“This American empire must fall”
This statement did not come from Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, from Vladimir Putin of Russia, or from China’s Xi Jinping. It came from a Muslim American resident of Dearborn, Michigan, who added: “People are willing to fight and put their lives on the line to bring these Western empires down.”
It is a chilling reminder that calls for the destruction of America and Western civilization are not limited to distant regimes. These ideas are now echoed within our own communities, on college campuses, on online platforms, and through nonprofit organizations.
Following the violent protests and encampments that claimed to target Israel, many Americans began to understand the deeper truth. Radical Islam is no longer just an external danger. It has embedded itself within our institutions and aligned itself with elements of the far-left in a calculated attempt to weaken and undermine America from within.
This partnership, often referred to as the "Red-Green Axis," is not a loose affiliation. It is a coordinated movement. Radical Islamists, cloaked in the legitimacy granted by progressive activists, are advancing a deliberate campaign to undermine American values. They are not merely promoting criticism or protest, but are engaged in an ideological form of jihad, designed to destabilize our legal, educational, cultural, and political systems.
History tells us how this story will end.
This is not the first time such an alliance has taken place. In 1979, leftists in Iran joined forces with Islamic fundamentalists to overthrow the Shah. The Left mistakenly believes it is standing shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with radical Muslims for “liberation,” “democracy,” and “justice.” But, once the revolution succeeded, the Islamists turned on their former allies, imprisoning and executing them to establish a religious dictatorship. That same regime continues to oppress most of its citizens to this day.
The same pattern is now emerging in the United States.
We are witnessing a similar pattern unfold in the United States. Progressive activists, often unaware of the Islamist true agenda, march under slogans such as “From the river to the sea” and “Globalize the Intifada.” These phrases originate from extremists’ playbooks. The activists using them believe they are fighting for justice, but they are unknowingly promoting a vision of society that fundamentally opposes everything they claim to support.
Islamist extremists do not believe in freedom or equality. They view progressive allies not as partners, but as useful idiots to be used and discarded once their objectives have been achieved.
A War on America’s Core
This campaign is not confined to rhetoric. It is organized, funded, and executed through real infrastructure. As recently documented by the Capital Research Center, since October 2023, nearly 500 American nonprofits claiming to support Palestinian rights have adopted increasingly radical positions. Groups such as Within Our Lifetime, the Palestinian Youth Movement, and Code Pink have amplified violent rhetoric and promoted anti-American narratives.
The report also shows an online surge of +3,000% in calls for violence and a 186% increase in anti-American and anti-police rhetoric. The social media posts affiliated with these groups have reached tens of millions of viewers. These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a systematic effort to radicalize young Americans and erode public trust in law enforcement, government, and civil society.
These organizations are not charities. They are domestic ideological insurgents. They use the nonprofit system to radicalize young Americans, promote sedition, and justify terrorism in an attempt to destroy American freedom.
This ideological insurgency has taken root within nonprofit organizations and academic institutions. According to a new report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), Qatar, the global financer of the Muslim Brotherhood, has funneled hundreds of millions or even billions into American K-12 schools by partnering with universities like Brown to distribute curriculum materials that distort history and encourage anti-Western thinking. These materials are already present in thousands of classrooms nationwide.
Another report by Open the Books reveals that foreign regimes, including China, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have invested heavily in programs that shape American education. Billions of dollars from taxpayers and foreign donors are now used to fund ideological departments, activist groups, and so-called diversity programs at top public universities. These programs often support faculty who defend or celebrate acts of terrorism.
At Columbia University, one professor described the October 7 Hamas massacre as a triumph for Palestinian resistance. That professor continues to receive government-backed funding.
The institutions that once safeguarded truth and education are now being used as tools of indoctrination.
This is not a debate over policy. It is a fight for the future of our country. We must stop viewing this as a foreign affairs issue. This is an American issue that affects every citizen, regardless of background or political affiliation.
If we allow our civic institutions to be overtaken by extremist ideologies, if we excuse those who glorify jihad in the name of justice, we will endanger the very freedoms that define us.
The Path Forward
The United States must respond with strength and moral clarity. Organizations that promote violence must lose their nonprofit status. Educational institutions that accept foreign funds must face scrutiny and accountability. Public officials must call out and reject this alliance between radical Islam and the far-left. And progressive leaders must draw a clear line between social justice and extremist ideology.
At the same time, we must offer a better path forward. We must renew our commitment to truth, liberty, and individual rights. We must protect the integrity of our education system and restore trust in our institutions. We must raise a generation that understands both the privilege and the responsibility of living in a free society.
This campaign to divide and destroy our nation thrives on confusion. It relies on fear, chaos, and the silence of those who should know better. We must not remain silent.
America has always faced adversity with courage and conviction. We have overcome external enemies and internal division before. And with resolve, unity, and a renewed sense of purpose, we will do so again.
The future of our country is still in our hands. Let us rise to meet this challenge with clarity, strength, and hope.
Adam Milstein is an Israeli-American “Strategic Venture Philanthropist.” He can be reached at adam@milsteinff.org, on Twitter @AdamMilstein, and on Facebook www.facebook.com/AdamMilsteinCP.
This op-ed is published in partnership with a coalition of organizations that fight antisemitism across the world. Read the previous article by Jacob Intrator.