Maher Odeh

As of April 2024, Odeh’s Instagram bio said: “aher deh / Palestinian وأفتخر [and proud] /NYC Chicago // furniturereformation.com.” Furniture Reformation is based in New York, New York, and it “specializes in sofa repairs and assembly.”

5/20/2021 - Burning an Israeli Flag at a Violent Protest

On May 20, 2021, Odeh led the burning of an Israeli flag and held [00:08:05] his middle finger up at Israel supporters when he participated [00:57:37] in a violent anti-Israel counterprotest in Times Square, New York. Odeh was in a video from the event, wearing [00:08:01] a black shirt and a Palestinian flag on his back.

Odeh led [image 1] the burning of an Israeli flag at the counterprotest, where he held the flag on a pole while other activists set it on fire. As Odeh held [00:03:16] the Israeli flag, other protesters cut it into small pieces.

Odeh was filmed [00:08:01] earlier showing a middle finger at pro-Israel activists while he held up the Israeli flag and other protesters were looking for a lighter to set it on fire. As he held up the flag, protesters chanted: “Allahu akbar [God is the greatest]!”

The protest occurred during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls(OGW) in Gaza.

In May 2021, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists fired over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at major population centers in Israel. Israel responded by launching OGW, carrying out targeted military strikes in Gaza.

During the May 20, 2021 rally, anti-Israel activists pushed against a police barricade erected to separate them from the pro-Israel side. The anti-Israel side breached the barricade and marched toward the pro-Israel side, where they verbally assaulted the pro-Israel activists. Separate videos showed some anti-Israel activists also stealing Israeli flags from the pro-Israel activists.

The anti-Israel activists then moved back to their side of the barricade, where some of them chanted at the Israel supporters: “Nazis! Nazis!”

After demonstrators threw projectiles, police removed the barricade and proceeded to arrest several anti-Israel activists. Police declared the assembly to be “unlawful” and demanded that the crowd disperse or be arrested. Despite police warnings, some rioters reportedly continued to throw projectiles at police while others fled the scene.

While police used bicycles to disperse the rioters and pursue a number of them, some anti-Israel activists overturned police barricades to obstruct 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 by several counterprotesters and pepper-sprayed.

Police arrested suspects and charged them with assault as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime. That same day, other anti-Israel activists also shot fireworks at people.

On May 21, 2021, WOL posted two Instagram posts that offered legal support and advice to anyone arrested. The posts also portrayed the assailants as victims.

5/15/2022 - WOL Rally & Calling for Israel’s Destruction

On May 15, 2022, Odeh participated in a WOL protest titled: “Nakba 74.” The protest was co-organized by WOL and other anti-Israel groups and took place in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

The term “Nakba” is generally translated as “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is a term often used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by defining it as a catastrophe.

Odeh posted on Instagram a photo of himself at the protest and wrote: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free…#palestine#ny@wolpalestine.”

“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, one speaker said [slide 7]: “...battalions of IDF [Israel Defense Forces] that are only protecting an idea that should be thrown into the dustbin of history. The Filipino people and Palestinian people share a common enemy that is US imperialism…”

WOL founder Nerdeen Kiswani addressed the crowd and said [00:01:29]: “The Israeli Zionist colonizer knows no bounds. They squat on our land and kill our people because they have nothing less than complete genocide and annihilation planned for the Palestinian people.”

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.

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

Kiswani continued [00:06:18]: “Ever since May 15, 1948 and, even before, Palestinians have been killed senselessly, have been facing genocide, because the Israeli plan is to colonize all of Palestine from the river to the sea. And this is why we fight for Palestine from the river to the sea because every inch of that land is Palestinian and there will never be peace without justice.”

The modern State of Israel was founded in 1948.

Also at the rally, anti-Israel agitator Amin Husain addressed the crowd and said [slide 9]: “The NYPD [New York Police Department] is an occupying force in our city, on this land, so fighting for Palestine has to also mean f**k the police…”

Anti-Israel agitator Shellyne Rodriguez also addressed the crowd and said [slide 10]: “We are all here inside the empire where Wall Street is, give or take, 20 miles away and all of them live…on the upper east side…All of our enemies: the CEOs of these multinational corporations, these weapons manufacturers, these Zionists that run these philanthropic organizations, that are really shadow fu**ing governments…”

At the rally, protesters held signs that said [00:00:02]: “Nakba 74 - Resistance and return by any means necessary.”

Among Palestinians and anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” can be a euphemism for nationalistic terror. It is often used to excuse or even glorify anti-Israel and anti- Semitic violence.  

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.

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/maher.odeh.12

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/Pali_made23/ [Private]