Pro-Palestinians seek to undermine US from within - opinion

In May, the People’s Conference for Palestine took place in Detroit, Michigan, under the ominous banner “The Palestinian war on America has begun: Bringing the war home.”

The keynote speaker, Taher Herzallah, a member of American Muslims for Palestine, warned: “The near future will be difficult; the liberation struggle demands sacrifice, but I know that everyone here is ready to sacrifice themselves.”

Listening to his alarming statements, it is hard to fathom how a man preaching for the destruction of America could speak so openly without facing legal consequences.

Breakthrough News, a YouTube channel, released a report on Palestinian movements in the United States supporting terrorist organizations and advocating for a revolution aimed at reshaping American society politically and socially, even through violent means.

The conference saw about 3,000 attendees from over 100 Islamist organizations. Speakers celebrated the October 7 massacre and called for resistance against the West, with a vision of destroying America from within.

Herzallah continued, saying, “The Palestinians who came to the United States understood their role immediately upon arrival.”

Additionally, Celine Qasini of the Youth Movement for Palestine declared, “We will fight until victory in America and the West. We will be here in the streets, on our campuses, in our classrooms, at our workplaces, every day.”

The “Movement for Palestine in North America and Worldwide,” a violent movement that has been growing for decades, now has increasingly more adherents, posing a rising threat to the West.

The movement is composed of groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), and others.

Alarm bells

This article aims to sound the alarm about what appears to be the greatest threat to Western security since the rise of the Nazi Party.

Following October 7, anti-Israel groups in America have gained momentum, seeing the massacre as an opportunity to increase hostility towards Jews and the US.

During a major demonstration in Michigan, chants called for “burning” the United States and Israel.

While legitimizing Hamas’ brutal assault, activists marched openly with expressions of hatred toward Jews, and support for acts of vandalism, and violence across Michigan’s streets and campuses. Flags of terrorist organizations were raised, and protesters shouted: “We are Hamas; death to the Jews and America.”

Participants celebrated the brutality of the worst massacre since World War II, drawing inspiration from the barbaric terrorism carried out by Hamas on October 7, with which it declared a war to annihilate Israel.

By October 8, terror-supporting organizations declared war on Jews and America. “It’s time to bring the war home, to America; it’s time to crush this empire,” the frenzied crowds shouted.

The terror-supporting movements aim not only at the destruction of Jews and Israel but to target America itself.

WRAPPED IN a keffiyeh, Mohammed Nabulsi of the Youth for Palestine Movement incited the crowd: “We are here in the belly, the heart of the imperialist beast, here in North America, in the US, America is the enemy, it is the beast.”

Tanya Tanous from the PYM in the US added, “The next mission is to strike at the heart of the empire.”

“All means are acceptable for this purpose,” said Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Council.

The PYM is considered one of the most dangerous organizations to Israel operating overseas.

A study by Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry revealed connections between the PYM, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Hamas.

Like SJP, the largest anti-Israel student organization in the US. PYM has been found to collaborate with the PFLP.

This joint activity includes public support for the organization and its leaders, meetings with convicted terrorists, and cooperation with linked groups such as Samidoun, the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, designated as a terrorist organization in Israel, the US, and Canada.

Following October 7, the PYM has publicly supported terrorism, and its demonstrations feature antisemitic and anti-Zionist slogans, inciting violence and a global intifada.

The movement is a leading force behind the international Shut It Down For Palestine initiative that organizes disruptive actions across various locations, shutting down businesses, and calling for a boycott of Columbia University under the pretense of promoting “academic freedom.”

Efforts to track down the movement’s leaders have only been partially successful, as it does not disclose council members’ names or roles, likely to avoid government action.

Qatari funding

The success of anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protests on US campuses is linked to their highly organized and well-funded nature.

In July 2020, Najat Al-Said, a researcher from the United Arab Emirates, published an article in Al-Hurra titled, “Qatar and the Funding of American Universities.”

She described a strange alliance between the American radical Left and Muslim Brotherhood activists, funded by Qatar. Al-Said claimed that an increasing number of academics and students associated with this left-Muslim Brotherhood alliance are taking over free thought in American universities.

Funding for the alliance between the Left and the Muslim Brotherhood comes mainly from Qatar. Al-Said cited shocking data from the US Department of Education, which revealed that American educational institutions received over $1.3 billion in foreign funding in 2019, primarily from Qatar.

In 2012, the Qatari International Education Foundation spent at least $1.5 billion funding initiatives at 28 universities across America, becoming the largest external funder of education in the US.

Al-Said also disclosed that Qatar spends $405 million annually funding activities at six American universities with branches in Doha. Qatar leverages its sponsored activities and funded research to spread Islamist ideology in line with its policies.

A 2020 official report by the US Department of Education warned that numerous donations to American academic institutions come from openly hostile sources.

On dozens of campuses now opening for the fall semester, there are calls for masked rallies supporting “Palestine.” Alarmingly, many groups have moved from calling for protests and setting up protest camps to tolerating violence and the “complete eradication of Western culture.”

The aim of these young American pro-terror groups is to create a political and social crisis in American society by shutting down airports, streets, and bridges.

They seek to destabilize the foundations of American society. The brainwashing of young Muslims – and others – is the beginning of a crisis, the outcome of which cannot be predicted.

If US authorities do not act to dismantle these extremist groups and imprison their radical leaders, some of these brainwashed youth may become leaders in the next generation.

Their goal is to reach elected offices and lay the groundwork for a major Islamic revolution.

The threat is not theoretical. Any American who does not share their vision is a potential target.

The writer is CEO of Radios 100FM, honorary consul general of Nauru, vice dean of the Consular Corps, and president of the Israeli Radio Broadcasters Association.