Pro-Palestine demonstrations are escalating across the globe, culminating in violence in some areas. In New York City, a pro-Palestine rally hosted on Saturday resulted in a clash with police when some 5,000 protestors reportedly refused to leave a street they were occupying. The New York City Police Department confirmed that at least 19 protestors were arrested, following 139 being arrested the day before.
On Wednesday, police arrested hundreds of pro-Palestine protestors occupying a congressional office building in Washington, D.C. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) spoke to the protestors, encouraging what Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called an “insurrection.”
On Thursday night’s episode of “Washington Watch,” former congresswoman Michele Bachmann commented, “[I]t shows really the failure of cultural diversity. We were all told, ‘Diversity is our strength, diversity of religion is our strength.’ That isn’t true. That isn’t what the Founders said. The Founders believed very strongly in religious tolerance, but on the foundation of a Judeo-Christian heritage that’s been pushed out by these leftists, by people like Rashida Tlaib.”
She added, “The goal of Hamas is to conquer, they want to conquer Israel, they want to conquer the globe with Islam. She’s a part of that same view.” Concerns over pro-Palestine rallies have been heightened since former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal issued a call for a global jihad less than two weeks ago.
The pro-Palestine rallies haven’t been limited to the U.S. In London, pro-Palestine rallies have been going on since Wednesday, when an “emergency protest” was organized outside Downing Street after the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza was destroyed Tuesday evening. Reports indicate that the hospital was likely struck by a stray rocket that was fired by terrorists within Gaza. Protests and rallies have continued across the city. Muslims gathered outside the Egyptian embassy in London on Saturday calling for “Muslim armies” to wage war and free Palestine. Pro-Palestine rioters have clashed with police in Trafalgar Square and Marble Arch too, where police estimate at least 100,000 protestors showed up. U.K. Reform Party deputy leader Ben Habib called the predominantly-Muslim protests an “existential threat” to Britain’s identity.
Pro-Palestine rallies have taken place across the whole of Europe: in Paris, in Stockholm, in Dublin, in Warsaw, in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, in Sydney, Australia, and in Bucharest, Romania, despite European authorities banning pro-Palestine events and demonstrations.
In Berlin, Germany, police and protestors have been clashing for nearly a week. Riots began Wednesday, resulting in 65 police officers being injured and 174 protestors being arrested. A Jewish synagogue was firebombed, several cars were set on fire, and rioters chanted “Free Palestine” and “Allahu Akbar.” Police used riot gear and tear gas. Protests have continued for days, including mass Islamic prayer demonstrations outside the Brandenburg Gate on Saturday night. German-born former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger called the Muslim riots in his native country “painful,” adding, “It was a grave mistake to let in so many people of totally different cultures and religions and concepts…”
American conservatives have agreed, warning against accepting Palestinian refugees and urging that the nation’s southern border be controlled. For example, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s San Diego Field Office Intelligence Division issued a memo on Friday warning that Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Palestine-based terrorist organizations are likely to take advantage of the open U.S. border and attempt to infiltrate the country. The memo noted, “Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the U.S. to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico.” This follows news that illegal border crossings in fiscal year 2023 have reached nearly 2.5 million, surpassing 2022’s illegal border crossing record by an estimated 100,000.
S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.
