Jewish Americans are preparing to mourn the Israeli lives lost to Hamas terrorists on Monday, the one-year anniversary of the brutal Oct. 7 massacre, but don’t expect pro-Palestinian protesters to take the day off.
Instead of standing down, anti-Israel groups are ramping up, marking the year since the horrific slaughter of 1,200 Israeli civilians and others with rallies, vigils and walkouts decrying the Israeli military offensive and calling for Palestinian “liberation.”
Some of the protesters aren’t bothering to hide their pro-Hamas sympathies.
“This October marks one year since our people in Gaza showed the world that the colonized can fight against their colonizer and win,” the Palestinian Youth Movement’s New York City chapter posted Saturday on Instagram. “We know that Palestine will be victorious.”
Jewish organizations have condemned the timing of the protests, accusing anti-Israel groups of seeking to defile the somber anniversary by diverting attention from the terrorist attack, which also saw 254 people kidnapped.
The Anti-Defamation League blasted anti-Israel protesters at U.S. universities for “desecrating 10/7,” while Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs, called the planned events “astounding.”
“As we approach the one-year mark since the gruesome kidnappings and massacres of October 7, it is astounding to see people rally in support of the barbaric terrorism perpetrated by Iran and its proxies who have sworn to eradicate the state of Israel and its people,” Ms. Rothstein said.
Leading the Oct. 7 protest charge on campus is the National Students for Justice in Palestine, which has declared a “Week of Rage” at universities starting Monday to “mark a year of genocide in Gaza” and “fight for the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
Sacha Roytman, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, said Oct. 7 “should be a time for unity and remembrance — not an occasion for perpetuating the very hatred that led to this tragedy.”
“Unfortunately, organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) are organizing pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses instead, which risks inflaming tensions and detracting from the need for reflection and healing,” he said in a statement.
Pro-Palestinian groups organizing off campus include Within Our Lifetime, which has called for mass worker and student walkouts Monday in New York City as part of its “Flood New York City for Palestine” protest.
John Ondrasik, the Five for Fighting singer, responded to the event on X: “How depraved and broken does one have to be to create a holiday celebrating the atrocities of Oct 7th.”
Pro-Gaza advocates argue that Oct. 7 represents the start of what they call the “genocide,” referring to Israel’s decision to declare war on Hamas in reaction to the massacre, although Israeli forces didn’t invade Gaza until Oct. 27, two weeks after warning residents to evacuate.
Jewish groups have organized a host of commemorative events, including a memorial at Times Square in New York City, but they worry that their somber reflections will be overshadowed by the noisier pro-Gaza crowds — or that the rallies will devolve into antisemitic celebrations of Hamas.
“Let’s make things clear: waving Palestinian/Hamas/Hezbollah flags and holding demonstrations on October 7 is like waving Nazi flags on Holocaust Remembrance Day,” Mr. Roytman posted on X. “This date marks the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, committed by Palestinian terrorists. This isn’t advocacy — it’s a betrayal of human decency.”
Let’s make things clear: waving Palestinian/Hamas/Hezbollah flags and holding demonstrations on October 7 is like waving Nazi flags on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
— Sacha Roytman (@SachaRoytman) October 5, 2024
This date marks the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, committed by Palestinian terrorists. This isn’t… pic.twitter.com/UgXOteCEdt
Events linked to Oct. 7 began over the weekend. Pro-Palestinian groups held “One Year of Genocide, One Year of Resistance” protests Saturday outside the White House and in Times Square, part of an “International Day of Action.”
There was mayhem at the White House rally when Phoenix photojournalist Samuel Mena lit his arm on fire in what he described on his blog as a show of solidarity with Palestinian children. The flames were quickly extinguished by police and bystanders, as shown on video at the scene.
His employer, CBS affiliate KTVK/KPHO, known as Arizona’s Family, said he was not on assignment during the protest and has since been fired.
The anniversary has law enforcement and campus police on alert for security threats.
“We will be present and highly visible on campus,” David Carlisle, University of Southern California assistant public safety chief, said in a statement. “We’ve also coordinated with LAPD to have additional resources from LAPD stationed around campus to make sure that the campus itself is being safe for students, faculty, staff and visitors.”
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned Friday that the anniversary “may be a motivating factor for violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators to engage in violence or threaten public safety.”
The planned protests have also spurred free-speech issues. The University of Maryland nixed an SJP vigil over safety concerns, but a federal judge blocked the cancellation last week on First Amendment grounds.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said afterward that while he respects the court’s ruling, “I think Oct. 7 is an inappropriate date for such an event.”
Wake Forest University canceled an Oct. 7 speech by Rabab Abdulhadi, a San Francisco State University professor, after Jewish students circulated a petition raising objections to the academic, calling her a “self-described Hamas sympathizer.”
Wake Forest said in a Sept. 26 statement that it had decided not to host events on Oct. 7 that are “inherently contentious and stand to stoke division in our campus community.”
Cornell Law School professor William Jacobson predicted that the show of anti-Israel antipathy timed to the Oct. 7 attack would ultimately backfire on protesters.
“While SJP should not be permitted to engage in acts of physical intimidation, I don’t support repressing SJP’s October 7 massacre celebrations,” Mr. Jacobson said. “It is better that their hate and venom be on full display for all to see, so we can finally address the rot that has infected a portion of our student body and the culpability of faculty.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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