Izzy Shidia
Overview
Izzy Shidia fled from the police and shouted at Israel supporters while participating in a May 20, 2021 violent counterprotest against a pro-Israel rally in Times Square. When he fled from the police, officers had begun to detain activists who failed to disperse after being ordered to do so.Shidia also participated [00:06:14] in activism [slide 7] with Within Our Lifetime (WOL), an anti-Israel group in New York City founded by Nerdeen Kiswani. Until February 2018, WOL was known as a branch of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), going by the name NYC SJP.
As of March 2023, Shidia’s Facebook said: “I Wanna Become An Artist.”
Also as of March 2023, Shidia’s Facebook said he was located in Godfrey, Illinois, but that his “Hometown” was Brooklyn, New York.
For more information, see the Canary Mission page Within Our Lifetime: The NYC Org Inciting Its Activists To Violence.
May 20, 2021 - Violent Counter Protest
Shidia shouted [00:07:55] at Israel supporters multiple times [00:57:22] as he participated in a May 20, 2021 violent counterprotest against a pro-Israel rally in Times Square. He later fled [00:11:15] the police after he defied their orders to disperse or be arrested.Shidia appeared [00:07:49] in a Freedom News TV Youtube video of the event published on May 22, 2021, wearing a black t-shirt with a black and white keffiyeh wrapped around his neck.
Shidia stood [00:07:41] at the rally alongside anti-Israel activists who chanted: “be-ruh be-dam nifdik ya Aqsaبروح ودم نفديك يااقصى [With spirit, with blood, we will redeem you, Aqsa].” The chant is a call to “redeem” the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been a pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state. Such propaganda has led to multiple periods of violence against Israeli civilians.
Later, as police ordered people to disperse or face arrest, Shidia ignored the police and shouted [00:07:55]: “Yahood [Jews]!!” at Israel supporters as he stood on the anti-Israel side of the protest.
Standing behind a security barrier that separated the pro-Israel from the anti-Israel protesters, Shidia also shouted [00:57:22] obscenities in Arabic at the Israel supporters. Shidia appeared in New York Street Youtube video footage on the left side of the screen with his left hand cupping the side of his mouth as he shouted.
At the rally, anti-Israel activists pushed and breached a police barricade erected to separate the two sides. The anti-Israel activists then marched toward the pro-Israel side where many verbally assaulted pro-Israel activists. Some anti-Israel activists also stole Israeli flags from the hands of Israel supporters.
The anti-Israel activists then moved back to their side of the barricade where they chanted at the pro-Israel side [00:40:45]: “Nazis! Nazis!”
After demonstrators threw projectiles, police removed the barricade and proceeded to arrest several anti-Israel activists. Police declared that the assembly was “unlawful” and demanded the crowd disperse or be arrested.
As police officers warned protesters to disperse or be arrested, Shidia ran [00:11:15] from the police. He appeared [00:11:15] at the center of the screen wearing a black t-shirt with a black and white houndstooth-pattern keffiyeh wrapped around his shoulders.
Police used bicycles to disperse the rioters and pursue a number of them. Some rioters overturned police barricades to create obstacles in the street. Others threw garbage bags filled with trash onto the street while others dragged traffic barriers onto the street and overturned fencing.
Also during the rally, anti-Israel activists from the counterprotest violently attacked and reportedly yelled anti-Semitic slurs at Joseph Borgen, a Jewish man who was heading to the pro-Israel rally in Times Square.
Borgen was beaten to the ground, kicked and punched. Once he was on the ground, he was attacked with a crutch, stomped on and pepper-sprayed.
Police arrested two of the anti-Israel activists and charged them with assault as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime, and aggravated harassment as a hate crime. Other assailants were later arrested. That same day, other anti-Israel activists also shot fireworks at people.
On May 21, 2021, WOL posted two Instagram posts that offered legal advice to anyone arrested “protesting for Palestine.”
May 18, 2021 - WOL Rally
Shidia participated [00:06:13] in a May 18, 2021, WOL protest. He appeared in an Instagram video taken that day [00:06:13] by fellow anti-Israel activist Salem Seleiman, at the center of the screen, wearing a white t-shirt with a black and white houndstooth-pattern keffiyeh wrapped around his shoulders.The protest was titled: “Emergency Rally to Defend Palestine” and was held outside the Israeli consulate in Manhattan.
At the rally, anti-Israel protesters held signs that said: “STOP! All US Imperialist Support for Israel. STOP! Israeli Genocidal Attacks on Palestinians” and: “Imperialist AMERICA supports the GENOCIDE led by APARTHEID Israel.” Activists also chanted: “Intifada, Intifada!”
Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” has carried the connotation of violence.
The protest was initially confined to a sidewalk across the street. Protesters, however, forcibly pushed barricades that police had set up.
Later the crowd broke through the barricades and began marching through the streets of Manhattan. They later climbed a tourist bus, jumped and waved flags from it and set off smoke canisters.
Multiple protesters were then arrested after blocking the roadway outside of the United Nations. At this time, anti-Israel agitators led by Saadah Masoud began confronting a journalist saying he was not welcomed at the protest and pushing his camera.
On the same day as the WOL-organized protest, anti-Israel activists assaulted two Israel supporters.
Also on the same day as the protest, activists burned an Israeli flag and chanted: “Burn that s**t! Burn that s**t!”
May 11, 2021 - WOL Rally
Shidia appeared [slide 7] in a May 16, 2021 Instagram post that suggested he participated in a May 11, 2021 WOL-organized rally. At the protest, Shidia held a sign that said: “Get in loser. We’re freeing Palestine 
.”
.”The rally was titled: “Emergency Rally for Palestine” and was held outside the Israeli consulate in Manhattan.
At the rally, anti-Israel activists chanted [00:00:01]: “Jaish Muhammad, sawfa ya’ud [the army of Muhammad is returning].” The phrase is the second half of a chant calling for violence against Jews.
Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, soufa ya'oud [Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning]” is a chant recalling the early seventh-century Battle of Khaybar. At Khaybar, Muhammad and his followers massacred the Jews of that town and enslaved the surviving women as “wives.” The chant is often heard at anti-Israel rallies in the United States.
Also at the rally, a group of WOL activists attempted to attack pro-Israel counterprotesters outside of the Israeli consulate. They also later chanted: “There is only one solution! Intifada, Revolution!” and “It is right to rebel! Israel, go to hell!”
Later, Saadah Masoud, a violent anti-Israel agitator, led a crowd in chanting: “From the River to the Sea! Palestine will be Free!”
“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.
During the same protest, anti-Israel protesters chased [00:00:07] after police and a counterprotester, who was then hit in the head with a chair. When police noticed blood had begun pouring from his head, they ran him to a nearby building to safety.
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.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ishmael009/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/mrmaryson/ [Deleted]
- Status:
- Unknown
- University:
- Organizations:
- WOL
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- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
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