Mainstream News Coverage Omits Pro-Terror and Antisemitic Views of Protesters at Democratic National Convention in Chicago

The following analysis is a product of the Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) by CAM:

News consumers relying solely on mainstream media outlets for information about the anti-Israel protests taking place outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week would be forgiven for concluding that the demonstrators were merely well-intentioned anti-war activists seeking peace in the Middle East.

The Associated Press, for example, wrote, “Dozens of protesters broke through a security fence near the site of the Democratic National Convention on its opening day Monday as thousands took to the streets to voice their opposition to the war in Gaza.”

Reuters described the “March on the DNC Coalition” as a group “advocating for a variety of causes from reproductive rights to racial justice.”

The Washington Post characterized the coalition as merely an “alliance of groups and activists that started planning demonstrations as soon as Chicago was picked to host the Democratic convention in April 2023.”

The New York Times noted the coalition was comprised of groups “focused on a range of progressive causes, including environmental issues, abortion rights and L.G.B.T.Q. rights, but united in anger over the war in Gaza.”

However, these articles fail to tell the whole story about the activists behind the protests, many of whom have expressed sinister views, including support for Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

• The AP and Washington Post articles quoted activists from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which on October 9 praised Hamas and several other terror groups, writing, “The Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and so many others represent the aspirations of a free people, Palestinians who insist on the end to occupation. Freedom Road Socialist Organization rejects the notion that freedom fighters are ‘terrorists.’ We are proud to stand with the resistance.” Neither outlet mentions this statement.
• AP also quoted Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, an organization that said, “October 7 was an act of resistance.” AP did not mention the group’s apologia for the Hamas attack.
• AP quoted academic and independent presidential candidate Cornel West saying to the demonstrators, “This is about morality. This is about spirituality.” But West has glamorized Aaron Bushnell’s suicide and justified the October 7 massacre as an “anti-terrorist” action. AP omitted these disturbing views from its story.
• The New York Times article quoted an affiliate of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, which released a statement on October 8 that included the following quote from one of its activists: “As long as apartheid Israel occupies Palestinian land, we should expect that Palestinians will resist and fight for the freedom of their nation by any means necessary.” The Times article left this out.
• Despite Reuters’ description of the coalition as a group “advocating for a variety of causes from reproductive rights to racial justice,” several of the coalition members have expressed support for Hamas and other terrorist organizations, which the outlet did not mention:

          – Coalition member National Students for Justice in Palestine celebrated October 7 as “a historic win for the Palestinian resistance.”

          – Coalition member Palestinian Youth Movement justified October 7 as “legitimate resistance.”

          – Coalition member Party for Socialism and Liberation praised October 7, saying, “Resistance to apartheid and fascist-type oppression is not a crime! It is the inevitable outcome for all people who demand self-determination rather than living with the boot-heel of the oppressors on their necks…The actions of the resistance over the course of the last day is a morally and legally legitimate response to occupation.”

          – Coalition member U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) said of the Hamas attack, “Our people are waging an anti-colonial, anti-occupation, and anti-Zionist liberation struggle!” The group also called Hamas’ actions on October 7 “self-defense operations.”

          – On November 14, coalition member International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS) promoted an event featuring PFLP member and airplane hijacker Leila Khaled. The group also celebrated the October 7 attacks, calling them “brave.”

There is a widespread, and deeply ironic, tendency to label those who sympathize with acts of terrorist violence against Israel as anti-war activists. Such inversions of reality fail to adequately contextualize the views of prominent anti-Israel protesters. Ultimately, these superficial analyses do a disservice to those looking for thorough information about extremism and antisemitism in America.

Americans deserve to know that when “anti-war” activists praise Hamas and rationalize, justify, or celebrate the October 7 massacre, they are making antisemitic remarks that dehumanize Israeli Jews. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism — the most widely-accepted definition of Jew-hatred worldwide — lists “Calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion” as one of 11 examples of contemporary antisemitism. Another example is “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” a view to which anti-Zionist protesters almost invariably subscribe.

Given many of the protesters’ hateful views, it is hardly a surprise that the demonstrations outside the Democratic National Convention featured expressions of support for terrorism and other manifestations of extremism. One protester waved a Hamas flag and when asked if he supported Hamas, he responded, “Not just me. Every Palestinian.” Journalists also captured images of protests in which flags appearing to depict Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida were visible, as well as effigies of U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris with vampire fangs.

A protest movement so inundated with support for Hamas and anti-Americanism, and whose prominent participants have a record of such views, is not merely “anti-war.” Media outlets must diligently report the pro-terror, antisemitic ideological tenor of the organizations behind anti-Israel demonstrations, and political leaders and other public figures must unequivocally denounce them.