Hannah Soliman

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.

Hamas took 251 people hostage, mostly civilians, from Israel during its October 7, 2023 terror attacks. Ultimately 168 hostages returned to Israel alive, in three different agreements between 2023 and 2025, and through rescue operations by the IDF. During captivity, many hostages were starved, tortured, sexually assaulted, psychologically abused and held isolated in cages and underground tunnels.

Hostages were given tranquilizers and some were overfed shortly before their release, so they would appear in better condition than they had been during captivity. Hamas forced hostages to record propaganda videos during captivity, and during hostages' releases held public ceremonies and forced hostages to smile and wave at their captors.

The hostages' ages spanned from 85 year old Holocaust survivor Shlomo Mantzur, who was killed on October 7, to a 9 month old baby, Kfir Bibas, who was killed in captivity along with his 4 year old brother Ariel, and their mother, Shiri. 75 hostages were killed on October 7 or in captivity.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped hundreds and wounded thousands. War crimes included mass rape and torture. Many Palestinian civilians participated in and supported the attacks, and Gazans working in the targeted Israeli communities gave intelligence to Hamas on where to strike.

For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.

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.

Although romanticized as a form of “popular resistance,” rock throwing remains a deadly form of violence.

The watermelon has been appropriated by anti-Israel activists as a symbol of Palestinian "resistance" to "Israeli occupation," as it shares the Pan-Arab colors. It has been depicted in art, used on flags at protests and posted online. It gained popularity following the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023.

Between 1948 and 1964, over 850,000 Jews living in Islamic countries were expelled from their homes and subsequently immigrated to Israel. The expulsion of the Jews came after centuries of discrimination under Islamic rule, during which non-Muslims were either killed as infidels or designated as “Dhimmi.” These “protected people” had to declare themselves inferior to Muslims, and were discriminated against in political, military and social matters.