US Reps. Rudy Yakym (R-IN) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) have introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning the controversial phrase “globalize the intifada,” a popular slogan among anti-Israel activists that references previous periods of sustained Palestinian terrorism against Jews and Israelis.

“This is a term that calls for violence against Jews,” Yakym said in a statement last week, when the resolution was unveiled.

Citing the rise of antisemitism and anti-Jewish hate crimes across the United States, Yakym added, “We cannot allow that this type of hate speech to go unchecked in our society.”

The term “intifada,” or uprising, refers to two periods (the first beginning in 1987 and the second in 2000) when Palestinian terrorists ramped up violence targeting Israelis that included suicide bombings, shootings, and stabbings. Critics argue that invoking the intifada in a global context promotes the spread of political violence and implicitly endorses attacks on Jews worldwide.

Jewish organizations and watchdog groups have condemned the slogan “globalize the intifada” as a form of hate speech that blurs the line between criticism of Israeli policy and incitement against Jewish communities, especially amid a rise in antisemitic incidents globally.

House Resolution 588 was introduced to the House on Thursday, and it was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs the same day. Eleven other members of Congress co-sponsored the legislation: Reps. Jack Bergman (R-MI), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Tim Moore (R-NC), Gabe Evans (R-CO), Randy Fine (R-FL), Pat Harrigan (R-NC), John Rutherford (R-FL), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Charles Fleischmann (R-TN), Troy Nehls (R-TX), and Andy Harris (R-MD). 

“There’s no two sides to this,” Gottheimer said in a statement, emphasizing that the slogan represents a “call for violence” against the Jewish community.

“There’s no way to look at this from any direction and say, ‘It’s OK to say globalize the intifada,’” Gottheimer stressed. 

The resolution comes amid controversy surrounding New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s recent defense of the phrase “globalize the intifada” during an interview on “The Bulwark Podcast.” Mamdani declined to condemn the slogan, arguing that it has been misinterpreted and represents a “desperate desire for equality and equal rights.”

“I am someone who, I would say am, is less comfortable with the banning of certain words, and that I think is more evocative of a Trump-style approach of how to lead a country,” Mamdani said.

“I think what’s difficult also, is that the very word has been used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means ‘struggle,’” he continued. “And, as a Muslim man who grew up post-9/11, I’m all too familiar in the way in which that Arabic words can be twisted, can be distorted.”

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was an effort by Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland to fight back as they were set to be deported to concentration camps and killed as part of the Nazis’ campaign to exterminate Jewry during the Holocaust.

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum subsequently issued a blistering repudiation of Mamdani’s comments, calling them “outrageous and especially offensive.”

However, facing mounting pressure from Jewish community leaders, business executives, and fellow Democrats, Mamdani last week moved to clarify his stance on “globalize the intifada,” signaling he will discourage its use while continuing to back the broader anti-Israel movement it represents.

Since winning the Democratic nomination for the upcoming New York City mayoral general election, Mamdani’s views regarding Israel and the Jewish community have come under intensifying scrutiny. 

In 2021, Mamdani issued public support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel, claiming that support for the effort is growing within New York City. “The tide is turning. The fight for justice is here,” he said at the time.

That same year, the progressive firebrand also called for prohibiting New York lawmakers from visiting Israel, asserting that “every elected [official] must be pressured to stand with Palestinians.”

The left-wing lawmaker has also vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing the Israeli premier of making military decisions while in New York that “killed many innocent people” and citing the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

Mamdani also drew criticism for appearing on the podcast of controversial far-left streamer Hasan Piker—a social media personality who has called for the complete destruction of Israel and has voiced support for terrorist groups.

The post US Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Condemning ‘Globalize the Intifada’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A documentary screening in select theaters in September focuses on the controversy surrounding the torn down posters that raise awareness about the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists after their attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War,” directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker and New Yorker Nim Shapira, chronicles the start of the now iconic “KIDNAPPED” poster campaign after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and how it turned into a point of conflict in New York City, leading to sometimes violent street confrontations between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists, some of the latter of whom torn down the posters across Manhattan. The 75-minute documentary “explores grief, identity, and the limits of empathy in today’s fractured public discourse,” according to a description of the film shared with The Algemeiner.

The documentary features interviews with 10 New Yorkers, including family members of hostages, the creators of the “KIDNAPPED” poster campaign, students, activists, a free speech expert, and a rabbi. “My hope – then and now – was that in New York, where we don’t have rockets or missiles flying overhead, we might be able to sit and talk. That we could create space for conversation, even disagreement, without violence,” said Shapira in a released statement. “TORN” is his first feature-length documentary.

“TORN’ began as an attempt to capture a moment when my home — New York City, where I’ve lived for the past 12 years – was being pulled apart,” the filmmaker added. “Not just by headlines, but by the emotional aftershocks of a war taking place thousands of miles away … What began as an act of solidarity [with the hostages] quickly spiraled into something far more layered: a symbolic ‘paper war’ that unfolded on the walls of New York.”

“The simple act of putting up or tearing down a poster became a political event, sparking confrontations across college campuses, neighborhoods, and social media,” Shapira noted. “Suddenly, the war in Gaza wasn’t distant – it was here, reflected on our lampposts, our subway stations, and in the heated arguments between strangers … In an era defined by polarization, ‘TORN’ is both a mirror and a spark: a reflection of how far we’ve drifted apart, and an invitation to sit, reflect, and speak-even across disagreement.”

The film will have its Oscar-qualifying theatrical run in select venues on Sept. 5. It will screen in additional cities throughout September and October, and a digital release is expected in December. More than 50 pre-release screenings are already scheduled across the US and Canada, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, and Miami.

“TORN” is being released by the indie label Hemdale Films, best known for the Oscar-winning classics “Platoon” and “The Last Emperor.” Following a decades-long hiatus, Hemdale relaunched under Hannover House, Inc. and “TORN” is its first release since the relaunch.

“We were waiting for the right film to reintroduce Hemdale,” said Eric Parkinson, CEO of Hannover House. “‘TORN’ is not only timely and awards-worthy — it’s the kind of bold, conversation-starting work that defines our legacy.”

Watch the trailer for “TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War” below.



The post Documentary on Torn Down Hostage Posters to Open in Select NY, LA Theaters in September first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Washington cannot “compel” Israel to do anything, US special envoy Thomas Barrack said in Beirut on Monday, in response to a reporter’s question about Lebanese demands that the US guarantees a halt to Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory.

The US last month proposed a roadmap to Lebanon‘s top officials to fully disarm Hezbollah within four months, in exchange for a halt to Israeli strikes and a withdrawal of Israeli troops still occupying positions in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon has asked Washington to act as a security guarantor to ensure that Israel will pull out its troops in full and halt targeting operations against members of Hezbollah, if the Iran-backed terrorist group begins handing in weapons.

Asked about those guarantees, Barrack told reporters after a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that the US “has no business in trying to compel Israel to do anything.”

He also told reporters that the US was not forcing Lebanon to strip Hezbollah of its arms, or considering sanctions against Lebanese officials if Hezbollah is not disarmed.

“There’s no consequence, there’s no threat, there’s no whip,” Barrack said.

Barrack, a longtime adviser to US President Donald Trump, also serves as US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria.

He is making his third trip to Lebanon in just over a month to discuss the US roadmap, which covers disarmament of non-state armed groups, long-awaited economic reforms and better ties with Lebanon‘s neighbor Syria.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a months-long war last year that ended with a US-brokered truce calling for both sides to halt fighting, for Israel to withdraw troops, and for Lebanon to be free of all non-state arms, starting with the southern region closest to the Israeli border.

While Hezbollah has handed in some weapons from depots in the country’s south to the Lebanese army, Israel says the group is violating the ceasefire by attempting to re-establish itself.

Lebanon and Hezbollah say Israel has breached the truce by continuing to occupy at least five vantage points in a strip of the Lebanese border, and carrying out strikes on what Israel says are Hezbollah members and arms depots.

The post US Cannot ‘Compel’ Israel to Do Anything, US Special Envoy Says in Lebanon first appeared on Algemeiner.com.