Anti-Israel protests at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday (airport entrances were temporarily blocked and participants likened the Israel Defense Forces and the New York City Police Department to the KKK) led to an explosion in New York City. It is just the latest action aimed at disrupting life in the city. It emits the poison of anti-Semitism.
Most of them were organized by the extremist group Within Our Lifetime, run by Nerdeen Kiswani and Fatima Moussa Mohammad.
“Expect us anytime and anywhere, on holidays or during busy periods, on the streets, at airports, at train stations,” Mohammed wrote on Monday. “This city won't rest until justice is served. If that bothers you, cry about it.” [President] It's Biden who is slaughtering our people. ”
The recent protests have been sparked by the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, but none of this is new to Kiswani. While a student at the New York City School of Law, she was a key member of Students for Justice in Palestine.
“Whatever happened at the New York City School of Law regarding anti-Semitism, Nerdeen was involved,” City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov claimed to the Post.
A call to Kiswani's lawyer went unanswered.
Kiswani, who said he faces racism and discrimination as a Palestinian, gave a controversial speech at his law school's commencement ceremony in 2022 in which he criticized Israel and accused students and students of CUNY. He spoke negatively about “normalizing” visits by faculty and staff to Israel.
“It had nothing to do with graduating from law school,” Vernikov told the Post. “And things got even worse.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Mohammed followed in Mr. Kiswani's footsteps in May 2023, giving a commencement speech at the City University of New York School of Law. She described the law as “an expression of white supremacy.” She called the NYPD and military “fascists.”
On October 6, the day before Hamas launched its shocking attack on Israel, the Post reported that New York City legislation had quietly removed student speakers from the 2024 commencement ceremony.
“[Kiswani] very influential and founded the organization [Students for Justice in Palaestine] “I have been participating in all kinds of violent protests since October 7,” said Rafaela Gantz, who was a law student with Kiswani before transferring to Yeshiva University., he told the Post. “In her classroom, she would always bring up her own cause instead of focusing on the U.S. laws we were learning.”
The daughter of Palestinian refugees, Kiswani grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. She became co-president of Students for Palestine Justice at the State University of New York Staten Island in 2014.
In 2015, she co-founded Within Our Lifetime, which has led the protests that have roiled the city since the October 7 terrorist attacks.
In July 2021, President Kiswani said, “The abolition of Israel is the key to peace.” He reportedly spoke to a crowd at an anti-Israel rally. it is,” pop pop That is the last noise some Zionists will hear in their lifetime. ”
Later that year, she led a group of about 300 protesters as part of the “Globalization of the Intifada” movement and attempted to seize the entrance to the Museum of Modern Art.
“This is where they wash their money, this is where they wash their reputation,” Kiswani declared over a loudspeaker.
She named Ronald S. Lauder, president emeritus of MOMA and president of the World Jewish Congress.
The situation has become more aggressive in recent months. Within Our Lifetime, he organized the “Flood NYC for Palestine” march on December 26th, when about 1,000 protesters overwhelmed venues in lower Manhattan, including City Hall and Zuccotti Park.
Kiswani implored protesters to “take matters into their own hands.”
On Christmas Day, hordes of Within Our Lifetime protesters marched through the streets of Manhattan. Some held up blood-red Nativity scenes and chanted, “Christmas is canceled.” Six anti-Israel march participants were arrested.
In mid-December, the group posted slogans on its webpage (such as “The only solution is the intifada revolution!”) and encouraged demonstrators to cover their faces to avoid being identified. The Manhattan Bridge was closed.
A month ago, Within Our Lifetime protesters took over the lobby of the Post's headquarters, chanting “Liberate Palestine” shortly after Manhattan's News Corp building was highlighted on a target map. .
Given the unrest in New York City and the role “Within Our Lifetime” is playing in it, Vernikov described Kiswani as “a very dangerous person.”
“She's behind all these rallies and shutdowns in New York. She said she's proud of Hamas and loves Hamas.”
