Temple Mount riots prompt NYC rallies in support of Palestinians

Demonstration calls to ‘globalize the intifada’ • BDS: Eradicate Zionism

A rally to support “Palestinian resistance” is set to be held by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement NGOs at the Israeli consulate in New York City on Wednesday, as Arab rioters continue to clash with Israeli police on the Temple Mount.

The Wednesday protest is entitled an “emergency rally to support Palestinian resistance and liberation by any means necessary.” Organizers also noted on a social media advertisement for Wednesday’s rally that “Zionism has no place in Palestine and it must be eradicated to achieve full liberation.”

“A rally to support ‘resistance’ by ‘any means necessary’ is an open call to violence in the streets of New York City,” warned Israeli writer Emily Schrader. She called on the New York Police Department to shut down the event before it ended in “bloodshed against the local Jewish community.”

“Join us to demand an end to the ongoing Nakba [1948 catastrophe] and escalation of Zionist colonial violence at al-Aqsa and all of Palestine and declare your support for the heroic Palestinian resistance defending Palestinian people and land, and their right to resist until liberation and return, by any means necessary,” wrote protest organizers Within Our Lifetime (WOL) and the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM).

The organizers decried Israeli security forces’ operations to quell riots on the Temple Mount, claiming that “hundreds of Palestinians continue to be attacked, shot at, beaten, and prevented from worshiping by Zionist occupation forces. Christians and Muslims alike are risking their lives just to be able to worship.”

Both WOL and PYM have shared a large amount of social media content glorifying the actions of what PYM called “the protectors of al-Aqsa.” Police have clashed with Arab rioters since Friday when they gathered stones and other objects to throw down at Jewish worshipers and security forces.

Rioters have continued to physically assault and stone Jewish worshipers, and police have made multiple forays onto the Temple Mount to make arrests and disrupt violent gatherings.

On Sunday, WOL shared a photo of some suspects after they had been arrested, claiming that “nearly 500 Palestinians have been arrested since Friday while attempting to pray at al-Aqsa.”

PYM praised the efforts of the rioters, and said they “honor their resistance.” The group also organized a separate rally on Monday at the Israeli consulate in Montreal, tweeting “all out for al-Aqsa,” and demanding “Hands off al-Aqsa” in promotional content.

Besides WOL and PYM, Decolonize This Place, Existence is Resistance and Samidoun are also involved with the rally.

The Wednesday protest is part of the “10 Days of Struggle for the Palestinian Prisoners’ Liberation” campaign led by the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which began on the annual Palestinian Prisoner’s Day on April 17.

The campaign calls for participating activists and groups to organize rallies for Palestinian prisoners. The prisoners championed by Samidoun are often terrorists or connected to terrorist organizations. Samidoun itself is designated by Israel as an affiliate of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist group.

Led by Nerdeen Kiswani, WOL held a protest in front of the Friends of the IDF offices on March 30. Protesters chanted “Globalize the Intifada,” and “There is only one solution, Intifada, revolution.”

Both the rallies and the clashes followed a wave of high-profile Palestinian terrorist attacks that have left more than a dozen killed and dozens more wounded. The attacks have been met by Israeli forces with increased security. The tension has been compounded as Passover and Ramadan, which are concurrent this year, are often periods of increased Palestinian terrorist activity.