Malik Elbanna

Overview

Malik Elbanna has expressed support for Hamas terrorists and spread hatred of Israel and Zionists. He has also participated in multiple anti-Israel protests.

In 2022, Elbanna engaged in activism with the pro-terror group Within Our Lifetime (WOL).

Also in 2022, Elbanna engaged in activism with the anti-Israel group Al-Awda: The Palestinian Right to Return Coalition (Al-Awda).

As of November 2022, Elbanna’s since-deleted LinkedIn profile said he graduated from Port Said University (PSU) with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2019. PSU is located in Port Said, Egypt.

As of the same date, Elbanna indicated on his since-deleted Instagram account that he was located in New York, New York.

As of the same date, Elbanna used the handle “@palestine4ever74” on Instagram.

Support for Hamas Terrorists

On May 13, 2021, Elbanna shared [slide 11] on his Instagram Stories Highlights titled: “Palestine

,” a video of a protester walking in a demonstration with a Palestinian flag. The video had as its background music one of the anthems of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.

The lyrics of the song were: “يا ملثم يا ابو الكوفية يا رعب اليـهود يابو عبيدة الهمة قوية تصريحك بارود” [Oh, the masked man wearing a keffiyeh, Abu Obeida! Oh, terror of the Jews! Oh, Abu Obeida! The determination is strong. Your statement is gunpowder].”

Abu Obeida is the official spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades — the armed wing of Hamas.

The text from Elbanna’s original post said: “We’re everywhere

.”

Hamas is a designated terrorist organization founded in 1987 that is dedicated to destroying Israel and killing Jews. Since 2001, Hamas has launched thousands of rockets at Israel and on October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped over 200 hostages, including children and the elderly.

On May 22, 2022, Elbanna shared [slide 44] on the same Instagram Stories Highlights a video showing him waving a Palestinian flag at a protest.

The video had as its background music one of the anthems of the Al-Qassam Brigades: “يا جيش القسام تقدمخلف محمد ضيفعلم كل جيوش العالمدرب العزة كيف [O Al-Qassam Army, let you advance behind Muhammad Deif! Teach all the armies of the world how is the Path of Glory!]”

Mohammed Deif has been the leader of Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades since 2002. He announced the launch of Al-Aqsa Flood, the terror atrocities and war crimes that Hamas executed against Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023. Deif allegedly began masterminding the October 7 infiltration in May 2021. The terror attacks left over approximately 1,200 Israelis dead, hundreds kidnapped and thousands wounded.

Deif is also credited with creating Hamas’s techniques for launching rockets, deploying suicide bus bombings, kidnapping Israeli soldiers and digging terror tunnels. He is on Israel’s most-wanted list and has survived multiple assassination attempts. In 2015, he was placed on the U.S. Department of Treasury’s list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) for masterminding Hamas’s strategy during Israel’s 2014 Operation Protective Edge (OPE) against the terror group.

The text from Elbanna’s original post said: “...#palestinewillbefree #palestineforever #gaza…”

Hatred of Israel and Zionists

On May 6, 2021, Elbanna posted [slide 5] on his Instagram Stories Highlights titled: “Palestine

,” a graphic captioned with the words: “لعنة الله على الصهاينة [May Allah curse the Zionists].”

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.

On May 5, 2021, Elbanna re-posted on his Instagram Stories Highlights titled: “Palestine

,” a graphic that said: “لا تربوا أبناءكم على’حب فلسطين‘ وحسب، بل ربوهم على "كره إسرائيل" [Don’t just raise your children to love Palestine, but raise them to hate Israel.]

8/8/2022 - Anti-Israel WOL Rally in Manhattan, New York

On August 8, 2022, Elbanna participated [00:00:26] in a WOL protest titled: “NYC Stands with Gaza.” He can be seen in a video waving a Palestinian flag at the Grand Central Station in Manhattan, New York, which anti-Israel activists took over during their march.

On August 9, 2022, Elbanna posted on Facebook photos from the protest and wrote: “F**k the occupation F**k the Arabs government F**k the traitors.”

On August 13, 2020, the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to a joint statement referred to as the “Abraham Accords” in which the UAE consented to formally normalize its relationship with Israel.

The WOL’s flyer for the protest 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.

At the rally, an anti-Israel protester carried [00:00:04] a Palestinian flag attached to a Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) flag on a flagpole.

The PFLP is dedicated to the violent destruction of Israel. It is designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the United States. The EU, Canada, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Australia and Israel also list it as a terror group due to its history of carrying out assassinations, suicide bombings, hijackings and multiple murders.

At the rally, Nerdeen Kiswani, WOL founder and leader, 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!”

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.

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

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.

5/15/2022 - WOL Protest in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

On May 15, 2022, Elbanna participated in a WOL protest titled: “Nakba 74.” The rally 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 used to delegitimize the creation of the State of Israel by drawing a comparison to the Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, meaning “catastrophe.”

At the protest, Kiswani told [00:01:29] the crowd: “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.”

4/20/2022 - Pro-Terror WOL Protest in New York City

On April 20, 2022, Elbanna participated in an anti-Israel WOL rally titled: “NYC EMERGENCY RALLY TO SUPPORT PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE & LIBERATION BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.”

At the rally, protesters held signs that said [00:42:26]: “Free Palestine. From the River to the Sea” and “Zionism is Racism.”

“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.

At the same protest, Suleiman Othman, an anti-Israel agitator, burned [00:50:48] an Israeli flag while walking at the front of the march and then kicked [00:57:01] its remains. Elbanna celebrated [00:51:46] the stomping on an Israeli flag and later posted the episode on his Instagram.

Also at the rally, Saadah Masoud, an anti-Israel agitator, punched [00:00:01] a Jewish man in the face. The man was wearing an Israeli flag on his back and walked with a crutch. Masoud also stole the victim’s flag. An elderly woman was reportedly injured while trying to stop the attack.

4/16/2022 - Anti-Israel Al-Awda Rally in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

On April 16, 2022, Elbanna participated in an anti-Israel protest titled:“Emergency Rally to Defend Al-Aqsa.” The rally was organized by Al-Awda NY in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Elbanna was featured in an Al-Awda NY Twitter video from the rally, where he can be seen marching with other protesters and chanting [00:00:03]: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” and [00:00:20]: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

The event’s Facebook description read: “Far-Right zionist politicians & settlers also plan to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque this upcoming week. Therefore, it’s crucially important to hit the streets to Defend Al-Aqsa, & demand an end to the occupation & settler colonialism.”

Palestinians and anti-Israel activists have historically described visits by Jews to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as “incursions” during which Jews purportedly “storm” the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinians have also frequently used the mosque to stockpile stone slabs, fireworks and rocks, with which they attack Israeli security officers and non-Muslim visitors to the Temple Mount.

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.