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On the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack, as Jews mourned the deadliest massacre since the Holocaust, cities around the world filled with demonstrations that glorified the terrorists instead of commemorating the victims.
Organizers claimed their demonstrations aimed to spotlight what they called a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to advocate for Palestinian rights, according to Reuters. Yet since October 7–8, 2023, the world saw numerous protests demonizing Israel while celebrating Hamas’s atrocities.
New York City: Extremism on Display
In Manhattan, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Israeli Consulate and through Midtown streets in a march organized by the radical group Within Our Lifetime (WOL). The rally was promoted under the slogan “Flood NYC for Gaza,” a direct echo of Hamas’s name for its October 7, 2023 massacre — “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” in which 1,200 people were murdered and more than 250 abducted.
🚨 Flood New York City For Gaza 🇵🇸
📅 Tuesday, October 7th
⏰ 4:30 PM
📍 Newscorp – 1211 6th Avenue
📣 Call out of work, walkout of school, and take the streets!Honor the martyrs of Gaza and all of Palestine. For 77 years israel has waged genocide against the Palestinian… pic.twitter.com/DypurkL9Qb
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) October 3, 2025
At the front of the march, flags bearing the symbols of terrorist organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) were openly displayed, according to footage published by WOL on X. The green Hamas flag was waved prominently at the head of the crowd and appeared again behind Muslim worshipers as they prayed before the march. Another flag bore the image of Abu Obeida, the masked spokesman of Hamas’s Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades who was killed in an Israeli airstrike at the end of August.
Demonstrators also carried banners reading “Glory to our martyrs,” featuring the red inverted triangle used in Hamas propaganda videos to mark enemy targets; others declared “Globalize the Intifada,” “There Is Only One Solution: Intifada Revolution,” “Resisting the Nakba Since 1948,” “Victory to the Resistance.”
NYC stands with Palestine 🇵🇸 ❤️
📍Columbus Circle pic.twitter.com/tFkQApnsPY
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) October 7, 2025
Other signs read “Gaza is bleeding” and “U.S. and Israel — your hands are red.”
Crowds waving Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyehs chanted “Long live the intifada” and “Death to the IDF” as they marched through Midtown.
Adding to the glorification of terror, the Bronx Anti-War Coalition announced it would hold a vigil the following week for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, describing him as “leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades and architect of Al-Aqsa Flood — the greatest military operation of the century which globalized the intifada.” The coalition urged supporters to “study Sinwar’s strategy” and adopt Gaza’s “resistance” as a model. Sinwar was killed by IDF troops last October.
Next Thursday there is a vigil for slain October 7 Massacre architect Yahya Sinwar in New York.
Seems it is being organized by the Bronx Anti-War Coalition. pic.twitter.com/wCEspuDikg
— Michael Starr (@StarrJpost) October 7, 2025
What unfolded in New York mirrored a wider global pattern: the normalization of antisemitism and open glorification of terror, echoing Hamas propaganda and eroding moral boundaries in public discourse.
The New York Police Department deployed heightened security at synagogues, Jewish schools, and cultural centers citywide.
Protest Waves Across Continents
Across cities worldwide, October 7 saw coordinated protests combining mass marches, student walkouts, and symbolic acts. Demonstrations took place in Sydney, London, Paris, Geneva, Athens, Istanbul, Stockholm, Tokyo, and Jakarta.
In London, hundreds of students gathered at King’s College waving Palestinian flags and shouting “Israel is a terrorist state.”
Activists in Amsterdam splashed red paint on the Royal Palace in protest over a rally ban.
On the other side of the globe, in Sydney’s Bankstown suburb, organizers staged a “glory to our martyrs” event that NSW Premier Chris Minns condemned as “shockingly insensitive.”
In Melbourne, pro-Hamas graffiti appeared reading “Glory to Hamas” and “Oct 7 do it again.”
In several cities, protesters repeated “From the river to the sea,” a slogan widely criticized as calling for Israel’s elimination.
Today, on the day that two of my family members were brutally murdered 2 years ago, I am appalled and shocked by the abhorrent pro-Hamas graffiti seen across Melbourne.
To celebrate Hamas is to celebrate rape, murder, and mutilation.
Urging them to “do it again” is to endorse… pic.twitter.com/6dZ4VsYY5X
— Amir Maimon (@MaimonAmir) October 7, 2025
Elsewhere, in Istanbul and Athens, marchers waved Palestinian flags and chanted in solidarity with Gaza.
Universities in London and other UK cities became protest hubs, with walkouts and marches between faculties.
Meanwhile, Berlin marked the day differently. Mourners gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, placing chairs with photos of victims and hostages and stones in a solemn vigil. that echoed Jewish remembrance traditions. The quiet memorial stood in stark contrast to nearby demonstrations echoing anti-Israel slogans.
Political Leaders Issue Warnings
In New South Wales, Premier Chris Minns called the Sydney protest’s timing “shockingly insensitive.” He warned it could be perceived as glorifying terrorism.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the demonstrations as “un-British,” saying they were wrong “on the anniversary of the atrocities of October 7.”
Just a week earlier, on Yom Kippur, a terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester, England, left two people dead and others wounded, underscoring how the past two years of anti-Israel demonization have emboldened violence against Jews.
That such an attack occurred on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, spoke to the same moral inversion driving the October 7 anniversary protests — hatred so unrestrained that even sacred moments of mourning, remembrance, and repentance have become targets.
Why These Protests Are Dangerous
These demonstrations threaten to rewrite history. Holding anti-Israel demonstrations on October 7 legitimizes narratives that celebrate the mass murder of Jews.
Such actions violate the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, which includes “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the State of Israel.” Protests timed to the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, and marked by slogans equating Israel with terrorism, cross that line unmistakably.
These demonstrations glorify violence, deepen Jewish fear, and erode the moral boundaries that separate political expression from hate. When rallies equate Jewish self-defense with “genocide” or celebrate Hamas as “resistance,” it is antisemitism — plain and simple.
Governments and institutions must confront this not as a free speech issue but as a matter of public safety and civil rights. Allowing such rallies on October 7 is complicity in the normalization of antisemitism.
Two years after October 7, New York’s streets filled with chants for a “Global Intifada,” praise for Hamas, and open support for terror in the heart of America.
A disgrace. pic.twitter.com/b0W9vaTM4o
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) October 8, 2025
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.
