Mondoweiss – April 30, 2025
Violent mobs from Brooklyn to the West Bank are united in the fascism of Zionism
Violent attacks by a mob of Itamar Ben-Gvir supporters in New York City cannot be separated from the violence that Palestinians have been facing for decades. They are all reflections of the same fascist violence of Zionism.
By James Ray
“Death to Arabs.”
Those were the words chanted by many members of a Zionist mob in New York City that engaged in violent acts in support of notable fascist and Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
His visit to the United States has led to countless headlines over the past weeks. That’s hardly surprising, as he has spent over a year enthusiastically supporting the continued genocide in Gaza as a member of the Israeli parliament and on-again, off-again minister in Benjamin Netanyahuﾒs governing coalition. Ben-Gvir, a man who has himself been convicted by an Israeli court for incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organization, is a lightning rod for controversy. As you would expect, his visit had led organizers and activists in the U.S. to meet him wherever he decided to make an appearance and protest his presence in their communities and institutions.
Not all of these mobilizations, however, have been in opposition to him. Some, like a recent Zionist mob in New York City, mobilized in defense of him. Ben-Gvir’s visit to Crown Heights, Brooklyn spurred anti-Zionist, anti-fascist organizers to action. Their mobilization was met with a frenzied group of Zionists reportedly totaling around 100 people who assaulted at least two women in the midst of their defense of the Israeli Minister of National Security (and more broadly, the continued existence of their colonial project).
One of those women saw her Palestinian flag grabbed by Zionist counterprotestors, with later footage showing her bleeding from her head. The second woman, identified later as being a bystander who lived in the neighborhood who was not attending the protest, was chased down by the mob, who chanted “Death to Arabs” and taunted her with threats of rape, before physically assaulting her repeatedly as a lone NYPD officer tried to escort her away.
For many, the footage was shocking. A fascist contingent had organized on the street to do harm to someone in our own backyard – one instance in a string of violent incidents that have cropped up with increasing frequency over the past months. This sort of fascist, colonial, ethnosupremacist violence is one with historical continuity however, especially in the U.S. context.
Mobs committed to racist violence are an integral part of the very history of the U.S. colonial project. From race riots to lynch mobs, organized campaigns of murder and terror have over the years led to mass devastation for Black and Brown communities. The frenzied, genocidal nature of the Zionist mobs we witnessed in New York City and the harm they are willingly and enthusiastically committing are reminiscent of those very same historic horrors.
The strategy of the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists in our own country, in fact, uncomfortably overlaps with that of Zionists today: campaigns of intimidation and terror for the sake of enshrining colonial and white supremacist domination over a marginalized people.
The strategy of the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists in our own country, in fact, uncomfortably overlaps with that of Zionists today: campaigns of intimidation and terror for the sake of enshrining colonial and white supremacist domination over a marginalized people. These campaigns extend well beyond street violence, but also calculated efforts to rid those who may support their victims of their livelihoods through calculated smear campaigns and further professional intimidation that relies on complicit or apathetic institutions and has open government support. In recent months, this has also included government agencies openly targeting pro-Palestine advocates as well as we have seen in the cases of Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, and countless others.
To many in the Palestinian solidarity movement, it’s impossible not to see as well the very direct connection between these mobs in New York City and those that have been existing and active for years in Occupied Palestine, particularly the West Bank. Settler mobs have been a regular element of Zionist colonization efforts, being an ally to the colony that seemingly acts of their own volition (giving the colonial administration plausible deniability) to advance the colony’s goals. These mobs and the pogroms they have committed against Palestinians, like those in Huwwara, are burning down Palestinian homes and shops, attacking and in some instances killing Palestinians themselves.
The violence in New York City cannot be separated from the violence that Palestinians have been facing for decades. One is simply that very same colonial violence exported abroad.
Those settlers in mobs in the West Bank certainly would find those in New York City to be like-minded allies, which makes sense given they’re advancing the same goals. Both in their actions and rhetoric are certainly advancing the call of “Death to Arabs”, and both are targeting anyone whose existence may pose a threat to the continued survival of the colonial project they’re willing to fight to defend. As such, the violence in New York City cannot be separated from the violence that Palestinians have been facing for decades. One is simply that very same colonial violence exported abroad.
The connection is only further complicated upon recognition that there are currently thousands of U.S. nationals actively serving in Israeli Occupation Forces, with hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens living in Occupied Palestine. Those very individuals are going to Palestine, being trained as a part of a fascist colonial occupation force, and if they do not stay in Occupied Palestine, are returning home to reintegrate into communities across the U.S.
They are coming back with experience and training that can be put directly to use against Palestinians and their allies (or random bystanders), and they’re inevitably going to teach what they have learned to those who are willing to stand with them. That reality makes these mobs all the more dangerous, as they are going to become more organized and generally competent in committing acts of violence as time goes on. They’re also likely to be emboldened as the state does little to nothing to crack down on them, meaning that the violence that we’re witnessing now is likely only a taste of what is to come.
We do not have to look terribly far back in the historical record to see the harm that can be done by fascist actors with former military experience dedicated to defending the state against those they deem a threat. These IOF veterans in many ways invoke the memory of the Freikorps – paramilitary groups composed of German WW1 veterans who, during the German Revolution, acted as well-armed and effective mobs that would target communists and those deemed threats to the current order. Many of these Freikorps units would later become part of the base and manpower of the Nazi Party when it rose into power in Germany years down the line, and their actions during the German Revolution would lead to the brutal murders of Karl Liebnecht, Rosa Luxemburg, and countless others.
What we’re witnessing in these Zionist mobs also finds context when looking at broader history. Fascist movements have throughout history in part relied on organized mobs to terrorize and root out opposition to their projects and goals. These mobs should be a warning sign for those organizing on the ground in regards to what is likely to come, and their existence should inform our strategies and tactics. These fascist actors will give no quarter, and they will not pull punches if it means advancing their goals. We need to reckon with that reality and prepare for what very well might come next.
Federal judge orders release of Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi from ICE detention
A federal judge in Vermont ordered Mohsen Mahdawi be released from detention and compared the administration's crackdown on dissent to the Red Scare. Upon his release, Mahdawi declared, “To President Trump and his cabinet: I am not afraid of you.”
By Michael Arria
Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi is free on bail after a federal judge in Vermont ordered his release.
It’s the first order mandating the release of a student detained by the Trump administration. The New York Times called his release “a defeat” for the administration’s “widening crackdown against student protesters.”
“The two weeks of detention so far demonstrate great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime,” said Judge Geoffrey Crawford at an April 30 hearing. “Mr. Mahdawi, I will order you released.”
“For anybody who is doubting justice, this is a light of hope and faith in the justice system in America,” Mahdawi told a crowd outside the courthouse after his release. “We are witnessing the fight for justice in America, which means a true democracy, and the fight for justice for Palestinians, which means that both liberation are interconnected, because no one of us is free unless we all are.”
“I am saying it clear and loud,” he added. “To President Trump and his cabinet: I am not afraid of you.”
“Today’s victory cannot be overstated. It is a victory for Mohsen who gets to walk free today out of this court,” said Shezza Abboushi Dallal, one of Mahdawi’s lawyers. “And it is also a victory for everyone else in this country invested in the very ability to dissent, who want to be able to speak out for the causes that they feel a moral imperative to lend their voices to and want to do that without fear that they will be abducted by masked men.”
Mahdawi, a permanent U.S. resident and green card holder for the past decade, was arrested by immigration officials on April 14 during his naturalization interview to become a United States citizen.
According to a recent legal brief from Mahdawi’s attorneys, the citizenship appointment had been a trap, as ICE agents intended to ambush the Columbia student and send him to a detention facility in Louisiana, where the Trump administration is holding Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk.
A judge blocked Trump from transferring Mahdawi out Vermont before agents could transport him.
A court filing submitted in the case by the Justice Department included a letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming that Mahdawi’s presenceﾠin the United States could “potentially undermine” the Middle East peace process.
Earlier this month, Vermont Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) visited Mahdawi at the ICE detention center where he was being held.
“I am centered, I am clear, I am grounded, and I don’t want you to worry about me,” Mahdawi told Welch. “I want you to continue working for the democracy of this country and for humanity. The war must stop.”
US-Iran talks postponed due to conflicting US positions: Exclusive
Shortly after the US imposed new sanctions on Iran, the fourth round of indirect nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran has been postponed.
The fourth round of indirect US-Iran nuclear talks in Rome has been postponed, Iranian sources told Al Mayadeen on Thursday.
Washington and Tehran have been engaging in talks over the past month on a deal to limit Iran's nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.
The postponement came in light of the conflicting positions taken by the US administration regarding the talks, the sources pointed out.
They added that the postponement was due to Washington’s attempt to alter the general framework of the talks, which had been previously agreed upon.
In addition, the talks between the Iranians and the Europeans, which were scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, have also been postponed, according to the sources.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the political meeting with the European troika will be held at a later date, pending the agreement of all parties
New date contingent upon US approach
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that a new date for the fourth round of talks will be set "depending on the US approach."
"US sanctions on Iran during the nuclear talks are not helping the sides to resolve the nuclear dispute through diplomacy," the official told Reuters.
"Depending on the US approach, the date of the next round of talks will be announced."
Meanwhile, Oman's foreign minister confirmed that the talks were rescheduled "for logistical reasons," adding that "new dates will be announced when mutually agreed."
Talks not a platform for Israeli messages
Touching on the matter, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Iran suggested that the postponement is a warning message indicating that Iran will not engage in "futile" talks.
The Iranian message also suggests that Tehran will not allow the talks to become a platform for relaying Israeli messages, he indicated.
Our correspondent emphasized that the nuclear talks are facing serious obstacles, adding that Iran will not participate in discussions targeting its defensive capabilities or its relations with its allies.
He recalled that in the first two rounds of talks, it was agreed that issues unrelated to the nuclear file would not be raised, pointing out that Iran would not allow the discussions to be used as a pressure tool.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent noted that over the past years, Tehran has succeeded in thwarting the objectives of the sanctions imposed on it.
He also highlighted that Iran is capable of confronting any American aggression, asserting that all US bases in the region are within its reach.
Iran slams US over new sanctions, threats amid nuclear talks
Earlier on Thursday, Iran condemned the US for imposing new sanctions and issuing threats over its alleged support for Ansar Allah in Yemen, denouncing what it described as Washington’s “contradictory behaviour and provocative statements” amid ongoing nuclear talks.
On Wednesday, the US announced fresh sanctions on entities accused of participating in the illicit trade of Iranian oil and petrochemicals. These new restrictions come as part of a broader US effort to tighten pressure on Tehran while discussions over the Iranian nuclear file continue.
Separately, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Iran of consequences over its backing of Ansar Allah, who have been targeting Israeli- and American-linked ships in the Red Sea in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Since mid-March, the US military has conducted intensive bombing campaigns against positions in Yemen, claiming to have struck more than 1,000 targets. Tehran, however, maintains that Ansar Allah operates independently.
Iran condemns American double standards
On his part, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, criticized what he described as the "contradictory approach of American decision-makers and their lack of goodwill and seriousness in advancing the path of diplomacy."
"The responsibility for the consequences and destructive effects of the contradictory behaviour and provocative statements of American officials regarding Iran will lie with the American side," Baghaei said, as reported by state media.
The renewed pressure campaign comes amid fragile nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, with Oman acting as a mediator. Despite heightened tensions, both sides have so far described the talks as "productive".
US President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement in 2018, previously threatened military action against Iran if it refused to accept a new deal.
US, Israeli schemes seek to tear Ummah from within: Sayyed al-Houthi
The leader of Yemen's Ansar Allah emphasizes that the aggression led by the US and "Israel" is part of a broader strategy aimed at implementing the Zionist plot against the Ummah.
The steadfastness of the Resistance fighters in Gaza is “remarkable”, and their operations “took the enemy by surprise and struck at the core of its strategy,” the leader of Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, Sayyed Abdul Malik al-Houthi, affirmed on Thursda
y.
In a speech marking the anniversary of the “Sarkha” (The Cry), Sayyed al-Houthi also praised the role of the Lebanese Resistance in deterring "Israel" and stressed that the American aggression on Yemen is part of the broader battle against the Ummah (Islamic nation).
The Yemeni leader stated that the US aggression on Yemen supports "Israel" and is part of the ongoing confrontation with it. He emphasized that the aggression led by the United States and "Israel" is part of a comprehensive assault aimed at implementing the Zionist plan against the Ummah.
Lebanese Resistance is decisive deterrent
Sayyed al-Houthi stressed that the Lebanese Resistance continues to serve as the real deterrent against "Israel", noting that without its presence, "Israel" would have invaded Lebanon.
In this context, he reaffirmed Yemen’s support for the Lebanese Resistance in the face of any large-scale Israeli aggression against Lebanon.
State of Ummah 'shameful'
The Ansar Allah leader also described the horrific crimes committed against prisoners in Gaza as amounting to genocide and condemned the "shameful" state of the Ummah, noting that 57 nations are unable to send a loaf of bread or a can of milk into the Gaza Strip.
Sayyed al-Houthi warns of broader scheme
In a related context, Sayyed al-Houthi warned that the Americans are seeking to violate the sovereignty of the Suez Canal, which is the rightful property of Egypt, adding that such a move could pave the way for further Israeli actions.
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday revealed that US President Donald Trump is pressuring Egypt to allow US ships free access to the Suez Canal, as compensation for America's ongoing military campaign against Yemen.
The Ansar Allah leader reiterated that the enemies' assaults on the Ummah seek to dominate its role, resources, and strategic position.
Sayyed al-Houthi stressed the need to take a firm stance against this scheme, warning that the alternative is the entrenchment of psychological defeat.
Ansar Allah’s leader also asserted that mobilizing the Ummah’s countries against one another only serves the US and “Israel”, making their objectives easier to achieve.
These plans, he said, are executed under sectarian, regional, or other divisive banners with the aim of tearing the Ummah apart from within.
