Last week, Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations called for a "global strike" against Israel. Within days, left-wing activist groups in the United States were doing their bidding, calling on their followers to skip work and school while falsely claiming that the strike call came from Palestinian citizens, not terrorists.
In reality, the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces—a coalition that includes representatives from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad—in a Saturday press release asked "the entire globe" to join a Monday strike "against the open genocide in Gaza." A litany of U.S. anti-Israel activist groups quickly joined in, issuing statements and social media posts that asked Americans to skip work and school and refrain from shopping.
Those statements, however, did not mention that the global strike call came from Hamas and other terror organizations. Instead, left-wing activist groups such as the Adalah Justice Project and The People's Forum said the "Palestinian people" called for the strike. Anti-Israel group IfNotNow similarly said "Palestinian groups" called for the strike but failed to give examples, while the Democratic Socialists of America's New York City chapter said "Palestinians in Gaza" issued the call. The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights called on its members to join "the Global Strike for Gaza … called for by Palestinian journalists."
Hamas's role in calling for the strike reflects the blurred line between the terror group and pro-Palestinian activists and journalists—both in Gaza and the United States.
The Associated Press and CNN, for example, cut ties last month with a freelance photojournalist accused of coordinating with Hamas ahead of the terror group's Oct. 7 assault on the Jewish state. That journalist, Hassan Eslaiah, was photographed embracing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and did not wear a press vest or helmet while filming himself in front of a burning Israeli tank during the attack.
Top anti-Israel activists in the United States have also been accused of working to fund Palestinian terrorism. Salah Sarsour, an American Muslims for Palestine board member, raised money for a Hamas front group in the late 1990s, according to an FBI memorandum. Israeli-designated terrorist group Samidoun, meanwhile, is also part of an American dark money network funded by progressive billionaires, the Washington Free Beacon reported last month. According to the Israeli government, Samidoun functions as an arm of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is also part of the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces.
The Adalah Justice Project, The People's Forum, IfNotNow, NYC-DSA, and the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights did not return requests for comment.
In addition to the activist groups, American and British media outlets covered the "global strike" without mentioning its origins. The Guardian, for example, said the call for a strike came from "Palestinian leaders" and did not name the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces. Time and Axios did report that the terrorist coalition "issued" the strike call but did not mention the members of the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces.
The Guardian told the Free Beacon it stands by its reporting.
Both IfNotNow and the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights have received funding from liberal billionaire George Soros. Soros's Open Society Foundations awarded $400,000 to IfNotNow in 2019 and 2021, and the nonprofit has contributed $700,000 to the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights' parent organization. IfNotNow activists were behind the November riot outside of the Democratic National Committee's headquarters, while the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights on Monday organized an illegal protest in the lobby of a Senate office building.
Left-wing Boston city council member Kendra Lara also heeded Hamas's call to skip work on Monday, saying in a now-deleted social media post that she closed her office "in solidarity with the global call for a ceasefire."