Edrees Mohamed

Edrees Mohamed’s Participation in the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia University, Storming a Museum & Leading Pro-Terror & Anti-Israel Chants and Expressing Support for Terrorists

Edrees Mohamed is an anti-Israel agitator who stormed the Brooklyn Museum and led a pro-terror chant in 2024 during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists. He also participated in the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia University (Columbia) in April 2024.

In his activism in previous years, Mohamed also led chants promoting incitement and hatred of Israel, America and Israelis during anti-Israel rallies. He has also expressed support for terrorists and spread hatred of Zionists in his activism with the pro-terror group Within Our Lifetime (WOL) in New York, New York.

Mohamed’s incident at the Brooklyn Museum and his support for terrorism occurred during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists, launched after the October 7, 2023 terror attacks. War crimes against civilians included mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings. The attacks left about 1,200 Israelis dead, hundreds kidnapped and thousands wounded. For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.

As of January 2023, Mohamed indicated on his since-deleted Instagram account that he had graduated from a pre-college program at Eagle Academy for Young Men (EAFYM) in 2022 and was a recipient [slide 4] of their “Social Justice Award.”

In January 2023, Mohamed’s since-deleted Twitter said he was located in New York, New York.

5/31/2024 - Storming a Museum & Leading a Pro-Terror Chant

On May 31, 2024, Mohamed was among hundreds of anti-Israel protesters who stormed the Brooklyn Museum. He also led a pro-terror chant that day. In a Twitter video taken inside the museum, Mohamed was seen wearing a black shirt with gold lettering while he jumped over a staircase railing and then ran up the stairs.

At the rally outside the museum, Mohamed led [00:00:01] a chant in support of terrorism: “When people face genocide, resistance is justified!”

Anti-Israel activists use the term “resistance” to refer to violence and terror perpetrated against Israeli civilians and their allies. It is used to glorify and encourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence. Anti-Israel activists chant slogans such as: “Resistance by any means necessary!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” in response to terror attacks.

On May 31, 2024, hundreds of anti-Israel protesters marched to the Brooklyn Museum after a call from pro-terror group Within Our Lifetime (WOL) to “flood” and “de-occupy” the building. They set up tents in the museum’s lobby and unfurled a “FREE PALESTINE / DIVEST FROM GENOCIDE” banner from the roof. Protesters also “hurled plastic bottles at officers and shouted insults.”

Museum guards tried to secure doors against the surging crowd while some demonstrators found other ways inside. Thirty-four protesters were taken into custody. One faced felony charges for assaulting a police officer.

The term “flood” is a reference to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Hamas’s name for their October 7, 2023, terror operation. It is based on the allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, and has been a pretext for Arab attacks on Jews for generations. The propaganda has led to multiple periods of violence against Israelis.

10/14/2022 - Leading Anti-Israel Chants at a WOL Rally

On October 14, 2022, Mohamed led [00:32:07] chants promoting incitement and hatred [00:33:27] of Israel and [00:36:21] America as well as [00:55:51] Israelis at a WOL rally.

The rally was titled “Emergency Action for Palestine” and it was organized by WOL and other anti-Israel organizations, including Samidoun and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). The rally was held in Times Square in New York City.

Mohamed led [00:31:51] the crowd in chanting: “We will free Palestine within our lifetime!” and [00:32:07]: “There is only one solution, intifada revolution!”

The term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” carries the connotation of violence. Palestinian intifadas waged against Israel have been marked since 1987 by hundreds of hijackings, shootings, stabbings, bombings and suicide missions.

Mohamed also led [00:32:24] the crowd in chanting: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” and [00:32:40]: “Palestine is our demand! No peace on stolen land!”

Anti-Israel activists use the term “resistance” to refer to violence and terror perpetrated against Israeli civilians and their allies. It is used to glorify and encourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence. Anti-Israel activists chant slogans such as: “Resistance by any means necessary!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” in response to terror attacks.

Mohamed then led [00:32:56] the crowd in chanting: “ من المية للمية فلسطين عربية [From water to water Palestine is Arab!],” the Arabic version of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” is a chant used [00:02:47] to call for the elimination of 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. In April 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the chant as antisemitic.

Mohamed then led [00:33:12] the chant: “When Palestine is under attack, what do we do? Stand up! Fight Back!”

Mohamed continued and led [00:33:27] the chants: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and [00:33:43]: “From New York to Gaza, globalize the Intifada!”

“Globalize the Intifada” is an anti-Israel campaign launched by Within Our Lifetime (WOL) in the summer of 2021, intended as an “ongoing strike at the heart of empire with Palestine as its compass.” The movement seeks to “break free from the genocidal grip of U.S. imperialism and Zionism” and advocates “liberation by any means necessary.”

Mohamed also led [00:34:13] the chants: “It is right to rebel, Israel go to hell!” and [00:34:28]: “We don’t want no ‘two states,’ we want ‘48!’”

The phrases “Occupied 48” or “48 Palestine” are two common ways that anti-Israel activists refer to the State of Israel.

The chant, “We don’t want no ‘two states,’ we want ‘48!” is a call to reverse the formal reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty in 1948 on a section of the former British Mandate of Palestine, per the United Nations Partition Plan. The Arab League opposed the partition, denied the Jews’ national connection to their ancestral homeland and condemned the establishment of the State of Israel.

Mohamed then led [00:34:36] the chants calling for Israel’s destruction: “One, two, three, four, occupation no more! Five, six, seven, eight, smash the settler Zionist state!” and [00:35:06]: “Not just annexation, not just occupation! Fight for liberation, bring the whole thing down!”

Mohamed continued and led [00:35:35] the chants: “Israel, you can’t hide! You’re committing genocide!” and [00:36:21]: “Stop the U.S. war machine, from Palestine to the Philippines!”

Later, Mohamed led [00:49:47] the chants: “Hey, hey, ho, ho! Zionism has got to go!” and [00:50:02]: “Hey, hey, ho, ho! Israel has got to go!”

Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture. Zionism is a core part of the identity of most Jews.

Later, as anti-Israel activists marched, Mohamed led [00:55:51] the chants: “Settlers [Israelis], settlers, go back home! Palestine is our home!”

One way that anti-Israel activists spread anti-Semitism is by claiming that Jews have no connection to the Land of Israel.

He also led [00:57:39] the chant: “باب الآقصی من حدید ما بفتحها الا الشهید [The gate of Al-Aqsa is made of iron only the martyr can open it]!”

On May 7-10, 2021, violent clashes broke out between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa compound, following claims that Al-Aqsa Mosque was in danger. The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy Al-Aqsa has been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state.

Mohamed also helped [01:13:10] a speaker by holding an amplified sound system as she led anti-Israel chants.

8/8/2022 - Anti-Israel WOL Rally in New York City

On August 8, 2022, Mohamed chanted [00:05:14] anti-Israel slogans promoting incitement and [01:00:30] hatred of Israel at a WOL rally. He can be seen [00:05:25] in the video wearing a white shirt and keffiyeh.

The rally was titled: “NYC Stands with Gaza” and referred to 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.

Mohamed chanted [00:07:50]: “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! If we don’t get it…Shut it down!”

Mohamed later held [00:15:59] a banner that said: “Resistance Until Return. Within Our Lifetime.”

The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Later Mohamed chanted [00:05:14]: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

Mohamed later chanted [00:19:32]: “From New York to Gaza, globalize the Intifada!” and [00:19:40]: “Intifada, intifada! Long live the intifada!”

Later as protesters marched to take over the Grand Central Station, Mohamed handed out [00:57:49] anti-Israel signs.

Mohamed then chanted [01:00:30]: “It is right to rebel, Israel go to hell!”

At the rally, WOL leader Nerdeen 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 murderer! If you stand with Israel, you stand with racism!...If you stand with Israel, you stand for death and destruction!”

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 other countries have adopted the definition as well.

9/17/2021 - “Globalize the Intifada” WOL Rally in New York City

On September 17, 2021, Mohamed chanted [00:07:11] anti-Israel slogans promoting incitement and [00:20:37] hatred of Israel at a WOL rally. He wore [slide 7] a black t-shirt with text that said: “Globalize the Intifada” with the second “i” in the word “Intifada” being represented by the map of Israel.

The rally was held in Manhattan and called on protesters to: “Globalize the Intifada. Free all Palestinian prisoners… Defund the settler organizations, Honor The Martyrs…”

Mohamed chanted [00:02:39] as he stood next to WOL leader Kiswani: “Intifada, intifada! Fight for Blackintifada! Intifada, intifada! Palestinian intifada! Intifada, intifada! Prisoners’ intifada!... Intifada, intifada! Indigenous intifada! Intifada, intifada! Globalize the intifada!”

Mohamed also chanted [00:07:11] as he stood with anti-Israel protesters at a subway station: “Everywhere we go people wanna know who we are, so we tell them. We are intifada! A global intifada! Fighting for justice, Palestinian liberation, and Black liberation. Indigenous liberation…”

Mohamed then jumped while chanting [00:08:15] at the subway together with other anti-Israel activists: “There is only one solution, intifada revolution! Intifada, intifada! Globalize the intifada!”

Mohamed then chanted [00:08:46]: “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! If we don’t get it, shut it down!”

Later, while marching with anti-Israel activists, Mohamed chanted [00:20:37]: “Not another nickel, not another dime! No more money for Israel’s crimes!”

9/12/2021 - Anti-Israel WOL Rally in New York City

On September 12, 2021, Mohamed chanted [00:01:06] anti-Israel slogans promoting incitement and [00:06:30] hatred of Israel at a WOL rally in support of six Palestinian “prison breakers and ALL Palestinian prisoners.” The rally was held in Washington Square Park, New York City.

On September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners escaped from the maximum-security Gilboa Prison in Israel. The escaped prisoners were convicted members of the terror organizations Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, who were jailed for their involvement in attacks carried out during the second intifada. All were recaptured by September 19, 2021, by Israeli authorities.

At the demonstration, Mohamed chanted [00:01:06]: “Intifada, intifada! Long live the intifada!” and [00:06:30]: “One, two, three, four, occupation no more! Five, six, seven, eight, smash the settler Zionist state!”

Later, as Mohamed carried an amplified sound system leading the march alongside Kiswani, he chanted [00:28:03]: “From the river to sea, Palestine will be free!” and [00:29:02]: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

Mohamed continued marching and chanted [00:29:20]: “One, two, three, four, open up the prison doors! Five, six, seven, eight, smash the settler Zionist state!”

Support for Terrorists

On September 11, 2021, Mohamed appeared [slide 1] in a WOL group photo on Instagram holding a banner that said: “Victory to the Freedom Fighters of Jenin. Freedom to all Palestinian prisoners.”

The banner had a photo of each of the aforementioned six Palestinian prisoners who had just escaped Israel’s Gilboa prison.

In the post, WOL referred to the Palestinian prisoners as “resistance leaders” and demanded freedom for the four that were recaptured, at the time of the post, as well as for “ALL Palestinian prisoners.”

Hatred of Zionists

As of January 2023, Mohamed’s Instagram Stories Highlights titled: “Free Palestine” re-posted [slide 4] a photo of his participation in a June 11, 2021, WOL protest with him holding up his middle finger. Mohamed captioned the photo with the words: “F**K THE ZIONIST. Free Palestine

.”

On April 21, 2022, Mohamed posted on Instagram a photo of his participation in an April 20, 2022, WOL rally and added: “...We have to keep exposing the Zionists and industries who fund Isra*l…”

On August 1, 2021, Mohamed posted on Instagram photos of his participation in a July 31, 2021, WOL rally and added: “Don’t come talking to me about sides, there isn’t a side in Israel’s defence…it’s not a conflict...it’s a massacre… we want every inch of land given back to Palestine...From the River to the Sea… our problem is… with the Zionists the monsters killing our people.”

Participating in the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia

Mohamed was featured [slides 6, 8] in an April 19, 2024, Instagram post participating in the encampment on the same day. He can be seen wearing a green hoodie

The post said: “Day 2 outside the student Gaza Solidarity encampment, Columbia University NYC. Students demand FULL DIVESTMENT of Columbia’s complicity in genocide. The movement is supported by hundreds of protesters outside the university campus…”

Mohamed was also featured in a video posted on Instagram on April 20, 2024, the third day of the encampment. He can be seen wearing a yellow shirt with the number 1 on the front and the name “Edrees” on the back. The video showed him sitting on the shoulders of another protester and waving a Palestinian flag while surrounded by the chanting crowd.

The post said: “Day 3 - late hours at Columbia University Divest encampment.

.”

On April 17, 2024, Columbia students and anti-Israel activists set up a pro-Hamas “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the university's main lawn. Many participants were arrested and the encampment featured multiple violent incidents, including taking over a campus building and taking a university worker hostage.

Activists protested Israel’s war against Hamas and demanded that Columbia “divest from companies and institutions that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation…”

The action had reportedly been planned for months and was organized by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition. The encampment was also organized by Columbia’s banned pro-Hamas activist group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the university chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Activists reportedly received training from National SJP and other anti-Israel organizations.

WOL

Within Our Lifetime (WOL) is a pro-terror activist group in New York City dedicated to Israel’s destruction within the lifetime of its members.

Acts of violence and physical confrontations with police have frequently occurred at WOL protests and marches. WOL uses harassment campaigns to target pro-Israel organizations or companies that do business with Israel, making it a part of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Multiple activists who have either burned Israeli flags or led chants at WOL rallies were later jailed for violent anti-Semitic hate crimes, including Saadah Masoud and Waseem Awawdeh. In Masoud’s case, he received 18 months in jail for an anti-Semitic assault at an April 2022 WOL rally and two other anti-Semitic assaults in 2021.

WOL promotes “resistance” against Israel “by any means necessary,” calls to “Globalize the Intifada,” spreads incitement and idolizes [00:34:06] Palestinian terrorists like Leila Khaled and others at rallies and online events.

WOL was founded by Nerdeen Kiswani and Dan Cione in 2015. Kiswani is a frequent speaker at WOL rallies where she has promoted terrorism against Israelis and called for the death of Zionists. She has also provided support for Masoud and other activists following their arrests.

WOL began as the New York City chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), going by NYC SJP, but changed its name in 2018. The group is not found to be registered in any U.S. state as a nonprofit organization under its official name. Nor is there any listing for WOL under its name on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website for tax-exempt organizations.

BDS

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.

One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”

Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”

In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”

The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.

Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.

BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.