Moe Dari

Overview

Moe Dari [Mohammad Dari] is a gun enthusiast who was detained while participating in a violent anti-Israel counterprotest in Times Square in May 2021. Dari also honored a violent rioter who was arrested that day and later charged with assault as a hate crime. Dari has spread hatred of Israel at multiple anti-Israel protests in New York City.

Dari also engaged in anti-Israel activism at a May 2021 protest organized by Within Our Lifetime (WOL), an activist group in New York City founded by Nerdeen Kiswani. Until February 2018, WOL was known as the city’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), using the name NYC SJP.

WOL’s “Points of Unity” states [point 3]: “We defend the right of Palestinians as colonized people to resist the zionist occupation by any means necessary.”

In June 2022, Dari indicated on Tiktok that he worked in construction in Israel.

As of September 2022, Dari’s Facebook page said he lived in New York City.

As of July 2023, Dari’s indicated on TikTok that he was located in Jerusalem, Israel.

Also as of July 2023, Dari went by the username “Hamood Dari” and the handle “@mhmd.dari” on TikTok. He also went by the username “Mohammad Dari

” on Facebook as well as the handle “@mohamad.dari6” on Instagram.

For more information, see the Canary Mission page Within Our Lifetime: The NYC Org Inciting Its Activists To Violence.

Gun Enthusiast

On March 13, 2022, Dari shared a video on TikTok that included a clip of him firing [00:00:01] a pistol at an American shooting range. He also included photos of him in Jerusalem.

In the post, Dari wrote: “#fyp #foryou #arab #القدس [Jerusalem].”

On January 7, 2022, Dari shared a video on TikTok of himself firing a pistol [00:00:01] as well as an assault rifle, at a shooting range.

In the post, Dari wrote: “#foryou #אלקודס [Al-Quds (Jerusalem)] #اكسبلورر؟ [Explorer]”

On January 26, 2021, Dari shared a video on TikTok of himself firing [00:00:01] a rifle at a shooting range.

May 20 - 23 2021 - Violent Protest

Dari was detained [00:00:57] while participating in a violent counterprotest against a May 20, 2021 pro-Israel rally in Times Square, Manhattan, where he chanted [00:00:05] anti-Israel slogans. Days later, Dari honored [00:00:17] a violent rioter who was arrested at the rally and charged with a hate crime.

The rally was during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW) against Hamas.

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.

Detained by Police

Dari was detained [00:00:57] along with more than two dozen anti-Israel activists while participating [4th slide] in a violent counterprotest.

Dari can be seen [00:00:57] in multiple videos and images [4th slide, bottom image] that day, wearing [00:03:13] a red t-shirt with a Palestinian flag and the text “It’s in My DNA” spelled [00:00:44] in white lettering. He also wore black shorts and was waving [00:02:51] a Palestinian flag attached to a short pole.

Dari continued waving his flag as police declared the assembly unlawful and ordered demonstrators to vacate the premises or face arrest. Dari resisted [00:02:53] a police officer who attempted to confiscate his flag and was then restrained [00:03:03] by several other officers and handcuffed [00:03:08].

Anti-Israel Chants

AP archive video footage of the rally, published May 25, 2021, showed Dari and other anti-Israel activists chanting [00:00:05] “One, two, three, four, occupation no more!” He also shouted [00:01:03] “Allahu Akhbar [God is the Greatest]” at the Israel supporters.

Video footage from The Telegraph of the rally, published May 21, 2021, also showed [00:01:12] Dari raising his middle fingers at pro-Israel protesters as a line of policemen stood [00:01:27] before the pro-Palestinian protesters separating them from the pro-Israel demonstrators.

At the time, police managed to keep the two groups apart. However, anti-Israel activists later pushed against a police barricade erected to separate the two groups. The anti-Israel side breached the barricade and marched toward the pro-Israel side where they shouted at 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: “Nazis! Nazis!” at the Israel supporters.

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.

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

Honoring a Violent Rioter

On May 23, 2021, Dari featured [00:00:22] in a Twitter video celebrating the release of Waseem Awawdeh from police custody. Awawdeh was arrested and charged with violently assaulting a Jewish man, Joseph Borgen, in a mob attack in New York on May 20, 2021.

In the video, Dari can be seen [00:00:22]on the right side of the screen wearing a white t-shirt with “LOS ANGELES” written on the front.

Awawdeh was charged with "hate crime assault 2, gang assault 2, menacing, and criminal possession of a weapon," after he violently attacked [00:00:01] Borgen with a crutch while shouting anti-Semitic slurs at him. Awawdeh reportedly told one of his jailers: “If I could do it again, I would do it again.”

During the attack, Awawdeh reportedly calledBorgen, who was on his way to a pro-Israel rally, a “dirty Jew” and said: “F**k Israel, Hamas is going to kill all of you.”

Another rioter, Faisal Elezzi, was also charged with assault as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime. As of January 17, 2023, Awawdeh was listed as one of five defendants in a civil lawsuit brought by Borgen. The other defendants were Elezzi, Mohammed Othman, Mahmoud R. Musa and a minor with the initials “K.A.”

May 15, 2021 - Nakba Day WOL Rally

Dari chanted anti-Israel slogans and waved [00:18:01] a Palestinian flag at a rally organized by WOL in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York. The rally was also organized during OGW.

Dari participated [00:18:01] with anti-Israel protesters in a May 15, 2021, Nakba Day protest organized by WOL 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.

Dari joined [00:28:06] in the chant: “إرفع إيدك علّي الصوت، اللي بيهتف مش حٓ يموت الموت ولا وطني[Raise your hand and raise your voice, who shouts never dies, either death or my country].”

Dari appeared [00:21:22] in a YouTube video of the rally, published May 18, 2021, and can be seen on the right side of the screen wearing the same red t-shirt with white lettering that he wore [00:03:13] at the May 20, 2021 WOL rally in Manhattan. He also wore a Palestinian flag scarf as a headband.

Dari chanted [00:21:21] with other anti-Israel activists: “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.

Dari also joined in chanting [00:22:17] “Free! Free! Gaza!” as well as [00:22:24] “Free Free Al Aqsa!”

The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state.

Dari also chanted [00:22:35]: “be-ruh be-dam nifdik ya Aqsaبروح ودم نفديك يااقصى [With spirit, with blood, we will redeem you, Aqsa]!” The chant honors martyrdom over the Al-Aqsa Mosque and can be heard [00:01:14] at anti-Israel rallies [00:02:19] in America.

Other protesters at the rally chanted: “Israel is a Terrorist state,” as well as “Israel is a crime.”

On May 16, 2021, Dari shared a video on TikTok featuring footage from the May 15, 2021 rally.

On the same date, Dari updated his Facebook cover photo with an image of the rally that showed him protesting with Awawdeh, Mohammed Hammad and other protesters. Dari appeared on the right side of the screen wearing a red t-shirt with his left arm raised.

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.