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Marching for Tyrants: Inside America’s Far-Left Protest Machine — and Why Jews Are in Its Crosshairs
UConnDivest, a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) spinoff, demonstrating at University of Connecticut. Photo: UConnDivest/Instagram
There is something profoundly wrong in American protest culture — and the rot is no longer subtle. It is visible in the streets, on college campuses, and now in the grotesque spectacle of American far-left activists marching in support of Nicolás Maduro.
These are not confused individuals acting independently. They are members and followers of a tightly networked protest ecosystem — self-described socialists, communists, anti-capitalists, and “decolonization” activists who have made opposition to the United States, Israel, Zionists, Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and liberal democracy their unifying ideology.
They organize under different banners but move together — from “No Kings” protests, to pro-Hamas and anti-Israel demonstrations, to chanting for Maduro in American cities. Groups such as the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), the ANSWER Coalition, Code Pink, radical factions of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Queers for Palestine, and Within Our Lifetime do not merely overlap in membership. They coordinate. They cross-promote. They share organizers, marshals, slogans, chants, visual branding, and digital toolkits.
Their leaders appear interchangeably at rallies for Venezuela, Gaza, and against American institutions. This is not speculation. It is documented, reported, and repeatedly observed by journalists, NGOs, and government agencies monitoring extremist and protest networks.
They claim they are marching “for Venezuelans,” while chanting the name of a man who stole an election, runs a narco-terrorist regime, and is despised by his own people. Maduro is not Venezuela’s legitimate president. He is a dictator who lost, cheated, and ruled through fear. The Organization of American States, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, and the US Treasury Department have all documented the regime’s political imprisonment, torture, censorship, extrajudicial killings, and corruption. These are not opinions — they are facts.
And while these American activists scream that US action against Maduro is “imperialist” or “illegitimate,” Venezuelans themselves are dancing in the streets — in Caracas, Miami, Madrid, and cities across the global diaspora — celebrating the collapse of a regime that destroyed their country. They are not confused about who their oppressor is. Only the activists are.
The operation was not only morally justified; it was strategically necessary. It protected the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere, safeguarded the interests of Venezuela’s citizens, and ensured the integrity of the Americas in the face of malign influence.
Venezuela, once among the world’s wealthiest nations, flourished under US energy partnerships. Its oil revenues fueled infrastructure, education, and public services, and the people prospered. Then communists seized power, destroyed democratic institutions, and funneled resources to themselves and their allies — Iran, Russia, China, and Hezbollah — while ordinary Venezuelans suffered.
And yet, far-left activists, whose hatred for Trump is so profound that it blinds them to reality, cannot admit that a single thing about this operation is right, just, or effective. Instead, they cling to ideology, pretending principle and morality exist while denying the facts in front of them. This ideological blindness is central to their problem: loyalty to a narrative is more important than recognition of truth, justice, or liberation.
What unites these movements is not concern for human rights, but a shared ideological framework: anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and the belief that any regime or movement opposing the West must be defended — no matter how brutal or corrupt it is.
The connective tissue is clear: the same activists who marched under “No Kings” banners, claiming to oppose authoritarianism, now march for a dictator. The same organizers. The same slogans. The same signs. The same fonts. The same chants. The same scripts circulating in group chats. The same funding streams.
The demonstrators themselves are often less ideological than the organizations manipulating them. Many are alienated, disconnected from family, faith, or purpose, and drawn to movements that offer identity, certainty, and belonging in exchange for obedience. They adopt causes that have nothing to do with them, in countries they have never visited, involving conflicts they do not understand. They memorize slogans. They repeat scripts. They borrow values they never practiced, perform them publicly, and betray them the moment those values collide with their ideological tribe.
This is not activism. It is mobilized nihilism.
For Jews, the warning signs are unmistakable. These movements consistently converge on antisemitic outcomes. They target Jewish institutions under the guise of “anti-Zionism.” They rationalize violence against Jews as political necessity. They erase Jewish history while framing Jewish self-determination as illegitimate. The same activists who chant for Venezuela’s “liberation” have no problem marching alongside slogans that celebrate October 7 or deny Jewish suffering.
History is a guide. Movements that claim to fight injustice but excuse tyrants and terror groups often end with the same outcome: Jews cast as symbols of power to dismantle, rather than people to protect. When protest culture rewards allegiance over truth and spectacle over principle, Jewish safety is always in jeopardy.
When American activists chant for the downfall of democracies while pretending to be righteous, they are not resisting oppression. They are rehearsing it.
And Jews, once again, are being told to pay attention.
Yuval David is an Emmy Award–winning journalist, filmmaker, and actor. An internationally recognized advocate for Jewish and LGBT rights, he is a strategic advisor to diplomatic missions and NGOs, and a contributor to global news outlets in broadcast and print news. He focuses on combating antisemitism, extremism, and promoting democratic values and human dignity. Learn more at YuvalDavid.com, instagram.com/Yuval_David_, x.com/yuvaldavid, youtube.com/yuvaldavid, and across social media.
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Portuguese artists pull out of Jerry Seinfeld-headlined festival
(JTA) — Several Portuguese artists have dropped out of a comedy festival in Lisbon headlined by Jerry Seinfeld, citing their support for Palestinians and implying opposition to Seinfeld’s support for Israel.
At least six acts over recent days have canceled their appearances at the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest, a new international comedy festival in the Portuguese capital. The event from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 has advertised that it will host Seinfeld’s first live appearance in Portugal.
Though none of the artists who withdrew mentioned Seinfeld by name, some hinted at a boycott against his pro-Israel views. The Jewish comedian has become one of Hollywood’s most prominent advocates for Israel since October 2023.
Actress and comedian Inês Aires Pereira announced on Instagram on Saturday that “one of the names” featured at the festival “persistently defends ideas and acts that I consider indefensible,” adding, “We cannot relativize or normalize a genocide.”
The comedy duo Cebola Mol posted a graphic of themselves with a watermelon, widely recognized as a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians. “We will celebrate justice, freedom and joy with you on another occasion,” they said on Instagram.
The festival announced on Friday that performances by the groups Tributo Pop and Conjunto Cuca Monga were also canceled, but did not provide reasons. Two other acts, comedian Pedro Tochas and visual artist Vhils, shared their cancellations on Instagram without further details.
Seinfeld has aligned himself with Israel during its current conflict in Gaza, following decades of largely avoiding commenting on political issues. He visited Israel in December 2023 to meet with the families of hostages seized by Hamas on Oct. 7 of that year. Since then, he has attracted attention for a series of dismissive remarks toward pro-Palestinian advocates.
During an appearance last year at Duke University, Seinfeld compared pro-Palestinian activists with the Ku Klux Klan, saying, “The Klan is actually a little better here because they can come right out and say, ‘We don’t like Blacks, we don’t like Jews.’ OK, that’s honest.”
Representatives of Seinfeld and producers of the MEO Commedia a La Carte Fest did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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UK, France, Canada to ban goods from Israeli settlements
(JTA) —
The United Kingdom, France and Canada will ban goods produced in the West Bank settlements and Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament on Tuesday, explaining that all such communities were deemed by his country to be illegal.
The declaration exacerbated the rising tensions riling the traditionally strong Israel-U.K. alliance. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned that these steps stoked antisemitism against British Jews in an on-camera statement to reporters in Jerusalem.
Sa’ar charged that the measures were a politicized hostile action deliberately taken ahead of Friday’s Jewish New Year holiday, with an eye toward influencing the country’s Oct. 27 elections.
Israel, he said, is responding by closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem that services Palestinians. It will also remove British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat and halt the British training of Palestinian Authority security forces. He added that Israel would bar the entry of 12 British politicians and other nationals involved in anti-Israel activity.
France and Canada have also announced a ban on the import of settlement goods, Miliband told parliament. He noted that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so.
In the same address, Miliband affirmed Israel’s right to exist, reflected on his own Jewish roots and rejected the notion that there was a connection between the policy steps against West Bank settlement activity and the safety of British Jews.
What is motivating the U.K., Miliband said, is “a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community” as well as Israel’s “clear intent to bury the Palestinian state.”
In response, he said, the U.K. “will introduce an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied [Palestinian] territory” as part of a “new comprehensive sanctions regime” that will be put in place within nine months.
This will include, he said, “action against specific companies and individuals who provide services, such as construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate for settlement expansion.”
To those who “finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this, you will face the full force of U.K. sanctions,” Miliband warned.
Miliband clarified that the ban would not affect the export of religious items or life-saving Israeli medications. He explained that trade with the settlements was minimal and that the greater impact would be the sanctions on services.
As part of declaring the ban, Miliband said that the British government is also adopting the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion that all Israeli settlement activity over the pre-1967 border was illegal.
But others in Parliament pushed back against Miliband’s declaration. MP Richard Tice of Britain’s right-wing Reform party said that the sanctions were a grave mistake that would “embolden the scourge of antisemitism against British Jews on British streets,” endanger ties with the United States and lead to “tit for tat” sanctions from Israel.
Miliband shot back that “no British Jew is responsible for the policies of the Israeli government and it behooves all of us to make sure that there can be no confusion about that,” saying that Tice’s statement “fell foul” of that goal.
The U.K. action is the latest escalation in tensions between Israel and the Labour-led British government headed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took power in July.
The prior government, led by former Labour Premier Keir Starmer, had already angered Israel by recognizing Palestinian statehood in 2025, suspending licenses for the export of arms to Israel and freezing talks toward a free-trade agreement.
France and Canada are also announcing a ban on the import of settlement goods, Miliband told parliament. He explained that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so.
In concert with Miliband’s appearance at Parliament, Britain and 11 other countries issued a joint statement pledging “their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law.”
Those other countries were Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
The 12-country bloc said it was taking this step to maintain the viability of the two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, describing the situation in the West Bank as “rapidly deteriorating.”
In its statement, the bloc stressed that it was taking this step amid an “unprecedented level of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project.” That project is seen as cutting through land that would render a Palestinian state unviable.
The post UK, France, Canada to ban goods from Israeli settlements appeared first on The Forward.
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California Gov. Newsom, a presidential hopeful, slams Netanyahu and AIPAC in PBS interview
(JTA) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a 2028 presidential hopeful, ventured farther than ever in his criticisms of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a weekend interview that delved into the Democratic Party’s relationship with Israel.
“I think it’s overwhelmingly opposed to the current regime in Israel,” Newsom said of the party, in a PBS News Hour interview with Amna Nawaz.
Pressed by Nawaz on divisions among his colleagues on Israel, Newsom denied that the subject is “even controversial anymore,” stressing that “the condemnation of what Bibi Netnayahu’s doing is almost universal.” The governor slammed the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza and condemned the settler violence that has expanded in the West Bank.
“We want a democratic and secure Israel, and we want a secure and democratic Palestinian state as well right next door,” Newsom said, adding that Netanyahu has proved counterproductive to achieving a two-state solution.
Though he repeatedly maintained that Democrats are not divided on Israel, the governor acknowledged that “some of the language” by fellow Democrats “has been weaponized.” Certain “aspects of rhetoric” from individual candidates, he added, are on “the spectrum of concern,” Newsom said.
A number of candidates from the party’s far left place most if not all of the blame on Israel for a war in Gaza that has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths. and downplay the role of Hamas in launching the war with the Oct. 7, 2023 raid inside Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were abducted. Newsom’s rhetoric is of a piece with party moderates who are critical of the Israeli government but who call for a secure Israel, reject Hamas and who resist pressure from the left to call Israel’s actions “genocide.”
Newsom nonetheless insisted that the party is unified on the issue. “But I think universally, everyone agrees, even if you don’t think it’s genocide, that it’s been a moral catastrophe,” he said of the war in Gaza. “The vast majority of us also agree about the atrocities on Oct. 7th and how horrific and unacceptable it was, and the terrorism that was perpetrated by Hamas.”
Newsom was among the many U.S. politicians to visit Israel in October 2023, meeting with survivors and families impacted by the attacks.
During a March book tour, Newsom sparked a backlash when he said that some people were referring to Israel “appropriately as sort of an apartheid state.” He quickly walked back these remarks, telling Politico that he had used the term “in the context of the direction that Bibi is going.”
“I revere the state of Israel,” he declared at the time.
The governor warned, however, that if Netanyahu proceeds in the direction of West Bank annexation, apartheid could become “a word you may hear others use.”
In addition to amplifying his condemnation of Netanyahu this weekend, Newsom also addressed the fact that fewer Democrats are accepting funds from political action committees affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group.
As for Newsom himself, Track AIPAC, an organization that compiles Federal Election Commission data to flag pro-Israel campaign contributions, did not log any such donations to the likely presidential candidate. But the group did flag him as “pro-Israel.”
“It’s a minority of Democrats that are accepting AIPAC,” the governor said, noting a “dramatic change” over the last couple years.
“The vast majority of Democrats I talk to, even Democrats in the past that have in the past have taken AIPAC money, are pledging not to now,” Newsom added. “That’s more of a mainstream position, interestingly, within the Democratic Party.”
The post California Gov. Newsom, a presidential hopeful, slams Netanyahu and AIPAC in PBS interview appeared first on The Forward.
