October 06, 2020 Leila Khaled, longtime active leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and who has engaged in PFLP terrorist operations, keynoted an October 3, 2020 public webinar during which she expressed explicit support for violence and deep animus toward Zionists. The webinar was convened by the far-left “anti-imperialist” group International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS).  In her session, Khaled claimed that Jews,…

October 02, 2020 Leila Khaled is a longtime active leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and is well-known for her role in the hijacking of two civilian airliners, TWA Flight 840 in 1969 (bound for Tel Aviv from Rome) and El Al flight 219 in 1970 (traveling from Amsterdam to New York City). In 1997, PFLP was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States Department of State, which cites the group as having carried out “large-scale…

October 01, 2020 A small but vocal segment of anti-Israel activists have engaged in inflammatory rhetoric in response to the recent normalization deals between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which were inked in a ceremony on the White House lawn September 15. Since the Israel-United Arab Emirates deal was announced August 13, critique from some has veered into conspiracy theories (that at times have incorporated antisemitic tropes) and language justifying violence and demonizing…

September 26, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 The nation continues to mourn the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights. The late Justice will be the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol on Friday. A grand jury in Jefferson County, Ky., has indicted a former Louisville police detective on three charges of wanton endangerment in the March shooting that resulted in the death of 26-year…

September 24, 2020 While extremists of differing ideologies aligning to further a common goal is not a new phenomenon, recent activity suggests that this overlap is becoming more common as extremist ideas are shared online. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) September 3, 2020 arrest of 30-year-old Michael Robert Solomon and 22-year-old Benjamin Ryan Teeter in Minneapolis is the most recent example of a hybrid ideology. To support their alleged violent goals of destroying the U.S…

September 23, 2020 Over the years, a small but concerning number of US anti-Israel groups and activists have expressed support for groups or individuals who are known to have engaged in terrorist activity in the name of the Palestinian cause. While properly protected by the First Amendment, such rhetorical support can implicitly legitimize terrorism; it also diminishes prospects for meaningful dialogue on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Though infrequent, praise and support for US…

August 31, 2020 Under the guise of anti-censorship and free speech, video-hosting service BitChute has become a hotbed for violent, conspiratorial and hate-filled video propaganda, and a recruiting ground for extremists. BitChute founder Ray Vahey’s concept for the platform came from, in his words, “seeing the increased levels of censorship by the large social media platforms in the last couple of years. Bannings, demonetization, and tweaking algorithms to send…

August 20, 2020 By David Andrew Weinberg Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced a historic agreement on August 13th to move toward full normalization of relations, the first such accord between the State of Israel and an Arab state since 1994.  However, peace always has its opponents, and this agreement is no exception. Whenever Israel and Arab governments take important steps to engage and reconcile with each other, extremists throughout the region routinely demonize both…

August 13, 2020 Anti-Israel organizations held demonstrations in at least eight cities across the country, August 7 through 9, 2020. Protests were organized following the call of transnational anti-Israel group Samidoun for Days of Resistance, designated as a time to engage in demonstrations and related activity as a follow-up to July’s Day of Rage anti-Israel protests that were more focused on Israel’s potential annexation of parts of the West Bank. While most of the rhetoric…

August 14, 2020 Anti-Israel organizations held demonstrations in at least eight cities across the country, August 7 through 9, 2020. Protests were organized following the call of transnational anti-Israel group Samidoun for Days of Resistance, designated as a time to engage in demonstrations and related activity as a follow-up to July’s Day of Rage anti-Israel protests that were more focused on Israel’s potential annexation of parts of the West Bank. While most of the rhetoric…

August 13, 2020 As Facebook continues to grapple with hate speech and violent extremism across the platform, QAnon conspiracy theorists are using public and private Facebook pages and groups to spread disinformation, racism, and thinly veiled incitement to violence. QAnon, the wide-reaching conspiracy theory popular among a range of right-wing extremists and supporters of President Trump, follows an anonymous personality “Q.” Followers of Q believe a pedophiliac global elite…

August 03, 2020 Facebook Groups play a key role on the Facebook platform. Groups are essentially discussion forums organized around an endless number of possible subjects, allowing individuals to pursue their interests and communicate around shared interests. Groups can be public (posts are visible to all Facebook users) or private (individuals must be approved by the group administrator to join and see the posts). Despite public announcements of efforts to curb hateful speech and…

July 24, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 The civil rights groups behind the month-long advertising ad pause of Facebook turned up public pressure with the release of an animated “Dear Mark” video. Almost three years after a conspiracy theory known as QAnon began spreading on dark corners of the internet, Twitter announced that it had removed thousands of accounts linked to the movement. And celebrating the life and legacy of civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis. Read…

July 10, 2020 Image source: https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2020/07/07/day-of-rage-demands-no-annexation-of-palestinian-land/ Anti-Israel groups have held at least thirty-five rallies in cities across the U.S. since July 1, 2020, ostensibly to express their opposition to the potential annexation by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of parts of the West Bank, which had been expected to be announced as early as July 1. Although many of the protestors limited their…

June 22, 2020 For nearly two decades, rock music icon Roger Waters has been one of the most prominent and outspoken supporters of the BDS movement. He has refused to perform in Israel and urged fellow artists to follow suit, and has often used inflammatory rhetoric against the country. ADL has repeatedly called out Waters for his hateful rhetoric, dating back to an open 2013 letter suggesting that his anti-Israel views may be colored by antisemitism.     In a recent…

June 22, 2020 Facebook has been claiming that it is effectively addressing hate on its platforms. ADL and others, however, have continued to expose egregious examples of online hate, misinformation and extremism across the company’s products, particularly on Facebook and Instagram. Whether or not these posts technically violate Facebook’s complicated guidelines around hate speech, as a result of the platform’s casual placement of ads, paid advertisements run a risk of being…