Anti-Israel Protests are Spreading with the Help of Malicious Actors

What’s happening: Activists have set up so-called encampments at college campuses in the U.S. to protest Israel’s war against Hamas. Nefarious outsiders are campaigning for and, in some cases, funding the spread of these protests nationwide.

• Chaos: Videos show physical confrontations between protesters, counter-protesters, and journalists. One demonstration prompted an appearance from the Democratic mayor of Denver, Colorado, who ordered protesters to pack up their tents. (They refused.)

Radicalism: Many demonstrators, a mix of students and outsiders, expressed support for foreign terrorist groups. They displayed symbols for Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Others told Jewish students to “go back to Poland” and praised Hamas’s massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7.

• Anti-West influences: A teacher at Northwestern University gave a speech to fellow protesters, quoting a message he received from the son of a Houthi leader. Communist professor and activist Angela Davis also appeared at the Denver encampment.

• Terrorism connections: Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian man in Turkey, posted a picture of his wife at the Columbia encampment. Al-Arian has deep ties to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is considered more radical than Hamas.

Chinese links: The New York Police Department noticed similarities between encampments and is investigating who might be “behind” them. In recent months, large left-wing charities, including a China-linked nonprofit, funded or organized anti-Israel protests at schools.

• America’s enemies: Chinese state media, the Iranian government, and Hamas all praised the ongoing demonstrations last week.

Why it matters: The protests paint a picture of a distinctly anti-Western movement — aligned with Marxists, Islamic extremists, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This coalition hopes domestic pressure will influence America’s foreign policy, particularly on Israel.