If you thought the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic protesters of 2023 were only ever going to complain about the actions of a foreign government, you’ll be in for a rude shock. Far from backing down, two new studies by the Capital Research Center (CRC) show that the unsavory elements behind the pro-Hamas movement are now rebranding into a radical, violent, anti-police movement. Their goal: to use racial tension and outrage over police misconduct to legitimize defunding, abolishing, and outright killing the police.
CRC’s most recent study, When Charities Betray America: How “Pro-Palestinian” Protest Groups Promote Anti-Americanism, found that 500 of the most significant anti-Israel organizations and activists in the U.S have increased their anti-police and anti-American rhetoric cumulatively by 186% in the 15 months before and after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023. The word “pig” alone has increased inusage by 1,088%. The pro-terrorism non-profit U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, which has 329 groups listed in its network, even suggests using protest signs that read, “ABOLISH THE POLICE AND FREE PALESTINE.” That couldn’t be any clearer.
This, unfortunately, is not new. An earlier CRC study, Marching Towards Violence: The Domestic Anti-Israeli Protest Movement, identified over 150 pro-terrorism and terror-linked organizations, including actual domestic terrorist groups and many non-profits, who frequently (albeit indirectly) justified terrorist attacks on police officers by praising October 7 perpetrators like Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine for attacking Israeli military and police personnel and then equating American law enforcement with the Israelis. They assert that the Israeli and U.S. authorities are jointly committing a “genocide” of minorities, each warranting a similar response.
When you look at specific groups, the picture grows far worse: One of the groups with the most significant online presences is Unity of Fields, the American wing of the U.K.-based Palestine Action. In September, this group declared, “all Zionists, police & surveillance infrastructure are legitimate targets,” and left no doubt that it meant “target” in the most literal sense by displaying the Hamas-associated upside-down red triangle symbol. The triangle is used in Hamas’ published combat footage to show viewers the enemy target it is attacking. Another pro-Hamas group that arguably qualifies as a domestic terrorist group, Within Our Lifetime, also consistently glorifies protestors’ attacks on police and resisting arrests.
But by far the most alarming group to embrace this new strategy is Students for Justice in Palestine’s, a massive organization which has declared itself to be a literal part of Hamas and the other terrorist groups involved in the October 7 attacks. Yet now, its social media channels have taken a different tack: excusing and even glorifying violence against police.
As just one example, when SJP’s UCLA chapter learned of an imminent police crackdown on its encampment, it held a “Dealing with Cops” workshop that included “self-defense training.” In another incident, Carrie Zarema, an SJP spokesperson, was caught distributing a Google Drive link with over 200 terrorism-related files, including instructional guides related to resisting and evading arrest, weaponry, combat, rioting, taking over buildings, and various other guerilla-style militant actions that qualify as acts of terrorism.
If you read “Pro-Palestinian” chats and published documents, the reason for this shift becomes obvious. A memo that Haters Café published was reposted by Sprout Disinfo and then widely distributed online within the “pro-Palestinian” community urged protestors to strategically adopt the “Black liberation” cause at all of their demonstrations:
“The breaking of the Gaza wall is reminiscent of the destruction of the 3rd precinct in Minneapolis…. In the United States, the first step for Palestine Solidarity is to make its position clear on Black liberation.”
In other words, the radicals know the Palestine issue will fade from the headlines, whereas the anti-police movement and racial tensions will always be relevant. They can retain the infrastructure they’ve built and attract militant allies by integrating it into the anti-police movement and then reel it into their cause when they are able to. They are determined to last; it is equally imperative that those with the power to stop them know how to prevent that.
Ryan Mauro is an investigative researcher for the Capital Research Center.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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