Thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators rallied in Manhattan on Saturday afternoon, calling for a “global intifada” — a phrase widely understood to mean the destruction of Israel and mass violence against Jews worldwide.
Protesters carried signs reading “Free Palestine” and “Defeat imperialist/Zionist genocidal war-makers” as they marched through Bryant Park in New York City.
The rally was organized by several far-left and anti-Israel groups, including the ANSWER Coalition, the Democratic Socialists of America, CodePink, the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
In attendance was Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student who became infamous after his March detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for organizing anti-Israel protests on campus
Addressing the Manhattan rally, Khalil accused Israel of “systematically and deliberately” destroying Gaza.
“And they’re doing it with American bombs, with American cover, with American tax money — your money,” he told cheering demonstrators.
Khalil earned his master’s degree from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs in December 2024 and previously worked for the UN Relief Works Agency, which has faced accusations of Hamas infiltration. He spent over a hundred days in federal custody on terrorism-related charges before winning release in June when a judge deemed the arrest violated due process.
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the coalition Khalil represented, describes itself as comprising over 80 student groups and has explicitly praised “violent resistance” against the Jewish State.
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