Samantha Rise
Samantha Rise [Sam Rise] spoke at and participated in anti-Israel rallies held after Hamas committed war crimes against Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023. The atrocities included mass murder, torture, kidnappings, rapes and beheadings, resulting in about 1,200 Israelis dead, hundreds kidnapped and thousands wounded.
Rise has also expressed [slide 2] support for terrorists and spread hatred of Israel following the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre dubbed the “Al-Aqsa Flood.” Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron” against 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.
Rise is also a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and is affiliated with the Philly Palestine Coalition (PPC).
On December 11, 2023, Rise spoke [00:03:56] at a rally titled: “Philly Says No To Genocide Joe,” on a visit to Philadelphia by U.S. President Joe Biden.
At the rally, Rise said [00:04:52]: “You don’t need to talk to a Zionist, you don’t need to argue with them. You don’t need to change their minds. You need to say, ‘Get out of the way!”
Rise said [00:08:09], referring to President Joe Biden: “And this clown has the caucasity and audacity to show up supporting a god**n genocide…”
“Caucasity” can be defined as “the audacity of white people. Meaning, the willingness to take bold risks only white people feel safe doing.”
Rise said [00:06:23]: “We are striking and boycotting and marching and fighting for the liberation of Palestine in our lifetime.”
Rise shouted [00:07:25] at protesters: “Free Palestine until it’s backwards! Yes, free Palestine until it’s backwards!”
Rise also said [00:08:43] “All of a sudden, where are your AIPAC people now, a**hole? In November, we’ll remember!”
The stated mission of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is to “strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.”
Rise said [00:00:05]: “Everyone in these streets today is Palestinian!” Rise also said [00:00:25]: “This is the floor not the ceiling…A boycott is the floor not the ceiling…We show up everyday in every way until Palestine is free.”
Rise led [00:01:02] protesters in chanting: “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Biden’s crime!” and “History will recall, Joe Biden did nothing at all!”
On December 11, 2023, the PPC organized a rally in Philadelphia’s Washington Square Park, where participants condemned politicians who expressed support for Israel in its war against Hamas. The rally took place during U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to the city. Protesters referred to President Biden as “Genocide Joe.”
Rami Ibrahim, who goes by the nickname "Son of Palestine," spoke [00:10:20] at the rally, where he glorified [00:13:29] Hamas. Other speakers accused Israel of murdering children and perpetrating “genocidal attacks.”
Another speaker led rally-goers in the pro-terror chant: "Resistance is justified when people are occupied!" and in the call for Israel’s destruction: “From The River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!” Speakers urged people to “shut down” the United States “until Palestine is free.”
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.
On October 8, 2023, one day after the Hamas massacre, Rise participated [00:34:31] in an anti-Israel rally and march in support of Hamas. The event took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was reportedly organized by the PPC.
Rise chanted [00:02:24] with protesters: “Free, free Palestine!”
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 October 16, 2023, Rise participated in an anti-Israel rally at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) titled: “Collective Walkout for Palestine.” Rise posted footage of the rally on Rise’s Instagram story with the caption: “Such a powerful day.”
On October 16, 2023, Penn professors and students staged a “walkout” in support of the Hamas terror attack against Israel nine days earlier. The aim of the event was to “protest the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and stand in solidarity with Palestine.”
The protest, which was organized by Penn Against the Occupation (PAO), was titled: “Collective Walkout for Palestine,” where participants walked out of classes to the on-campus rally.
One professor led [00:00:03] the chant: “When people are occupied, resistance is justified!” Palestinians and anti-Israel activists often use the term “resistance” as a euphemism for nationalistic terror and to glorify anti-Semitic violence.
Another professor claimed [00:00:07] Israel “desecrates the memory of the Nazi Holocaust,” and at least one speaker accused [00:00:48] Israel of “genocide.”
On October 18, 2023, Rise was restrained with a zip tie and led out of the building by police officers during an anti-Israel rally at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
The rally was organized by JVP and IfNotNow (INN). Protesters were joined by anti-Israel U.S. Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush to demand a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas terrorists.
On October 18, 2023, the U.S. Capitol police tweeted: “Demonstrations are not allowed inside Congressional Buildings.” They also tweeted: “We warned the protestors to stop demonstrating and when they did not comply we began arresting them.”
On January 2, 2024, Rise shared [slide 2] a post on Instagram that featured a photo of Ghassan Kanafani and said: “HANDS OFF LEBANON: The IOF [Israel Defense Forces] has a long history of targeting leaders of the Palestinian resistance in Lebanon. During Beirut’s summer of 1972, Mossad agents planted a bomb in the car of Palestinian author and revolutionary Ghassan Kanafani…”
Kanafani was a leading member and spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during the terrorist organization’s early years. Kanafani announced the PFLP’s responsibility for the Lod Airport Massacre of May 1972 and was linked to the airport attackers. The attack killed 26 people and wounded 80 others.
“Israeli Occupation Forces,” or “IOF,” is a derogatory name for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) used by anti-Israel activists to demonize Israel’s army.
Rise’s shared Instagram post also mourned the death of Saleh Al-Arouri, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and deputy leader of the Hamas Political Bureau. He was a founder of Hamas’s military wing and the post stated that Al-Arouri “was instrumental in uniting the resistance in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank.”
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the military wing of Hamas.
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.
On October 15, 2023, Rise wrote on Instagram: “We’re witnessing genocide against the Palestinian people. generationally-inflicted, strategic violence, executed by global powers with an agenda, rooted in the distortion of profound trauma. October 7th is a convenient rip stop for those who are rabidly, compulsively fighting to prove themselves right, unwilling to own the lie we’ve been living for 75 years.”
The modern State of Israel was founded 75 years earlier, in 1948.
Rise continued in the Instagram post: “The flood of misinformation lasts *exactly* as long as its needed to justify genocide. Israeli has dropped 6,000+ bombs in seven days, promising a Nakba so cruel it will make the world forget the first in 1948.”
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.”
On December 11, 2023, Rise posted on Instagram: “...In 50 years we will be celebrating the day that Palestine was liberated from Israel. Sing and march and chant and hug and hold and defend that truth until it is real.”
On December 18, 2023, Rise wrote on Instagram: “Woke up this morning w/ my mind set on *Liberation* Remix this jawn if you’re feeling inspired! GLOBAL STRIKE FOR FALASTEEN [PALESTINE], IN SOLIDARITY WITH ALL OPPRESSED PEOPLE…”
Rise shared a video of Rise on Instagram singing a song that Rise wrote with the lyrics: “All my people know, liberation is the goal… til’ they’re free, From the River to the Sea, til they’re free… Haiti to Palestine. Occupation is a crime… From the River to the Sea, we’ll fight til they’re free.”
As of January 2024, Rise’s LinkedIn profile said Rise was a “Singer and Songcatcher. Artist supporting Liberatory Futures, Community Care, and Direct Action.”
Rise’s LinkedIn also said Rise was “a black, gender-expansive performer, teaching artist, facilitator and human-amplifier, currently based in Southwest Philadelphia.” Rise also wrote that Rise “recognizes that a lasting commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is more than a policy: it is a practice.”
As of the same date, Rise’s LinkedIn said Rise had been working as an independent consultant since March 2020, and as a vocalist, songwriter and performing artist since January 2017.
Rise’s LinkedIn also said Rise graduated from Temple University (Temple) with a bachelor’s degree in Fine and Studio Arts in May 2010 and was located in “Greater Philadelphia.”
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.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Donate