Sarah Aoun

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.

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.

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.

The first intifada lasted from 1987 to 1991 and resulted in over 120 Israeli civilian casualties. Palestinian terrorists hijacked multiple buses and carried out shooting, stabbing and bombing attacks against Israelis, including the bombing of the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem.

Although romanticized as a form of “popular resistance,” rock throwing remains a deadly form of violence.

Hamas took 251 people hostage, mostly civilians, from Israel during its October 7, 2023 terror attacks. Ultimately 168 hostages returned to Israel alive, in three different agreements between 2023 and 2025, and through rescue operations by the IDF. During captivity, many hostages were starved, tortured, sexually assaulted, psychologically abused and held isolated in cages and underground tunnels.

Hostages were given tranquilizers and some were overfed shortly before their release, so they would appear in better condition than they had been during captivity. Hamas forced hostages to record propaganda videos during captivity, and during hostages' releases held public ceremonies and forced hostages to smile and wave at their captors.

The hostages' ages spanned from 85 year old Holocaust survivor Shlomo Mantzur, who was killed on October 7, to a 9 month old baby, Kfir Bibas, who was killed in captivity along with his 4 year old brother Ariel, and their mother, Shiri. 75 hostages were killed on October 7 or in captivity.

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.

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.