Bassel Hashem

Overview

Bassel Hashem participated in an anti-Israel protest organized by Within Our Lifetime (WOL), an anti-Israel activist group in New York City founded by Nerdeen Kiswani. 
WOL’s “Points of Unity” state: “We defend the right of Palestinians as colonized people to resist the zionist occupation by any means necessary.” Until February 2018, WOL was known as the New York City chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), calling itself NYC SJP.

As of February 2023, Hashem’s LinkedIn page said he worked as a Product Owner at Delos, since January 2022. Hashem had worked at Delos since 2017.

Also as of February 2023, Hashem’s LinkedIn said he graduated from New York University (NYU) with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 2015. 

As of the same date, Hashem’s LinkedIn said he was located in New York, NY.

August 8, 2022 - NYC Stands with Gaza Rally

Hashem participated [slide 1 and 5] in an August 8, 2022 WOL protest titled: “NYC Stands with Gaza.” At the protest, Hashem held [00:00:12] a banner that said: “HONOR THE MARTYRS OF PALESTINE.”

Hashem appeared [slides 1, 6 and 7] in other photos from the protest carrying a Palestinian flag and marching with other anti-Israel protesters at Grand Central Terminal, in Manhattan, New York.

WOL’s flier of the protest referred to Israel’s Operation Breaking Dawn (OBD) as “israeli occupation’s latest genocidal attack on Gaza.”

In August 2022, terror organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) threatened attacks on Israeli civilians. Israel preemptively launched Operation Breaking Dawn (OBD). Both PIJ’s northern and southern senior commanders in Gaza, Tayseer al-Jabari and Khaled Mansour, were killed in targeted Israeli airstrikes. PIJ responded by launching more than 1,000 rockets toward Israeli cities.

At the rally, an anti-Israel protester carried [00:00:04] a flagpole with both the Palestinian flag and the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) flag attached to it. He could be seen [00:00:03] running from the right to the left side of the screen. The flag reappeared [00:02:57] later on in the protest.


Also at the rally, anti-Israel activists chanted [00:02:31]: “Intifada, intifada. Long live the intifada,” and [00:00:35] “It is right to rebell, Israel go to hell” and [00:00:14] “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!” Kiswani also led [00:00:04] protestors in the chant: “Resistance is justified, when people are colonized!”

Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” has carried the connotation of violence.  

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel. It has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state.

At the rally, Kiswani said [00:02:46]: “If you stand with Israel, you stand with genocide! If you stand with Israel, you stand with ethnic cleansing! If you stand with Israel, you stand with murder! If you stand with Israel, you stand with racism!... If you stand with Israel, you stand for death and destruction!” 

Kiswani continued [00:05:40]: “Resistance is not terrorism! Palestinians have every single right to defend themselves by any means necessary!”