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Anti-Israel activists protested outside United Nations Headquarters in New York City on Tuesday, waving flags of terrorist groups and chanting for “intifada,” as several countries moved to recognize a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly.
The crowd, organized by the radical group Within Our Lifetime, pounded on drums and shouted, “There is only one solution, intifada revolution” and “It is right to rebel, Israel go to hell.”
Protest signs declared, “Free the earth! Free Palestine!” and “Palestinian liberation and return, by any means necessary.” Others carried openly antisemitic slogans, including one sign reading “F* Israel.”*
Terrorist Imagery on Display
Several participants brandished paraphernalia associated with U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. A man wore a Hamas headband, another donned the insignia of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), while others waved flags depicting Hamas spokesperson Abu Obaida — who Israeli officials say was killed in a recent airstrike — and the Hezbollah logo.
Unlike other demonstrations in the city, pro-Israel counter-protesters were absent because the rally coincided with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Protesters heckled a lone pro-Israel attendee, falsely insisting there are “zero civilian hostages” in Gaza. In reality, Israeli civilians — including 23-year-old Alon Ohel, abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023 — remain in Hamas captivity nearly two years later.
ALL OUT RIGHT NOW 🌍 FLOOD THE U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR GAZA 🇵🇸
📍E 46 st and 2 Ave
The UN was built to delay and contain our struggles for liberation, and its complicity in Gaza’s genocide with over 600,000 Palestinians killed is undeniable. No more cover ups, no more… pic.twitter.com/Y6Q3au8baB
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) September 23, 2025
Slogans That Incite Antisemitic Violence
The chants at Tuesday’s rally were not expressions of political dissent — they were direct calls for violence against Jews. Phrases such as “intifada revolution” invoke past waves of deadly terror attacks targeting Israeli civilians. Declaring “It is right to rebel, Israel go to hell” dehumanizes Jews collectively and erases their right to safety and self-determination.
Slogans demanding “liberation…by any means necessary” legitimize terrorism and murder. Coupled with displays of Hamas and Hezbollah symbols, these chants send a clear message: killing Jews and destroying Israel is not only permissible, but desirable.
Such rhetoric does not stop at Israel’s borders. It emboldens extremists worldwide, fuels antisemitic attacks, and increases the threat to Jewish communities globally.
UN Scheduling Sends Exclusionary Message
The protest coincided with the UN’s decision to hold a high-level General Assembly session on Gaza during Rosh Hashanah — a move that excluded Jewish representatives from crucial deliberations.
Sacha Roytman, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), condemned the decision. “The scheduling of a major Gaza meeting on Rosh Hashanah is not an oversight but rather a blatant act of exclusion,” he told The Free Beacon. “It tells Jews worldwide that their faith, their holy days, and even their very presence are irrelevant. By deliberately silencing Jewish voices at the very moment when decisions about Israel — the world’s only Jewish state — are being discussed, the UN is sending a chilling message: that Israel and the people it represents are unwelcome at the table.”
Incitement From Protest Leaders
Within Our Lifetime issued a statement accusing the UN of complicity in a so-called “genocide” in Gaza and claiming a fabricated death toll of more than 600,000 Palestinians.. Group leader Nerdeen Kiswani told the crowd, “The first thing the United Nations ever did was partition Palestine and colonize our land by massacring our people.” In reality, the UN Partition Plan of 1947 was accepted by the Jewish leadership but rejected by the Palestinian leadership, who chose war instead of compromise.
She further dismissed recent recognitions of Palestinian statehood by France, the UK, Australia, and Canada, declaring, “They think they can fool us by states recognizing Palestine but we know this is not liberation.”
The rally, branded as “Flood the UN General Assembly,” grotesquely echoed Hamas’ name for the October 7 massacre, “The Al Aqsa Flood.” More than 40 organizations endorsed the event, including CAIR New York, National Students for Justice in Palestine, and CodePink.
Broader UN Context
Opening the General Assembly earlier in the day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres attacked Israel’s policies in Gaza, saying, “In Gaza, the horrors are approaching a third monstrous year.” His remarks fueled the narrative that anti-Israel groups outside seized upon to justify their incitement.
Activists have also announced plans for a larger demonstration on Friday, timed to coincide with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the UN.
When rallies adopt terrorist slogans, glorify extremist groups, and call for “intifada” or “liberation by any means necessary,” they are not engaging in free expression but in dangerous incitement. These chants echo past terror campaigns, endorse present-day violence, and embolden future attacks against Jews worldwide. Combined with the UN’s deliberate scheduling of key debates on Rosh Hashanah, the message is unmistakable: Jewish voices are being deliberately sidelined, even as antisemitic hatred is amplified on the world stage.
Take Action
CAM has launched Report It — a secure app to report antisemitic incidents anonymously and in real time. Don’t stay silent — download it today on the Apple Store or Google Play. See it. Report it. Stop it. Together, we can fight this hate.
