The crowd at the Al Quds Day protest in Dearborn, MI on April 5, 2024.
Related Content
Support for Terror Groups, Negation of Israel’s Existence Mark Quds Day in U.S.
May 05, 2022
Updated: May 05, 2022
Over the weekend of April 5, 2024, anti-Israel activists in the US and around the world marked Al Quds Day (“Jerusalem Day”) with protests and other events against Zionism and the state of Israel. This annual event, originally conceived by the leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, serves as a platform for support for terrorism and other violence against Israel and regularly includes virulent antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.
This year’s Quds Day protests — which came nearly six months into the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas that was triggered by the Palestinian terror group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel — were no different.
As they have done consistently over the last six months, anti-Israel protesters at Quds Day events across the US repeatedly characterized the violent actions of Hamas and other US-designated terrorist groups like Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Houthis (Ansar Allah) not as condemnable terrorism, but as admirable so-called “resistance.” In their speeches, chants, and signs, protestors called for Israel’s destruction and an end to Zionism. By engaging in this rhetoric, protesters also effectively vilified the vast majority of American Jews who view a connection to Israel as an important part of their Jewish identity.
Al Quds protests in Dearborn, MI and New York, NY were particularly notable for their size and the concerning, violent nature of the rhetoric used by speakers and attendees. Protesters in numerous other cities also expressed similarly problematic sentiments.
Dearborn Protesters Sing the Praises of Terrorists and Call for “Death” to Israel and America
At a Quds Day demonstration that attracted hundreds of attendees outside the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, MI on April 5, protesters chanted, in Arabic, “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.” A protester proudly displayed an image of Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini while others held signs with messages that included “The Zionist entity has no right to exist” and “From the river to the sea! Expel all occupiers.”
Activist Tarek Bazzi began the event by asking the crowd to pray for “the victory of the resistance” and referred to “the resistance fighters [who] engage in battle with this godless, satanic cancer that is called Israel.” Bazzi also stated that “the chant, ‘death to Israel,’ has become the most logical chant shouted across the world today.” He urged the crowd to use the occasion of Quds Day and the current Israel-Hamas war to “turn back to the real Islam…That Islam that taught the resistance to prepare whatever strength and whatever weaponry it can in order to confront and to deter the enemies of Allah.”
Shaykh Usama Abdulghani — a Dearborn-based imam and Islamic scholar who has a history of praising groups like Hamas and figures such as former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Qassim Soleimani — also spoke during the protest. Abdulghani proudly declared that “the Zionists are no match for the men of the resistance” and that “the resistance dismantled the myth of Israeli invincibility.”
Shaykh Usama Abdulghani speaks at the Al Quds Day protest in Dearborn, MI on April 5, 2024.
He further equated Israel with Nazis and praised not just Palestinian so-called “resistance,” but terrorist forces in other countries as well, for “doing the moral responsibility” of actively supporting Palestine and “pushing back against those monsters [Israel].” Abdulghani expanded on this sentiment later in his remarks when he explicitly named a number of recognized terrorist groups and their leaders:
- “We want to thank the resistance in Palestine. We want to thank Abu Obaida [spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas], Abu Hamza [spokesperson for the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)] and the Palestinian resistance…We kiss the hands of the Palestinian people who resisted and made this possible…We thank our brothers and sisters in Yemen — both Ansar Allah [aka the Houthis] and the leader of the resistance, Sayyid Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi [leader of the Houthis]. We thank all of them for doing their responsibility, their moral duty. We thank Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah [secretary-general of Hezbollah], we thank Hezbollah…We thank the Husayn of our time, Imam Khamenei [the current Supreme Leader of Iran]…Bless all of the martyrs, those who went recently and those who helped arm the resistance so that they'd be able to defend themselves and their families, like Haj' Qassem [aka Qassim Soleimani].”
Later at the Dearborn Quds Day protest, speaker Hassan Al-Thani told the crowd that “Palestinians have the full right to fight back and resist against their colonizers…Using any means necessary,” emphasizing that this “includes armed resistance.” Al-Thani added that “Palestinian liberation will happen through resistance, not through the UN [United Nations] or the polls or the ICJ [International Court of Justice]. Victory will be achieved through a resistance as God commands.” He also instructed those in the crowd to “be part of it and resist in any way that we can,” adding, “we must do whatever God has put at our disposal towards His cause, whether it's armed resistance or blocking off sea routes or halting oil exports, cutting ties, providing financial aid,” or taking other actions.
Support for Terrorism Also Marks Quds Day Protest in New York City
Another significant protest took place in New York, NY on April 5, beginning with speeches in Times Square and the repeated, open celebration of terrorism against Israel. The individual leading the protest opened her remarks by explaining the history of Al Quds Day, and the theme for this year’s demonstrations. Throughout her speech, she referenced the October 7 terrorist attack against Israel using the Hamas-designated name, “Al Aqsa Flood”:
“[Al Quds Day] is a day to specifically highlight the united resistance front that spans across the broader region. From Iran to Iraq, to Lebanon, to Yemen, to Syria…The official theme of Al Quds Day 2024 is…‘The Flood of Freedom.’ The theme flood of freedom honors the ongoing Al Aqsa Flood which has truly changed the equation on the ground forever and has hastened the termination date of the Zionist entity…One that has not only flooded the goals of the Zionist entity, but a flood that has rejuvenated the love of resistance and the remembrance of the martyrs in our hearts. This flood of liberation and freedom that spans across the entire resistance axis is what we honor during this Al Quds Day and throughout the rest of our existence.”
A speaker with the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) who also spoke at the New York demonstration stated: “Today on Al Quds Day, here and around the world, we affirm that we stand firmly with Palestine and with the resistance!…They are giving their lives to fight the evils of US imperialism and Zionism.” The PYM speaker added that, “Gaza is standing up for the world because they know what all of us should know by now: that there is no place in this world for the evil of Zionism and imperialism! There is no place in this world for the genocidal Israeli state…The Zionist entity will not survive.”
The crowd at the Al Quds Day protest in New York, NY on April 5, 2024.
Another speaker, representing the ANSWER Coalition, praised the “unfathomable bravery” and “fortitude” of the so-called “resistance,” while a speaker affiliated with the Bronx Anti-War Coalition stated: “Palestine will not be liberated by Western courts and institutions, but by revolutionary armed struggle and disruptive acts of international solidarity. So, only the Palestinian resistance and the axis of resistance can build a legitimate path towards total liberation of Palestine. And that is why we say: Long live the resistance!” Another speaker openly praised a US-designated terror group by name, stating: “We salute Hezbollah!”
In between speakers and later while marching through midtown Manhattan, the protesters repeatedly chanted: “Flood of Aqsa, Flood of Aqsa; We are with the Intifada” — referring in the first part of the chant to the Hamas-designated name for the October 7 attack on Israel, and in the second part to two historical periods in the late 1980s and early 2000s in which Palestinian terrorists committed indiscriminate acts of violence against Israelis. Other chants heard throughout the protest included: “Smash the settler Zionist state”; “Zionists you’ll remain no longer; Resistance is growing stronger”; “On the streets, we will flood; Honoring the martyrs’ blood”; and “Resistance is the only way.”
Other Quds Day Protests Nationwide
Beyond Dearborn and New York, other Quds Day protests in the US saw similar expressions of overt support for terror and extreme anti-Zionist and anti-Israel rhetoric.
A protester holds a sign that reads “End of Zionism = end of terrorism = peace” at the Al Quds Day protest in Dallas, TX on April 5, 2024.
In both Dallas, TX and Houston, TX on April 5, protesters held signs that vilified and called for an end to Zionism. These messages included: “Down with Zionism”; “End of Zionism = end of terrorism = peace”; “Zionism = genocide of babies, racism, apartheid, occupation, oppression”; and “Zionism and Jews are opposites; respect the Jews, oppose Zionists.” Also in Houston, a speaker characterized Zionism as a “cancerous tumor” and predicted that "it will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed.”
Another individual at the Houston protest stated that “[Al Quds Day] comes on the backdrop of the Al-Aqsa Flood from October 7, which effectively exposed the fallacy of the Zionist security and intelligence.” He lauded the “long, meticulously planned operation by the Gaza-based resistance group that crafted a new path in the Palestinian struggle for freedom from Zionist settler colonialism.” The speaker also praised the “formidable” actions by the “resistance movement” in other countries, alluding to both Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, commenting: “This captures what Quds Day is all about. It is a global movement from the west to the east for the people of Palestine.”
In Chicago, IL on April 5, a speaker affiliated with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) celebrated “the heroic Palestinian people and the axis of resistance,” stating that “they are blazing a new future. They are defeating the Zionists!” Drawing cheers from the crowd, the speaker added: “Let us all thank the Palestinian resistance for launching the Al Aqsa Flood. Liberation is at hand!”
At that same protest, a speaker affiliated with a local Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter similarly praised how “the axis of resistance has gained as much strength as it has.” A speaker affiliated with ANSWER Coalition stated: “The last six months have proven that the Palestinian resistance cannot and will not be defeated!”
Social media graphics posted by event organizers advertising the Al Quds Day protest in Boston, MA on April 5, 2024 call for the exclusion of Zionists and use the popular inverted red triangle symbol.
In Boston, MA on April 5, anti-Israel protesters used the occasion of Quds Day to target a touring performance by the Israeli-based dance company Vertigo at the Shubert Theatre. Posts advertising the protest declared: “ZIONISM IS NOT WELCOME HERE!…We send a clear message of rejection of Zionism! There is no space for Zionism in dance. There is no space for Zionism in Boston” and “As we honor Al Quds day, it is our duty to reject ALL forms of normalisation [sic] with the Zionist entity.” The protest was co-sponsored by groups that included the local chapters of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), ANSWER Coalition, as well as BDS Boston and various Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters from local universities.
Protesters picketed outside the venue before the performance, with one of the protesters declaring over a megaphone: “We are not just protesting normalization, but we are also honoring our lands, and Al Quds, and all of our martyrs. Glory to the martyrs and glory to the Palestinian resistance!”
Another protester waved a flag and wore a headband bearing the logo of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a US-designated terrorist group. Others carried signs with messages that included “Resistance is the future; Down with ‘Israel’” and “Ceasefire isn’t enough; Palestine needs victory.”
At the Washington, DC Al Quds Day protest on April 6, a speaker from the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) claimed: “Never has it been more clear that Zionism is a disgusting, depraved, genocidal ideology and movement.” She added: “Israel is a failed project; no matter what they do, we will all bear witness to its inevitable demise.”
Al Quds Day protests also took place in Atlanta, GA; Paterson, NJ; Providence, RI; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA and other cities.
A sign seen at the Al Quds Day protest in Seattle, WA on April 5, 2024 with the slogan “Resistance is justified when people are occupied” and an inverted red triangle symbol to signal a call for the destruction of Israel.