‘Pro-Palestine’ Is a Cover for Anti-American – The American Spectator | USA News and PoliticsThe American Spectator

Does a “pro-Palestine” movement that incites violence and calls for the destruction of America, under the guise of championing human rights, deserve national sympathy?

In response to accusations of antisemitism, members of the “liberate Palestine” movement regularly claim that they are criticizing Israel’s actions, along with the United States’ alleged complicity, in the Palestinian territories.

While denouncing the actions of the Israeli government is not always antisemitic, a new report from the Capital Research Center proves that the claim of “just criticizing Israel” is not the goal.

The report, titled “When Charities Betray America: How ‘Pro-Palestinian’ Protest Groups Promote Anti-Americanism” (hereafter referred to as the “CRC report”), surveyed the social media posts of 496 “pro-Palestinian” organizations and activists, many connected to charities. It found a “3,000 percent surge in calls for violence” and a “186 percent increase in the use of anti-American and anti-police phrases” since October 2023.

The so-called “pro-Palestine” movement has finally revealed its true agenda: to deny the United States’ right to exist and to promote violence and domestic unrest in the West. While saying a group “wants to destroy America” often feels alarmist and polarizing, it’s hard to deny these charitable groups are pursuing an anti-American agenda, given the evidence.

The writers of the CRC report note they don’t “concede” that these extremist groups care about innocent Palestinians. Instead, these groups use popular causes and inject anti-Americanism, anti-Israelism, and antisemitism into their activism as they side with the West’s adversaries.

The CRC report unveils how many “pro-Palestine” groups registered as 501(c)(s) charities push messages to stir up civil unrest. Within our Lifetime (WOL) leadership has taken anti-American rhetoric to a new level. WOL founder, Nerdeen Kiswani, posted on X that the United States “would not exist” without “continuously massacre/rape/pillage the global south.” Also, WOL organizer, Fatima Mohammed, said on X that “the United States of America’s foreign policy is the greatest threat to humanity.” Numerous organizations also claimed that Mohammed said on X that she prays for the death of the United States. However, these posts appear to be from an old account that has been deleted.

Another group, Columbia United Apartheid Divest (CUAD), connected to protests at Columbia University, called for the “end of Western civilization,” according to the New York Post. While some have disputed the existence of this post, a report from OSINT suggests it is likely real.

Even if the post is not real, the CRC report shows that the sentiment to destroy the West is pervasive in the “pro-Palestine” movement. The report hits on anti-American messaging, up a thousand-fold since October 7. Such messages include “AmeriKKKa” (up 3,400 percent), “bring the war home” (up 3,000 percent), and “pigs” in reference to police officers (up 1,088 percent).

Unfortunately, the reach of these activists has gone far. The CRC report notes that “pro-Palestinian” movement’s anti-American posts after October 7 “had over 23 million views on X and TikTok and 4.2 million engagements in the form of comments, likes, and shares on those platforms.”

Another troubling term that has risen is “Turtle Island,” which is a mythical land that some native traditions hold once encompassed North America. These activists are now using it as a dog whistle to suggest the U.S. has no right to exist. The CRC report shared an Instagram post from Jewish Voice for Peace, which called readers on the Fourth of July to consider the parallels between “Turtle Island” and Palestine. These so-called parallels include genocide, land theft, and environmental destruction.

Any hypocrisy on the part of the founders of Western tradition cannot eradicate the transcendental truths that undergird the American tradition, such as the equality of all men and their natural right to life, liberty, and property. Protesters’ attempts to condemn the West based on these principles attack their own moral foundation.

Rather than championing solutions that bring peace to and improve the lives of Palestinians, the CRC report highlights how these charitable organizations use slogans like “Bring the War Home” and “Globalize the Intifada” to incite violence here in the United States.

It would be careless to say that radicals constitute the majority of the often disorganized “pro-Palestine” movement. Breaking down the exact divide between radical and moderate protesters is difficult to impossible. However, as the CRC report shows, the leadership behind the majority of pro-Palestine charities is pushing radicalized messages, and thus, radicals possess an outsized influence.

The moderates, in contrast, can be broken into two categories. A smaller minority of voices recognize their movement’s problems with radicalism and antisemitism, along with a bigger segment of moderates who seem either unaware of or ignore the radicals. These are the people who chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” but when asked what “river” and what “sea” are, they offer only blank expressions.

There’s also a stark contrast between the messaging of these groups. The moderates often support a two-state solution or naively suggest the creation of a bilateral state where Israelis and Palestinians will maintain peaceful coexistence, despite spending the better part of a century in bitter opposition to each other.

Contrast this with the radicals who have been seen telling Jews to “go back to Poland” or suggesting that Israel be violently dismantled. It’s one thing to push a bilateral state naively, it’s quite another to march arm in arm with radicals who want to push the same violence upon Jews that they claim Israel uses against Palestinians.

Palestinians who don’t support Hamas and want to peacefully coexist with Israel deserve a better movement than what currently exists. Moderate “pro-Palestine” activists must separate themselves from and sternly denounce the radicals who push anti-Israel, anti-American, and antisemitic sentiment. Until they do so, the “pro-Palestine” movement’s ability to advocate for a better future for Palestinians will remain compromised.

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Aviv Nathanael Phipps is an alumnus of the Middle East Politics and History Fellowship at Young Voices. He also works in political marketing and teaches Hebrew school in Arlington, Virginia.