Warning: Graphic images and details.
Immediately after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, protests erupted around the world, with many of the demonstrators supporting the terrorist organization.
Anti-Israel rallies became more prominent on university campuses and in front of government offices. While some have been moderately peaceful, others have descended into chaos as pro-Palestinian protesters clash with authorities and pro-Israel supporters.
Some protesters have taken extreme measures to show their anger at Israel's defense of their country. Many have illegally entered government buildings, blocked busy bridges and entered private businesses with bullhorns, shouting chants at employees.
Below is a list of the craziest and most extreme moments of the many anti-Israel protests in 2024.
deadly form of protest
On February 25, Airman Aaron Bushnell, 25, of Whitman, Massachusetts, self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., while approaching the building after livestreaming on Twitch.
“I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” he said in the video, a rebuke directed at Israel over the death toll in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of people, including Jews, gathered in front of the Israeli embassy to pay their respects to Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old airman who self-immolated to protest Israel's ongoing war in Gaza. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Bushnell then put down his cell phone, doused himself with accelerant and set himself on fire. He later died from injuries related to the self-immolation.
of air force Bushnell was a cyber defense operations specialist with the 531st Information Support Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio, he said.
Like Mr. Bushnell, pro-Palestinian demonstrators argue that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) They are accused of committing genocide.
protect the flag
As campus protests erupted on October 7, a group of fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill attracted national attention Along with their acts of patriotism.
The UNC chapter of Pi Kappa Phi received widespread attention after a video went viral of its members defending the Stars and Stripes from anti-Israel demonstrators who were trying to replace the U.S. flag with the Palestinian flag.
Brendan Rosenblum said he and his friend Trevor held up Israeli flags while protesters threatened them, and brothers from other fraternities had water bottles thrown at them and accused them of being white supremacists. He said he held up a displayed American flag.
UNC students attend Flagstock on September 2, 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The concert honored the fraternity brothers who stopped the American flag from falling to the ground on campus during anti-Israel protests in May. (Fox News Digital Image Direct)
“We were called white supremacists, fascists, etc., and told to kill ourselves about 50 times. It was a really depressing scene, but we continued to stand strong and represent what we believe in.” He spoke on the show “Jesse Watters Prime Time” in May.
Initially, pro-Palestinian demonstrators moved to UNC's main quad, removed the American flag and replaced it with a Palestinian flag. The Frat brothers responded by defending the American flag and not touching the ground.
The footage went viral, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the fraternity in a speech to Congress in July.
“I want to pay my respects to our brothers and sisters at the University of North Carolina fraternity who defended the Star-Spangled Banner from anti-Israel demonstrators,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said, drawing applause from lawmakers.
Some members spoke at the Republican National Convention
NYPD raids Columbia University building
In April, anti-Israel protesters briefly occupied Hamilton Hall on the Columbia University campus, prompting New York City police to take action.
NYPD officers, most wearing riot gear, entered the building at the request of university leadership.
Video of the raid released by police showed officers climbing a ladder and entering Hamilton Hall through a second-story window. A short video clip released by the NYPD showed officers moving chairs blocking doors and entering locked rooms once inside the building.
The school said the building was taken over after someone hid inside until after school closed and then let others in with the intention of taking over the building.
“Although students were involved in the group that invaded the building, we believe it is led by individuals not affiliated with the university.The individuals who occupied Hamilton Hall vandalized university grounds and illegally ” said the letter from the university. .
A pro-Palestinian supporter scales a fence during a demonstration at the City University of New York on April 30, 2024. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
brawl in los angeles
In June, anti-Israel activists clashed violently with Israeli supporters, leading to chaos, with President Biden demanding his opinion.
The riot began just before noon on June 23rd in front of City Hall. Adas Torah Synagogue in the 9000 block of Pico Boulevard. Demonstrators blocked traffic and video footage from the scene showed multiple altercations in the middle of the road and on the sidewalk.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen people on both sides trading punches. Another video showed a group of people collectively attacking a woman lying on the ground in the fetal position, while other groups tried to disperse the crowd.
A day after the violence, Biden condemned threats against Jewish members of the synagogue.
“I was appalled by the scene outside the Adas Torah Synagogue in Los Angeles. Threatening Jewish members is dangerous and unconscionable. is anti-Semitic; Un-American,” he wrote to X.
“Americans have the right to peacefully protest, but blocking access to houses of worship or using violence is never acceptable.”
lost objectivity
In October, Arizona photojournalist Samuel Mena Jr. lit his left arm on fire outside the White House to protest Israel's war in Gaza and U.S. support for Israel.
Video footage posted online showed Mena screaming in pain and accusing the media of spreading misinformation. The flames were extinguished by people who were nearby and poured water on them.
“To the 10,000 children in Gaza who have lost limbs in this conflict, I dedicate my left arm to you. May my voice lift yours and your smile never fade. Praying,” Mena previously wrote on her blog. You will set yourself on fire.
Police rescue Samuel Mena Jr., who attempted self-immolation during a demonstration to mark the first anniversary of the war between Hamas and Israel in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. (TING SHEN/AFP via Getty Images)
The news organization said Mena worked as a news photographer for KTVK/KPHO in Phoenix, but was off-duty and not in Washington for work.
“Arizona families expect newsroom employees to act with neutrality and objectivity,” the outlet said. “Mena is no longer an employee.”
Hamas lookalike
An image of a man wearing a headband similar to those worn by Hamas terrorist fighters on the campus of Stanford University has gone viral. The image was taken by two Jewish students who were concerned that the university was not doing enough to police anti-Semitic behavior.
When students noticed that the headbands the protesters were wearing were the same type worn by members of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, they were on the school campus. It was near White Plaza.
Anti-Israel activist on Stanford University campus. The university turned over the photos to the FBI. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
“We were just shocked that someone could do something like that in the middle of our campus,” one student told FOX News Digital. “I was with a friend so I just went to take a photo.''
An image of a man wearing a green headband with Arabic writing on it and a face covering sitting at a table went viral on social media and eventually caught the attention of university administrators.
The university announced at the time that it had turned over the images to the FBI.
Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom, Bradford Betz, Elizabeth Pritchett and Madeline Coggins contributed to this report.
