BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: Nerdeen Kiswani is the chair and co-founder of Within Our Lifetime (WOL), an extremist pro-Palestinian group that was behind an allegedly pro-Hamas rally in Brooklyn, according to reports from DailyMail.
The protest that was attended by thousands of New Yorkers appears to have endorsed Hamas' terror attacks as “heroic” while calling for a mass mobilization to “honor our martyrs.”
How big was the Brooklyn pro-Palestine rally?
On October 21, thousands of protesters marched through the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn calling for the “full liberation of all Palestine,” with some repeating a controversial slogan “from the river to the sea” that has also been used by Hamas terrorists.
WOL has claimed around fifty thousand people attended Saturday's rally, which led to clashes with police and approximately two dozen arrests thereafter.
It is unclear how many individuals were aware of or supported the extremist agenda of the group, as their advertising material did not mention Hamas.
DailyMail has since revealed the full extent of WOL's apparent backing of Hamas, whom they have previously described as “freedom fighters.”
WOL and Kiswani also appear to have suggested their barbaric attacks on Israeli civilians, in which children and entire families were murdered and 222 people taken hostage, were justified.
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which monitors antisemitism and extremism, WOL posted on the day of the Hamas’ intrusion into Israel, on October 7: "We must defend the Palestinian right to resist zionist settler violence and support Palestinian resistance in all its forms."
“By any means necessary. With no exceptions and no fine print,” WOL further stated.
The WOL website also states that oppressed people “have the right to win their liberation by any means necessary.”
Protesters at the WOL rally in Brooklyn called for an “end to the occupation” of Gaza, describing Zionism as “genocide.”
Jewish New York City Council member Ari Kagan said that it was not a rally for the liberation of Gaza but in fact a “shameful pro-Hamas & anti-Israel rally.”
Even though WOL's advertisements for the event do not explicitly express support for Hamas, its 'Rally Toolkit', which is available on its website, has recently been updated and now refers to the 'Al-Aqsa Flood', the name which Hamas gave to its series of coordinated attacks on Israel on October 7, saying it has “shaken the foundations of the zionist state and inspired the world that liberation is possible and it's hour is near.”
It also includes a list of chants, which include controversial slogans such as “From the river to the sea” and “It is right to rebel! Israel go to hell!”
WOL's prior statements and its long history of alleged antisemitism also suggest the Brooklyn protest was at the very least organized with underlying sympathies for the terrorist group, DailyMail reports.
Hours after Hamas had launched its onslaught, killing more than 1,400 people, Kiswani shared a post by WOL on X, which called for a rally “as we mobilize to defend the heroic Palestinian resistance, honor our martyrs and let the world know that NYC stands with Gaza.”
Nerdeen Kiswani's activism in the past
Nerdeen Kiswani, a City University of New York Law School graduate who was born and raised in Brooklyn, has previously shrugged off accusations of antisemitism from various quarters, having previously explained to the US-based website Mondoweiss that she didn't “understand what it was about me specifically that made these people so concerned with me.”
In 2022, Kiswani shared a meme of the Little Miss children's cartoon character on her Instagram page that read, “Little Miss telling everyone Israel will be wiped off the map inshallah [God willing].”
She was accused of antisemitism that same year after delivering a speech for CUNY Law School in Queens, New York, in which she heavily criticized “Zionists” and condemned “normalizing” trips to the nation of Israel.
In February 2023, WOL mourned the death of “freedom fighters” after five Hamas members were killed in an Israeli operation in Jericho, according to the ADL.
In 2014, Kiswani shared a statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) after it killed four worshippers in a shooting and meat cleaver attack in a Jerusalem synagogue, which spoke of their actions to be a “natural response” to Israeli aggression, the ADL says.
WOL was founded in 2015 by Nerdeeen and has organized rallies in New York City drawing thousands of attendees, including one in May this year, that was promoted as a “family-friendly event” featuring “face painting, coloring books, and more activities for kids.”
Kiswani and WOL have also shared materials praising PFLP and one of its leaders, Leila Khaled, 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).
Recently, Kiswani has been sharing content from the TMJ News Network, which describes itself as an independent media outlet with a “God Centric Lens.”
On October 8, TMJ shared a clip on its Telegram channel of people fleeing a festival in which around 260 attendees were hacked to death by Hamas militants alongside the caption: “Footage shows droves of Israeli settlers running on foot from occupied territories.”
The Anti-Defamation League further alleges that Kiswani and WOL have used social media on at least four occasions to “share classic antisemitic tropes related to alleged Israeli and 'Zionist' control or nefarious influence over Hollywood, sexual violence against women, politics, media and more.”
