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US Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Condemning ‘Globalize the Intifada’
Pro-Hamas activists gather in Washington Square Park for a rally following a protest march held in response to an NYPD sweep of an anti-Israel encampment at New York University in Manhattan, May 3, 2024. Photo: Matthew Rodier/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
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.
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Some 800,000 Palestinians Evacuate from Gaza City as Israeli Defense Minister Says Operation to Ramp Up
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz looks on, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that more than 750,000 Palestinian residents of Gaza City have fled to safe areas as the IDF ramps up its operation against one of the last major Hamas strongholds in the enclave. The military subsequently revised the figure up to 800,000.
Katz said Israel ramped up the attacks, proceeding to what he called the “decisive” phase of its operation.
“Autonomous explosive-laden military vehicles are being deployed in advance of the troops to defuse explosives, and the fire cover to protect the troops from the air and ground is heavy and strong,” he posted to his account on the X platform.
“Gaza City is emptying because its residents realize the military operation is escalating and move south for their own safety,” said Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman.
The Israeli military was in control of over half of Gaza City, sources familiar with the matter told Israeli media on Saturday.
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Trump Says ‘We Will Get It Done’ in the Middle East
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday about reaching a deal to end the war in Gaza, saying there is “a real chance for greatness in the Middle East,” ahead of talks on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump did not provide specific details of a prospective ceasefire-for-hostages agreement in Gaza, but Vice President JD Vance told “Fox News Sunday” that top US officials are immersed in “very complicated” negotiations with Israeli and Arab leaders.
“We have a real chance for Greatness in the Middle East. All are on board for something special, first time ever. We will get it done,” Trump said in a Truth Social post that was issued as he rode in his motorcade to his suburban Virginia golf club.
Trump will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday at the White House with the aim of reaching a framework for a deal, according to administration officials.
Trump said on Friday talks on Gaza with Middle Eastern nations were intense and that Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants were aware of the discussions, which he said would continue as long as required.
Vance described himself as “cautiously hopeful” about reaching a deal.
“I feel more optimistic about where we are right now than where we have been at any point in the last few months, but let’s be realistic, these things can get derailed at the very last minute,” he said.
He said the plan has three main components: Returning all hostages, ending the Hamas threat to Israel, and escalating humanitarian aid in Gaza.
“So I think we’re close to accomplishing all three of those objectives,” Vance said.
When international leaders gathered at the United Nations in New York this week, the US unveiled a 21-point Middle East peace plan to end the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
That plan calls for the return of all hostages, living and dead, no further Israeli attacks on Qatar and a new dialogue between Israel and Palestinians for “peaceful coexistence,” a White House official said.
Israel angered Qataris by launching an airstrike against Hamas targets in their capital Doha on September 9.
A Hamas representative said on Saturday that the group had not seen the US plan.
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Hamas Says It Lost Contact with Two Hostages as Tanks Thrust Deeper into Gaza City
A mobile artillery unit fires towards Gaza near the border, in Israel, September 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Hamas said on Sunday it had lost contact with two Israeli hostages held in Gaza City, and called on Israel to pull troops back and suspend air strikes for 24 hours so fighters could retrieve the captives.
The fate of the two hostages, which has strong domestic resonance in Israel, could cast a shadow over a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump on Monday.
Israel has launched a massive ground assault on Gaza City, flattening whole districts and ordering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee to tented camps, in what Netanyahu says is a bid to destroy Hamas once and for all in its final bastion.
Nevertheless, the past few days have seen increasing talk of steps towards a diplomatic resolution to the nearly two-year-old war. Trump said on Friday that a deal on Gaza seemed likely.
HAMAS SAYS IT HAS NOT RECEIVED NEW PEACE PROPOSAL
Hamas said earlier on Sunday that it had not yet received a new proposal to end the war. Netanyahu says Hamas must lay down its arms or be defeated. The militant group has so far said it will never give up its weapons as long as Palestinians are struggling for a state.
The Hamas military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, called on the Israeli military to pull troops back from the Sabra and Tel Al-Hawa districts southeast of Gaza City’s center, and suspend flights over the area for 24 hours from 1500 GMT so it could reach the two trapped hostages.
The Israeli military did not directly comment on the request but made clear it had no plans to halt its advances, issuing a statement ordering all residents of parts of Gaza City including the Sabra district to leave. It said it was about to attack Hamas targets and raze buildings in the area.
Gaza residents and medics said Israeli tanks pushed deeper into Sabra, Tel Al-Hawa and nearby Sheikh Radwan and Al-Naser neighbourhoods, closing in on the heart of the city and western areas where hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering.
RESCUERS UNABLE TO REACH TRAPPED RESIDENTS
Local health authorities said they had been unable to respond to dozens of desperate calls from trapped residents.
Gaza’s Civil Emergency Service said late on Saturday that Israel had denied 73 requests, sent via international organizations, to let it rescue injured Palestinians in Gaza City. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
The families of the two hostages identified by Hamas have requested that their names not be published by the media.
Hamas precipitated the war when it attacked Israeli territory in October, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages. Forty-eight hostages are still in Gaza, of whom Netanyahu says 20 are believed still alive.
The Israeli military says that Hamas, which ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, no longer has governing capacity and that its military force has been reduced to a guerrilla movement.
The Israeli military launched its long-threatened ground offensive on Gaza City on September 16 after weeks of intensifying strikes on the urban center.
Over the past 24 hours, the air force had struck 140 military targets across Gaza, including militants and what it described as military infrastructure, the military said.
The World Food Program estimates that between 350,000 and 400,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City since last month, although hundreds of thousands remain. The Israeli military estimates that around a million Palestinians were in Gaza City in August.