common enemy and build our respective capacities to fight them on and off the campus — the universities are ours for the taking," the document reads.
WOL wrote that the "terms of engagement" with "enemies" such as law enforcement "must be made clear," noting that the organization has been making "an effort to study, track, and report on the activities and capabilities of the New York Police Department."
WOL further extolled individual encampments like the one at California State University Humboldt — where students "were the first in this current period to take a building and fight off the police" — and at Columbia, where students demonstrated "how to re-establish a camp after a police sweep and how to last for days at a time."
University encampments "can choose to prioritize escalation trainings," and "prepare for the next chapter," according to WOL.
Since October 7, Kiswani has been arrested on numerous occasions for various offenses during protests, in addition to being designated a Persona Non Grata on all property owned by Columbia University.
Additionally, as of February 2024, WOL and Kiswani are no longer active on Instagram due to violating Meta‘s community guidelines, according to a Meta spokesperson. WOL is now primarily active on Telegram and X (formerly Twitter).
Image of Nerdeen Kiswani, leader of Within Our Lifetime at a protest of an event at the synagogue Congregation Bnai Yeshurun (Teaneck, NJ), adorning a pin with the face of Abu Obaida, spokesman of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. Image source: YouTube (screenshot)
In August 2024, Kiswani promoted a classic, centuries-old antisemitic trope that Jews are greedy and powerful and therefore financially exploit other communities. That month, she appeared on a webinar hosted by Palestinian Diaspora Movement (PDM) founder Mohammad Mustafa in which she claimed that in the Bronx, there are “housing projects where black and brown people are subjected to horrible conditions by Zionist landlords who are... taking that money that they're... getting by exploiting black communities here and building settlements with it in Palestine.”
Who is Nerdeen Kiswani?
• Kiswani is a Palestinian-American anti-Israel activist who co-founded WOL in 2015.
• Kiswani’s antisemitism is on display via her expressions of extreme anti-Zionist rhetoric, including her calls for all "Zionists" to be vilified and expelled from community spaces, as well as her support for indiscriminate violence against Israel aimed at the country's dissolution.
• Kiswani and WOL organize raucous rallies in New York City that have drawn thousands of attendees, including protests outside the Israeli consulate and pro-Israel organizations such as the Jewish National Fund (JNF) as well as a Manhattan hospital’s pediatric wing. Separately, Kiswani and WOL recently protested in front of a synagogue in New Jersey. She was spotted wearing a pin with an image of Abu Obaida.
• Kiswani and her organization explicitly call for the complete eradication of Israel, including for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” and have called for Israeli Jews to leave the country (both from the West Bank and in Israel proper).
• WOL and Kiswani frequently express support for acts of terror perpetrated by U.S.-designated terror groups, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
• Kiswani habitually asserts that all Zionists, including American Jews who support Israel, are inherently bigoted and should be ostracized.
• On several occasions, Kiswani and WOL have promulgated classic antisemitic tropes, including those related to “Zionist” control over media and politics.
• Kiswani has been platformed by leftist outlets, including Haymarket Books.
• Kiswani became widely known after she delivered a May 2022 commencement speech for CUNY Law in which she excoriated “Zionists” and condemned “normalizing” trips to Israel.
Promotion of violence, terrorism and removal of Israelis from Israel
Kiswani and WOL express full, unabashed support for all forms of “resistance” against Israel, regardless of the brutality of the violence. On social media, she and WOL make their veneration of violence against Israelis clear.
Post-October 7, 2023, protestors at WOL rallies in New York City have called for the bombing of Tel Aviv, Israel‘s second-largest city and its economic capital. In October, WOL protestors chanted in Arabic “strike strike Tel Aviv, our dear Qassam,” a reference to Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. In April 2024, WOL leader Abdullah Akl led a chant in Arabic, ”Abu Obaida, my love, Strike, strike Tel Aviv!” Abu Obaida is the spokesman of Hamas’s military wing.
January 1, 2024: A protestor waved a Hamas flag at WOL’s Brooklyn Car Caravan which was part of a larger protest to “Flood JFK [airport] for Gaza.” The convoy of vehicles included cars bearing texts such as ”Intifada” alongside inverted red triangles, as well as ”Fuck Israel” and ”long live the resistance,” in reference to Hamas. WOL declared a protest at JFK on New Year’s Day: “While Palestinians are denied the right of return, zionists [sic] in New York can freely travel to and from occupied Palestine, regularly flying out of Terminal 4 at JFK.”
Source: YouTube (screenshot)
November 24, 2023: Kiswani shared an image to her Instagram story of a child kissing a Hamas soldier.
Source: Instagram (screenshot)
October 26, 2023: Within Our Lifetime marched in New York City from Wall Street to Washington Square Park. In one of her speeches, Kiswani refused to condemn Hamas for holding Israeli and foreign national hostages in Gaza since October 7, sanitizing “resistance” by declaring, "... a ceasefire is not enough... it's not about who you kidnap... you can kidnap yo mama, I am not condemning Palestinian resistance.”
This language predates the October 7 terror attacks:
February 2023: After U.S. State Department-designated terror organization Hamas claimed as members all five Palestinians killed in an Israeli military operation in Jericho, WOL shared an image declaring them “freedom fighters” and adding that WOL was “in rage and mourning.”
• 2022: Kiswani shared a meme on her Instagram account reading: “Little Miss telling everyone Israel is[sic] will be wiped off the map inshallah [God willing].”
• August 2022: Responding to a news story about an airline offering free vacations to Israelis who live near the Gaza Strip amid rocket attacks from terrorists based in the Palestinian enclave, Kiswani commented that those Israelis should “leave and never come back.”
• November 2022: In an appearance on the Iranian government-backed news channel Press TV, Kiswani said, “Resistance is the only way” and that no political process remains that will result in Palestinian liberation.
• On numerous occasions, Kiswani and WOL have shared materials venerating PFLP and one of its leaders, Leila Khaled, a convicted terrorist known for her role in the hijacking of two civilian airliners, TWA Flight 840 in 1969 (bound for Tel Aviv from Rome) and El Al flight 219 in 1970 (traveling from Amsterdam to New York City). In September 2016, WOL shared an image of Leila Khaled carrying a rifle alongside a quote justifying violence.
• March 2022: For International Women’s Day, WOL posted a collage containing images of Leila Khaled and Rasmea Odeh, both convicted on charges of terrorism against Israel."
• November 2014: Following a PFLP shooting and meat cleaver attack that killed four worshippers in a Jerusalem synagogue, Kiswani shared PFLP’s statement justifying the act of terror as a “natural response” to Israeli actions.
Historic/Classic Antisemitic Tropes
On at least four occasions, Kiswani and WOL have used social media to share classic antisemitic tropes related to alleged Israeli and “Zionist” control or nefarious power over Hollywood, politics, media and more.
• 2017: WOL Facebook post: “From occupied Palestine to Hollywood, israel's[sic] dogs of war find lucrative positions upholding imperialism, sexual violence and misogyny.”
• 2016 WOL Facebook post: “When the vast majority of politicians in the US are bought off by the zionist [sic] lobby, talk is cheap.”
• July 2015: On Facebook, Kiswani advertised an event: “Please be here tomorrow if you can! It’s the same story of zionists[sic] using their political clout to get away from being held accountable for hate based crimes while ironically accusing others of what they have done...”
• 2013: Kiswani shared a quote on Facebook that included: “Despite the almost total control of the major media conglomerates by Global Zionism, the advocates of pro-Palestine are winning the war on social medias[sic].”
Calling for Shunning of “Zionists”
Kiswani personally led chants of “Zionism out of CUNY” as she protested outside the university during her time as a student activist. “Zionism out of CUNY” can be viewed as an antisemitic call against the Jewish community at large, as the vast majority of American Jews identify as Zionist or consider a connection to Israel to be integral to their social, cultural or religious identities. Kiswani has also expressed joy that some spaces have become “toxic and unwelcome” for “Zionists.” In other commentary, she has called Zionists “complete scum.”
April 7, 2024: WOL cosponsored a protest outside of a concert by Israeli singer Hanan Ben Ari and demanded that “no more Zionist performers be booked at the Kings Theatre in Flatbush.”
Posters at a protest outside of Kings Theatre, Flatbush read “Hanan Ben Ari is not welcome in Flatbush” and “Zionists [not] welcome here!!!” Source: X (formerly known as Twitter)
January 15, 2024: WOL protested outside of Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center in Manhattan, which includes a pediatric ward. They called the hospital “complicit” in genocide and yelled “shame!” loudly at the building. Kiswani said, “make sure they can hear you, they’re in the windows.” In addition to protesting MSK for their alleged "zionist [sic]” ties, WOL posted a series of infographics about ”Confronting Zionism in Healthcare,” which included language about Zionists such as ”blood money” and ”puppet master,” both of which reference antisemitic tropes.
November 11, 2023: WOL updated a map, which originated in 2021, of “fake zionist [sic] charities” which included Jewish and Israeli institutions in New York City. The Instagram post also called upon activists to “make these locations a stop in your protests” and to "make supporters of genocide uncomfortable!”
The post, which drew the NYPD’s attention and was later taken down, urged followers to “KNOW YOUR ENEMY” and accused listed Jewish and Israeli organizations of having “blood on their hands.”
• March 2017: “Im[sic] so happy feminism and feminist movements have created a toxic and unwelcome environment for Zionists”
• June 2022: WOL tweet: “Zionism has no place in CUNY. Attempts to silence us only make us stronger! #ZionismOutOfCUNY”
• The WOL website lists among its suggested chants for anti-Israel rallies: “Say it loud say it clear, we don’t want zionists here”
• July 2014: “Any person who supports Israel in any way shape or form Any person who apologizes on behalf of Israel Any person who identifies as a Zionist in any way shape or form Is complete scum[sic]... Israel as a state needs to be dismantled. It needs to go.”