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Nour Qutyan
Nour Qutyan [Nur Qutyan] led multiple rallies supporting the Hamas terrorist organization after the group committed war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings, on October 7, 2023.
In October 2023, Qutyan also opposed and disrupted a Philadelphia City Council meeting where members held to vote on a resolution to condemn the Hamas terror attacks.
As of November 2023, Qutyan was a member and reportedly a spokesperson for the Philly Palestine Coalition, a local anti-Israel group.
In 2022, Qutyan intentionally blocked traffic while leading an anti-Israel rally during rush hour. Qutyan directed protesters into the street, one of whom threatened a motorist with violence.
In 2021, Qutyan demonized a pro-Israel philanthropist outside of his home. Qutyan has also spread hatred of Israel in her activism and on social media.
In July 2021, Qutyan served [00:05:43] as the president of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Temple University (Temple). Qutyan was also affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) in Philadelphia (JVP Philly) in 2021.
Qutyan is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of May 2023, Qutyan was affiliated with the literature festival “Palestine Writes.” Qutyan’s Palestine Writes bio said Qutyan worked “at a cooperative book store, an independent publishing company and as a darkroom lab technician in Philadelphia.”
Qutyan graduated from Temple’s College of Liberal Arts with a bachelor’s degree in May 2022. In April 2022, Qutyan was listed on ResearchGate as a member of Temple’s Institute of Global Management Studies.
As of November 2023, Qutyan’s Twitter bio said Qutyan was a “community organizer” and an “artist.”
As of November 2023, Qutyan’s Instagram bio said Qutyan sold “Handmade precious & semi precious wire wrapped jewelry,” and was located in Philadelphia.
Also as of November 2023, Qutyan went by the username “nour” and used the handle “@n_o_u_r_i_e” on Twitter. Qutyan used the handle “@trinketwitchjewelry” on Instagram.
On October 8, 2023, Qutyan helped lead [00:08:00] an anti-Israel rally and march held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in support of Hamas. Qutyan spoke [00:15:53] and led chants at the rally reportedly as the spokesperson for the Philly Palestine Coalition.
Qutyan spoke at the rally [00:15:53] and defended the Hamas massacre a day earlier: “Hamas…they will call an Islamic terrorist group. Hamas, what they are is they’re the resistance front…what they’re doing is defending their land, defending their people and defending their right to live.”
Qutyan said [00:16:09]: “Indigenous people have a right to resist occupation…and that includes violent resistance…”
Qutyan led protesters in chanting [00:20:55]: “Free, free Palestine,” [00:21:12] “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free!” and [00:50:12] “When people are occupied, resistance is justified.”
“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.
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.
As the rally ended in front of Philadelphia’s City Hall, Qutyan said [01:59:07]: “What’s happening in Palestine is history...it’s going to inspire people…all around the world to also rise up.”
Qutyan later said [02:00:08]: “We have to defend the resistance because it’s freedom by any means necessary…by any means necessary.”
On October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas terrorists murdered nearly 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds more, anti-Israel groups in Philadelphia held an “Emergency Solidarity Rally.” Chants during the march to the rally featured various calls for Israel’s destruction and celebrations of Hamas terrorism by using the euphemism “resistance.”
At the rally, activist Romance Albarqawi said during her speech: “What we saw yesterday morning was decolonization taking place!” The crowd cheered in response to this line as well as after another line when she said: “The resistance is justified!” Workers World Party activist Michael Wilson later said: “I think that we should all give an applaud right now to Hamas for a job well done!” The crowd again cheered in response.
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, approximately 2,900 heavily armed Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s border with Gaza. They executed numerous war crimes on civilians, including mass murder, beheadings of children, rape of men and women, torture, kidnappings and mutilation.
Hamas broadcast videos of their butchery on social media, often to victims’ accounts for families to see. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.” As of November 10, 2023, approximately 1,200 Israelis, the vast majority of them civilians, were murdered during the attacks. Hamas kidnapped 242 Israelis, including at least 30 children. At least 3,500 people were wounded, many severely.
A terrorist detained by Israel admitted he raped an Israeli woman when he broke into a kibbutz house during the October 7, 2023 attack. In March 2024, a former hostage of Hamas publicly stated she was sexually abused and tortured while in captivity.
For more information on the October 7, 2023 terror attacks, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, European Union, Israel and other countries. Founded in 1987, it has killed thousands of Israeli civilians through mass shootings and suicide bombings. Hamas has also kidnapped children, families and the elderly and held them hostage in Gaza. It has desecrated [slide 7] dead bodies and launched numerous rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.
On October 19, 2023, Qutyan spoke [00:59:18] during public comment against Philadelphia City Council Resolution 230706 titled: “Condemning the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel and calling for a peaceful resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.”
Qutyan said [00:59:20] “I in the strongest terms uh, condemn this resolution…Genocide will not be endorsed in my name.”
Qutyan continued: [00:59:30 “International law and human rights groups have reached a clear agreement. Israel is an apartheid state committing real crimes against a stateless indigenous people.”
Qutyan was ejected from the meeting after she reportedly disrupted speakers who supported the resolution during public comments.
On October 19, 2023, the Philadelphia City Council adopted the resolution to condemn Hamas’s terror attacks.
On October 28, 2023, Qutyan led an anti-Israel rally in Philadelphia in support of Hamas terrorists. Qutyan led [02:22:29] protesters in chanting: “Ain’t no power like the power of the people cuz the power of the people don’t stop” and[02:26:51]: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
On October 28, 2023, PPC held a rally at Philadelphia City Hall calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terror group. Israel launched the war three weeks earlier after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks.
Speakers at the rally led chants in support of terrorism and calling for Israel’s destruction. One speaker led [00:09:55] the pro-terror chant: “Free, free Palestine! Free, free Palestine! There is only one solution! Intifada, revolution! There is only one solution! Intifada, revolution!”
Speakers said [00:04:10] that beyond a ceasefire, they wanted “liberation,” meaning “ending the siege on Gaza, ending the occupation and decolonizing Palestine from the River to The Sea.” Rallygoers chanted [00:00:02], in Arabic: “From the River to The Sea, Palestine is Arab!” The speaker's statement and the chants are both calls for the destruction of Israel.
Qutyan marched ahead of protesters and intentionally blocked traffic at an anti-Israel rally in Philadelphia. Qutyan directed protesters into the street and from the middle of the street, Qutyan shouted: “Occupy the street!”
On August 10, 2022, an anti-Israel protest titled: “Philly Stands with Gaza,” was held in central Philadelphia during the late-afternoon rush hour. Speakers spread antisemitism and promoted incitement, while protesters blocked traffic and threatened drivers. The protest was in opposition to Israel’s Operation Breaking Dawn (OBD) against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group in Gaza.
Philadelphia Coalition for Palestine (PCP) organized the rally in order to “Honor the 45 Palestinian martyrs; End the blockade on Gaza; Defend Palestinian resistance!” PCP includes Temple SJP and the Philadelphia chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and IfNotNow (INN).
The protest demonstration consisted of two rallies and a march in between. The first rally was held on the east side of Philadelphia's City Hall and the second one was held later on the west side of City Hall.
Hatred of Israel at the Rally
Nada El-Hillal began the protest by leading [00:00:02] the chant: “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!” The chant is a call for the elimination of the State of Israel. She later led [00:11:50] the chants: “Stop the crime! Israel out of Palestine!...One two three four, occupation no more! Five, six, seven, eight, we will not cooperate!”
Protesters then marched while leaders led [00:41:53] the chants: “There is only one solution! Intifada, revolution!” Since the early 2000s, the term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” has carried the connotation of violence.
Qutyan carried [00:51:32] a megaphone and marched alongside rally leader Johara Shamaa.
Qutyan chanted [00:52:09]: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”
During the march, Qutyan directed [01:06:20] protesters to follow and join Quatyan “on the street! On the street! Occupy the street!” Moments later, Brice Peterson, who was also a speaker, joined them in intentionally blocking [01:08:45] commuter traffic.
Peterson slammed [01:08:47] his hand on one of the cars when its driver tried to move slowly past the protesters. He then threatened [01:09:27] the driver, yelling: “Don’t do it, do not do it! I will break your f**king window and beat the f**k out of you! Don’t you dare!”
During Peterson’s assault on the driver, another march leader chanted [01:09:17]: “Israel, Israel, you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!”
After the march ended at the west side of City Hall, one speaker said [01:15:01]: “We need to end the blockade on Gaza and support the Palestinian resistance in any way that we can. We need to be boycotting Israeli companies. We need to be taking action. This is a settler colonialist project and we need to shut it down, finally.”
Israel and Egypt implemented a U.N.-approved joint blockade of the Gaza Strip to stop Hamas from acquiring more sophisticated rockets.
Later on, at the end of the rally, a protest leader with a bullhorn threw [01:28:01] two Israeli flags on the pavement. Other protesters then proceeded to trample on the flags. Mohammad Omaren, another protest leader, burned [01:28:20] the flags while the protest leader with the bullhorn shouted [01:28:57]: “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! The yahoodi [Jew] must go!”
Multiple signs over the course of the rally promoted hatred of Israel. One protester held a sign that read: “Stop Israeli Holocaust against Palestinians.” Temple SJP posted photos to Instagram from the protest that featured a sign claiming [slide 5] Israel was a “TERRORIST STATE.” Another sign accused [slide 4] America and Israel, saying: “THERE IS BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS.”
At the end of the rally, Qutyan thanked [01:31:46] protesters for joining the rally and led [01:31:57] them in sustained chanting of: “I believe that we will win!”
On June 4, 2021, Qutyan participated [00:14:42] in a JVP Philly protest held outside the private residence of Philadelphia-based philanthropist Jeffrey Yass. The protest was part of a JVP Philly campaign of harassment against Yass.
On September 23, 2021, during the Jewish festival of Sukkot, JVP Philly activists erected a tent on the private lawn of Jeffrey Yass to protest his funding of various causes in the United States and Israel.
JVP Philly protesters gathered there with signs that said: “YASS FUNDS FASCISTS” and “YASS FUNDS ISRAELI APARTHEID,” as well as “YASS CASH HARMS OUR PLANET” and “YASS CASH HARMS OUR SCHOOLS.”JVP Swarthmore also participated in the protest.
A JVP Philly Facebook post about the protest claimed: “...his money is making the world a more dangerous, violent, and unequal place…But we are watching…His neighbors are hearing about it. His employees are hearing about it. The word is out. #AllEyesOnYass 🧿.”
JVP Philly passed out a flyer to Yass’s neighbors that claimed Yass was financing “Israeli apartheid policies which cause great harm to Palestinians and any possibility of peace in the region.”
The flyer also said: “TIRED OF SEEING US HERE? TELL JEFF HIS CHOICES ARE NOT JUST HARMING THE WORLD, THEY’RE BUGGING HIS NEIGHBORS TOO. MAYBE THAT WILL MAKE HIM CHANGE HIS WAYS!”
The protest reportedly marked the launch of JVP Philly’s “All Eyes on Yass” campaign, following two other protests they had held earlier that year against Yass.
On June 4, 2021, JVP Philly held a protest with around 100 participants outside Yass’s home. JVP Philly accused Yass of funding “the displacement and murder of Palestinians” and demanded that he stop his support of pro-Israel initiatives.
Protesters stood in Yass’s front yard holding [00:00:24] a large sign that said: “ISRAELI APARTHEID FUNDED HERE” and shouted [00:01:30] “shame” while banging on tables.
In a Facebook live stream of the protest, Elana Baurer, a JVP organizer, said [00:00:35] the protesters were calling on Yass to “stop participating in the ongoing Nakba.”
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.
At the protest, Alissa Wise, a JVP leader, said [00:11:30] into a megaphone: “last week we were at his office…this week we’re at his house because his employees, his staff, his colleagues, his neighbors, they know what he’s doing,” and continued [00:12:20]: “we must build outrage in everyone in his community until we get what we want.”
On May 21, 2021, JVP Philly held a sit-in at the lobby of Yass’s office in Philadelphia. Protesters held anti-Israel banners outside the office and accused [00:00:40] Yass and his business partner, Arthur Dantchik, of “funding genocide, apartheid and ethnic cleansing” in Israel, as they chanted [00:00:52]: “Israeli apartheid is funded here, Jews say Free Palestine.”
JVP Philly activists also placed flyers on employees’ cars that accused Israel of “the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians…and violent murder and destruction.”
The protest ended with JVP Philly leader Alissa Wise leaving a voicemail on Yass’s personal number, saying [00:21:08]: “what you’re doing to the Palestinian people is a shande [disgrace]...we’re really disgusted by what you’re funding and we want to urge you to cease funding it now...and we’ll keep coming back as long as it takes.”
On July 15, 2021, Qutyan participated in an online panel titled: “How to Defend Palestine Against Zionist Propaganda.” Qutyan said [00:13:53]: “I think people are just realizing more and more how state-sanctioned violence in Israel is very similar to state-sanctioned violence that occurs in the U.S., you know, with the Deadly Exchange…the exchange of policing programs…”
In 2017, anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) launched the “Deadly Exchange (DX)” campaign, which accused American Jewish organizations of promoting human rights abuses. JVP also released a video that blamed [00:04:04] U.S.-based Jewish organizations for violence that occurs against Black and Brown communities, immigrants and activists in the U.S.
At the same panel, Qutyan referred to OGW, saying [00:13:27]: “...people that I know that were nervous about talking about Palestine publically just stopped caring about that, you know, we stopped caring about accusations of anti-Semitism...”
Anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. “more than doubled” during OGW and its aftermath, compared to the same time period in 2020, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
On July 10, 2021, Qutyan participated in a protest titled: “Philly for Palestine: March Against Israeli Apartheid.” Protesters at the march reportedly chanted: “‘We don’t want your ‘two states,’ we want all of ‘48!”
The chant, "We don't want your ‘two states,’ we want all of '48!" is a call to reverse the formal reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty in 1948 on a section of the former British Mandate of Palestine, in accordance with the United Nations Partition Plan. The Arab League opposed the partition, denied the Jews' national connection to their ancestral homeland and condemned the establishment of the State of Israel.
The July 10 protest was co-sponsored by Temple SJP, Swathmore SJP and other anti-Israel organizations, including the Philadelphia chapters of JVP, SJP, CAIR, INN and Philly BDS.
Qutyan promoted the event on both Facebook and Twitter.
Qutyan signed a June 17, 2021 letter written by SJP at the University of Delaware (UD) that claimed: “Israeli Occupation Forces prevented Muslim Palestinians from praying in the Al Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques...This sparked a new wave of protests and rightful Palestinian resistance…” The letter urged UD to condemn Israel.
On May 7-10, 2021, violent clashes broke out between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa compound, following claims that Al-Aqsa Mosque was in danger. The allegation that Jews “threaten” to destroy Al-Aqsa has been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews long before the existence of the modern Jewish state.
On June 8, 2021, Qutyan’s Facebook cover picture was changed to a photo of a sign hung off a Philadelphia pedestrian bridge that said: “YOUR TAX $$ FUND ISRAELI APARTHEID.” Another sign on the bridge promoted an anti-Israel protest titled: “Block the Boat.” The photo was also featured on Temple SJP’s Instagram page.
On June 7, 2021, Qutyan also promoted the protest on Facebook. The protest was in solidarity with port workers who were refusing to unload Israeli ships.
Qutyan wrote: “Join us at City Hall this weekend...All around the world, dockworkers and working people from South Africa, Italy, Oakland, and beyond are refusing to aid Israeli cargo company Zim ship weaponry to the Occupied Palestinian Territories where they are used for apartheid & ethnic cleansing. As Zim continues to lose millions of dollars from these #BDS #BlockTheBoat movements...”
On June 2, 2021, Qutyan tweeted: “Israel now wants an additional $1 billion to commit more war crimes against the Palestinian people. I urge you to reject this outrageous demand from the Israeli government!...” Qutyan’s tweet linked to an American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) campaign, urging Congress not to provide financial aid to Israel.
Also on June 2, 2021, a coalition of 55 members of Congress from both parties called for $1 billion to help replenish Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which is designed to intercept and destroy rockets and artillery shells. During the prior month, Israel carried out Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW) against terrorists 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.
Israel commenced Operations Cast Lead (OCL), Pillar of Defense (OPD) and Protective Edge (OPE) in 2008-09, 2012 and 2014, respectively, in order to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians.
On May 28, 2021, Qutyan participated in an event titled: “Interfaith Vigil for Palestinian Martyrs.” Qutyan held a sign that said: “EXECUTED BY ISRAEL FUNDED BY THE USA 227 MARTYRS.” The event was co-hosted by Temple SJP, JVP Philly and the Swarthmore chapters of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), JVP and SJP.
On May 27, 2021, Qutyan posted “A Letter Against Apartheid” to Qutyan’s jewelry Instagram and Facebook pages. Qutyan wrote: “...I challenge the artists I know to not only support and sign this letter, but to share it on your own social media’s [sic] and make your stance against apartheid clear for everyone…”
The letter stated: “We ask governments that are enabling this crime against humanity to apply sanctions…and to cut trade, economic and cultural relations” with Israel.
On May 26, 2021, speaking at the “Interfaith Vigil: Senator Casey Stop Selling Bombs to Israel,” Qutyan urged [01:11:24] activists to “call Casey’s office and email U.S. representatives and other civil servants and demand for economic and military sanctions on Israel, boycott products like Sabra hummus, HP, Ben & Jerry’s, Sodastream as well as many other products that are made on illegal settlements…”
Qutyan retweeted a May 15, 2021 tweet that said: “Palestine called. PHILLY ANSWERED. END THE OCCUPATION. #SaveSheikhJarrah.” Included in the tweet was a photo from the protest that showed a sign that said: “ZIONISM IS WHITE SETTLER COLONIALISM.”
In May 2021, calls to “save” Sheikh Jarrah, a Jerusalem neighborhood at the center of a property dispute, led to violence against Israelis and were one of the leading factors in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza into Israel that month.
On May 15, 2021, Qutyan participated in an anti-Israel protest. The protest, called: “PHILADELPHIA: #SaveSheikhJarrah,” was co-hosted by multiple anti-Israel groups, including JVP Philly, Philly BDS, Temple SJP and SJP at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Qutyan also promoted the event on Facebook and Instagram.
One protester held a sign that said: “RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED” and “WHEN INJUSTICE BECOMES LAW…RESISTANCNCE [sic] BECOMES A DUTY!!!” Other signs said “F**K ISRAEL,” claimed that “ZIONISM IS GENOCIDE” and called to “END ZIONISM.”
Demonstrators also displayed signs that read: “FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA PALESTINE WILL BE FREE” and “HANDS OFF OF OUR LAND.”
SJP is a student organization engaged in anti-Israel activity on North American college and university campuses.
The first chapter of SJP was founded in 2001 at the University of California at Berkeley by Professor Hatem Bazian. Bazian has spread classic anti-Semitism, reportedly promoted religious anti-Semitism and defended the Hamas terror group. In 2004, Bazian called for “intifada” in America.
SJP organizes anti-Israel campaigns, including running annual Israel Apartheid Weeks, often in collaboration with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Muslim Student Association (MSA) campus chapters.
SJP has been a major force in pushing the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses. Chapters have initiated dozens of BDS resolutions in student governments, which have been proposed on or around Jewish holidays, a time when many Jewish students are off-campus.
SJP activists have reportedly physically assaulted, intimidated and harassed Jewish students, disrupted pro-Israel campus events and demonized pro-Israel campus organizations.
Chapters have often endorsed and campaigned for numerous terrorists and whitewashed terrorism.
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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