There has been a 186% increase in anti-American and anti-police sentiment among 'pro-Palestinian' groups since October 7, according to a Wednesday report carried out by the US-based think tank Capital Research Center.
The report - titled 'How “Pro-Palestinian” protest groups promote anti-Americanism' - analyzed thousands of social media posts by 496 of the most prominent pro-Palestine groups and activists.
As part of the research, CRC - led by Investigative Researcher Ryan Mauro - compared posts on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Telegram in the 15-month periods before and after October 7, 2023, using 14 common keywords or phrases that express hatred of the United States, the US government and US law enforcement.
Keywords included American imperialism, Belly of the beast, Globalize the intifada, Pigs, Defund the police, AmeriKKKa and So-Called United States.
The key findings included that in the 15 months following the October 7 massacre, the pro-Palestinian movement’s use of "hateful anti-American and anti-police keywords and phrases" increased by 186%.
Anti-American and anti-police social media posts published by the groups received over 23 million views on X and 4.2 million on TikTok.
The number of posts endorsing or promoting anti-American or anti-police violence increased by 3000%. The report noted that this indicates a rapid radicalization of the movement.
Antisemitism as subset of anti-Westernism
The report also stated that the antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment - both dominant parts of the pro-Palestine movement - are inextricably linked to and rooted in anti-Western sentiment.
"Antisemitic and anti-Israeli tropes largely depict Israel as an appendage of a villainized United States. In other words, hatred of Israel is commonly rooted in anti-Americanism, anti-Westernism, and anti-capitalism."
The report noted that "the broadening of the 'pro-Palestinian' movement’s agenda to include siding with Western adversaries in conflicts around the world and advocating for defunding the police indicates the movement has become a permanent presence."
The report also specifically highlighted 78 groups and 30 activists, which it demarcated as having the most malicious speech in their posts.
Of the groups, nearly half were college chapters of national organizations, meaning they receive recognition and most likely student fees from private charitable colleges or government-chartered colleges.
Additionally, two of the groups legally operate as 501(c)(4) “social welfare” nonprofits, 15 groups have an unknown legal status, and the remaining 26 groups are operating as 501(c)(3) “charities,” either as independent nonprofits or as a project of a sponsoring charity.
Examples of such tax-exempt charitable groups include Within Our Lifetime, Palestinian Youth Movement, Code Pink, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) and Samidoun.
19 of the 30 most hateful activists are employees of a private or public college or are in the leadership of 501(c)(3) “charities.”
These include Nerdeen Kiswani (co-founder of WOL), Linda Sarsour (MPower Change), and Zahra Billoo (CAIR SA)
"All of the charities tied to these activists and groups that support violence or anti-American, anti-police animus may be at risk of adverse legal consequences, including loss of tax-exempt status," the report added.
"This data collection and analysis indicate that the 'pro-Palestinian' movement’s most significant organizations and activists would be more properly described as anti-American or anti-Western and, increasingly, anti-police and pro-violence. In fact, it is common to see components of the movement and participants in its online chats refer to themselves as 'seditionists,' 'insurgents,” or 'guerrillas.'"
"These facts call into question whether nonprofit groups may properly assist the activists and organizations engaged in these harmful crusades," the report concluded.
Hamas support
Within Our Lifetime, American Muslims for Palestine and National Students for Justice in Palestine are among several groups that have expressed explicit support for Hamas.
A lawsuit headed by October 7 victims filed earlier this week revealed that leading US-based anti-Israel activist groups, including Columbia University’s Apartheid Divest (CUAD) and Within Our Lifetime, had prior knowledge of the October 7 massacre.
Earlier this month, Within Our Lifetime rallied at the Trump Building on Wall Street, accusing Trump of having “bloody” hands due to unfolding operations in Gaza and chanting, "US imperialists, number one terrorists!”