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Pro-Hamas Activist Declares: ‘We Don’t Want Zionists In Palestine, NYC, Our Schools, On The Train, Anywhere’
Pro-Palestine activist Nerdeen Kiswani leads chants at Nakba Day event
(Source: MEMRI)
The founder of a radical anti-Israel, pro-Hamas activist group said she does not want Zionists “anywhere” in the world while speaking in defense of a person who called for “Zionists” to leave a crowded subway car in New York City.
Nerdeen Kiswani, the founder of Within Our Lifetime, wrote on Twitter/X on Thursday that “We don’t want zionists in Palestine, NYC, our schools, on the train, ANYWHERE.”
“This is free speech,” she continued, “it is saying we don’t want racists here.”
Zionism refers to the belief that there should be a Jewish state in some part of the land of Israel.
Kiswani later emphasized that “Even believing in the ‘two state solution’ makes you a Zionist whether you realize it or not.” This includes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, she claims, because “he’s a puppet and doesn’t challenge its [Israel’s] right to exist.”
Eitan Fischberger, a communications analyst and former Staff Sargent in the Israel Defense Forces, responded to Kiswani’s statement saying “Somebody help me: What do you call it when people want to ethnically cleanse the Jews from everywhere on Earth?”
But Kiswani argued back, “Zionist does not mean Jewish. Most Zionists in the US are Christian.”
Kiswani’s statements came in response to backlash caused by a fellow anti-Israel activist yelling, “Raise your hand if you’re a Zionist… this is your chance to get out…,” while on a crowded subway car earlier this month.
The suspect, an unidentified man, is being searched for by the New York Police Department. Police reportedly intend to charge him with coercion and possibly a hate crime charge.
NYPD Chief of Transit, Michael M. Kemper, wrote on Twitter/X, “NYPD Detectives are looking for this individual – wanted in connection to a criminal incident on 6/10 inside a packed subway car at Union Square station – where he shouted ‘raise your hands if you’re a Zionist, this is your chance to get out.’”
Kiswani’s latest statement is an addition to a long list of her history of controversial comments.
In Apil, Kiswani refused to condemn the chant “Death to America,” and after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, she refused to condemn the attack and the terrorist organization.
On October 8, her organization organized a protest to celebrate the prior day’s attack. Within Our Lifetime wrote it was to “defend the heroic Palestinian resistance [Hamas].”
Then, in May, at a rally, she declared, “Biden is the oldest president in our entire history,” Kiswani said, “He is going to die soon!” It was followed by overwhelming excitement and cheers from her fellow rally-goers.
Her organization, Within Our Lifetime, was behind the recent protests at the Nova Music Festival exhibit, which was about the more than 300 civilians slaughtered by Hamas while at a music festival.
The protest included several instances of antisemitism, prompting widespread condemnation, including from US President Joe Biden and progressive members of Congress.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter/X “The callousness, dehumanization, and targeting of Jews on display at last night’s protest outside the Nova Festival exhibit was atrocious antisemitism – plain and simple.”
The post Pro-Hamas Activist Declares: ‘We Don’t Want Zionists In Palestine, NYC, Our Schools, On The Train, Anywhere’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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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.