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Nicolas O'Rourke
Nicolas O'Rourke is a politician who showed support for a pro-Hamas encampment at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and engaged in anti-Israel activism during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists. Israel launched the war after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks.
Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, injured thousands and kidnapped hundreds more that day. For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
Nicolas O'Rourke is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of May 2025, O'Rourke was listed as a councilmember and the minority whip at the Philadelphia City Council and a pastor at the Living Water United Church of Christ (LWUCC).
As of May 2025, O'Rourke's LinkedIn profile said he graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary (Lancaster Seminary) with a master's degree in divinity and ministry in 2022.
As of the same date, O'Rourke's LinkedIn said he was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
On April 30, 2024, during Israel's war against Hamas terrorists, Nicolas O'Rourke posted on Instagram a series of photos from the pro-Hamas encampment at Penn. In the post, he accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing."
On April 25, 2024, anti-Israel activists from Penn, Temple University and Drexel University set up the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" on the Penn campus to protest Israel's war against Hamas.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped hundreds and wounded thousands. War crimes included mass rape and torture. Many Palestinian civilians participated in and supported the attacks, and Gazans working in the targeted Israeli communities gave intelligence to Hamas on where to strike.
For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
On June 14, 2024, Nicolas O'Rourke posted [slide 4] on Instagram an anti-Israel resolution that said: "At UNRWA, the principle of humanity drives their support for Palestinian refugees."
The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) has hired Hamas members as teachers in its schools and provided arms to the terror group. Dozens of UNRWA staff participated in the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack on Israel, and many kept hostages for Hamas in their homes.
On August 18, 2024, O'Rourke spoke at an anti-Israel rally in Philadelphia that called upon the then-vice president Kamala Harris to publicly commit to an arms embargo on Israel if elected president.
On March 19, 2025, O'Rourke posted on Instagram a video of himself speaking at a rally in support of Mahmoud Khalil.
Khalil was arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March 2025. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said that Khalil "led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization."
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by pro-terror activist Omar Barghouti in 2005 to turn “Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.” Barghouti has also called for Israel's destruction and the BDS movement demands would result in that same goal.
BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.
The movement’s most notable achievement has been infiltrating university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments propose resolutions to boycott or divestment from Israel or Israeli-affiliated entities. BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents and pro-terror activism on campus.
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