Mohamed Maihimid

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.

Maihimid appeared [00:00:29] center-screen in a YouTube video of the protest, chanting: “Free, free Palestine!!” He held a red WOL banner and pumped his right fist while wearing a dark blue hoodie.

At the protest, Maihimid chanted [00:00:32]: “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.

Maihimid later appeared at the front of the march celebrating [00:05:35] as Nerdeen Kiswani announced the number of protesters attending the rally. Maihimid could be seen [00:05:38] on the right side of the screen shouting in celebration, cupping his hands around his mouth. He then covered [00:05:40] his head with his hoodie.  

At the rally, anti-Israel demonstrators yelled [00:00:06]:“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 and celebrating the Battle of Khaybar.  

Anti-Israel protesters also chanted [00:35:32]: “It is right to rebel! Israel, go to hell!”

July 31, 2021 - WOL Rally in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

Maihimid yelled [00:32:51] anti-Israel slogans using a megaphone at a July 31, 2021 WOL rally that called on people to “GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA.”

Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” has carried the connotation of violence.  

Maihimid could be seen [00:33:16] with his face masked, wearing a dark blue top with a black and white-patterned keffiyeh over his head and a Palestinian flag for a cape, shouting through a white and red megaphone.

Maihimid appeared in a YouTube video of the rally and an Instagram post [slide 5] that showed him chanting through a megaphone.

Maihimid later chanted [00:33:57]: “Free, Free Palestine!” before being called by a fellow activist to retreat to the position where most of the anti-Israel protesters stood. 

At the rally, shortly after Kiswani called [01:01:21] for the elimination of Israel and signaled [[01:02:16] to launch fireworks, Kiswani told [01:02:43] the crowd: “I hope that a pop-pop is the last noise that some Zionists hear in their lifetime!” 

The WOL activists responded [01:02:48] with loud cheers and applause.

At the same rally, Kiswani led [00:00:26] Arabic chants which translated: “The Gate of Al-Aqsa is made of iron, it can be opened only by martyrs” and [00:00:54] “Either we liberate [the Al-Aqsa Mosque] or we die!” 

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.

Kiswani translated [00:55:55] the chants into English, saying that “the Palestinian community and the people who stand with and support Palestine are 100% behind our martyrs. We are 100% behind our resistance. … We know that our liberation will only come through resistance by any means necessary.”

WOL’s Instagram announcement of the rally said: “As Palestinians continue to bravely confront ethnic cleansing and genocide, it’s time to globalize the Intifada. This call is…driven by the belief that all colonized and oppressed people have the right to take back their land… Globalize the Intifada comes from the urgent need to…break free from the genocidal grip of U.S. imperialism…”

August 16, 2021 - “Globalize the Intifada” WOL Protest

Maihimid chanted [00:14:07] anti-Israel chants as he participated in an August 16, 2021 WOL protest titled: “GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA. Rise against the Normalization. Defend Palestine.”

Maihimid wore blue jeans and a dark short-sleeved t-shirt with a black and white-patterned keffiyeh worn [00:20:19] on top, with a pale blue and azure scarf wrapped around his face, displaying only his eyes. He also held a Palestinian flag attached to a short pole.

At the rally, Maihimid appeared [00:02:59] in a YouTube video, chanting: “Free, Free Palestine!” and shouting [00:14:07]: “Globalize the Intifada!”

“Globalize the Intifada” is an anti-Israel campaign launched by Within Our Lifetime (WOL) in the summer of 2021, intended as an “ongoing strike at the heart of empire [sic] with Palestine as its compass.” The movement seeks to “break free from the genocidal grip of U.S. imperialism and Zionism” and advocates “liberation by any means necessary.”  

The protest was held at the Israeli consulate in Manhattan and intended to “stand against the normalization of Zionism.”

At the rally, Kiswani said [00:10:42] Israel “needs to conduct genocide. Israel needs to colonize in order to exist… We will never normalize Israel.”

Later, Amin Husain, an anti-Israel agitator who helped lead the rally, said [00:15:56]: “F**k this US empire!” He continued and said [00:16:21]: “People take risks and speak truth to power and know how to say ‘F**k the police.’”

Husain then pointed to the side of the pro-Israel protesters and said [00:17:17]: “Look at these racist motherfu**ers! They should be afraid. They kill our families and they think they can do this. That’s the rage that we need to bring.”

September 12, 2021 - Pro-Terror WOL Protest

Maihimid participated [slide 9] in a WOL protest in “support of the 6 prison breakers and ALL Palestinian prisoners.” The protest was held in Washington Square Park.

On September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners escaped from the maximum-security Gilboa Prison in Israel. The escaped prisoners were convicted members of the terror organizations Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, who were jailed for their involvement in attacks carried out during the second intifada. All were recaptured by September 19, 2021, by Israeli authorities.

In a WOL Instagram post published on September 13, 2021, Maihimid was featured [slide 9], wearing a dark top with his face nearly completely masked by a black and white-patterned keffiyeh. He tucked a spoon into his keffiyeh as a sign of support for the prisoner who used spoons to dig a tunnel to escape.

In the post, the organization referred to the terrorists as “freedom fighters” [slide 5].” At the rally, Kiswani led chants calling to [00:40:11]: “Free All Prisoners!!”

At the protest, anti-Israel activists chanted [00:07:45]: “1-2-3-4 open up the prison doors, 5-6-7-8 smash the settler-Zionist state!” They also chanted [00:00:47]: “There is only one solution: Intifada Revolution!” 

A YouTube video of the protest captured [00:38:42] multiple chants in support of intifada, with protesters chanting [00:38:31]: “From New York to Gaza, Globalize the Intifada!!” Protesters marched [00:38:49] behind a black banner with white lettering that read: “GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA.”

At the rally, anti-Israel activists also chanted: We don’t want no two states, we want ALL of it!!” as well as [00:36:52] “Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho! Zionism has got to go!” 

The two-state solution envisions a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by dividing the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea into an Israeli Jewish state and a Palestinian Arab state.

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.

Al-Awda Activism

In 2022, Maihimid participated as a facilitator in Al-Awda’s “Rising to Return” May 6-8 National Conference. He helped run the track 2 workshop/panel titled: “Campus to Community: Intergenerational Coordination & Mutual Empowerment,” held on Saturday, May 7, 2022.

The Al-Awda National Conference was intended to map strategies “to advance Palestinian liberation and return” and devise “tactics to dismantle zionist supremacy and colonization.” The mention of “return” is a reference to the “right of return.”

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.

At a May 13, 2022 Al-Awda rally in New York City, Maihimid chanted [00:00:16] anti-Israel slogans. He wore a Palestinian flag while standing behind the activist leader who led the chants. Maihimid wore blue jeans, an orange t-shirt, a green jacket and a black and white-patterned keffiyeh on his head, folded into a cap.

At the rally, Maihimid chanted [00:00:16]: “Israel, Israel, we see you! You kill and oppress too!” and [00:00:41]: “Israel, Israel, you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!” 

Also at the rally, Maihimid stood among anti-Israel activists when they chanted [00:00:22]: “Long Live the Intifada! Intifada, Intifada!”

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.