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Osama bin Laden’s antisemitic ‘Letter to America’ goes viral on TikTok
(JTA) — A 2002 essay by Osama bin Laden that says “Israel must be erased” and rails against the “Jews, who control your policies, media and economy” has gone viral on TikTok, with some users endorsing its message.
The missive by the notorious leader of Al Qaeda was written in 2002 to justify the Sept. 11 terror attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people, and lay out the terror organization’s ultimate goals. At the time, the letter was published in full by The Guardian, though the British newspaper removed the article on Wednesday after it began to spread widely online.
On Thursday, TikTok announced that it would prohibit videos promoting the letter, according to Reuters. A compilation of the videos endorsing the letter show users saying, “Everyone should read it,” and saying the letter was “eye-opening,” “explains so much” and has led them to have an “existential crisis.” Two users posted regarding the letter that “he was right.” One wrote, “It ALL makes sense now.”
The resurfacing of the nearly 21-year-old document has come amid heated social media debate over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and its civilian death toll. Upon bin Laden’s killing by American forces in 2011, Hamas praised him as a “holy warrior.”
One video endorsing the letter says, “Now it’s all coming to light because of Palestine.”
The letter is largely devoted to enumerating bin Laden’s opposition to the United States’ policies, system of government and society — with a focus on U.S. military action in the Middle East and other countries. The letter also defends the murder of civilians on Sept. 11.
Large portions of the letter focus on Israel and Jews. The word “Israel” appears 19 times in the document, while “Jews” are mentioned an additional 10 times. The first question bin Laden posed in the document is “Why are we fighting and opposing you?” And one of the first answers is, “You attacked us in Palestine.”
Elaborating on that allegation, the Saudi-born bin Laden wrote, “The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you are the leaders of its criminals. And of course there is no need to explain and prove the degree of American support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased.”
The al Qaeda leader also said the idea “that the Jews have a historical right to Palestine, as it was promised to them in the Torah,” is “one of the most fallacious, widely-circulated fabrications in history.” He wrote that Muslims superseded Jews as the inheritors of the Torah, and that the land therefore belongs to them. (Supersessionism — or the idea that the Jewish covenant with God has been replaced by a truer religion — is most commonly associated with Christianity and is widely considered antisemitic.)
Later, he writes that “governments have surrendered to the Jews.”
The letter includes a number of other attacks on Jews, both related to Israel and not. It also claims that homosexuality is “immoral.”
In the second half of the letter, which describes bin Laden’s vision of a world governed by Islamic law and condemns American society, he trumpets age-old antisemitic stereotypes about Jewish money and power.
At one point, he wrote, “the Jews have taken control of your economy, through which they have then taken control of your media, and now control all aspects of your life making you their servants and achieving their aims at your expense.”
Soon afterward, he wrote, “Your law is the law of the rich and wealthy people, who hold sway in their political parties, and fund their election campaigns with their gifts. Behind them stand the Jews, who control your policies, media and economy.”
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The post Osama bin Laden’s antisemitic ‘Letter to America’ goes viral on TikTok appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.