In the years since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel in 2023, we have seen something deeply unsettling unfold across the West: a surge in protests that, while framed as support for Palestinian rights, increasingly flirt with, and often outright embrace, violent rhetoric. These protestors have been fuelled by a steady stream of bias reporting and misinformation by segments of the Western media, which is often too quick to act as the propaganda arm of the Islamic regime that currently rules Gaza by parroting their casualty figures and reports without question.
Chants like “From the river to the sea” and “Resistance by any means necessary” are now common at rallies across the globe. But among the most troubling is the phrase “Globalise the Intifada.” It is shouted on university campuses and waved on placards as if it’s a call for liberation. In reality, it is a call loaded with historical violence which evokes the memory of the violent uprisings that occurred from 1987-1990 and again in 2000-2005.
For those who do not remember, the First and Second Intifadas were not peaceful civil disobedience campaigns. They were violent uprisings that included suicide bombings, shootings, and attacks targeting Israeli civilians. One of the most notorious examples is the 2001 Tel Aviv Dolphinarium bombing, where 21 young Israelis, most of them teenagers, were killed by a Hamas-affiliated bomber. So, when activists chant “globalise the Intifada,” one wonders if they are aware of what they are asking? And more importantly, are they prepared for what that means in the real world?
On May 21, that question was no longer hypothetical. Outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., two young Jewish diplomats, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were shot and killed after attending an event aimed at helping civilians in Gaza. The attacker, according to reports, shouted “Free Free Palestine” and “I did it for Gaza” as he was placed under arrest.
Although some in the media downplayed the motivation behind this attack, like the BBC, whose headline read: “Two Israeli Embassy Staff killed and suspect in custody in Washington DC shooting”, it is clear this was a racially motivated attack on Jewish targets leaving a Jewish event. This shows the true meaning of “globalise the Intifada” – violence against Jews outside the land of Israel. Therefore, it is imperative that we stop pretending this is just rhetoric and sloganeering. Words have consequences, sometimes tragic consequences.
It is no coincidence that the day before the murders, an alarming claim went viral: the UN’s humanitarian chief told the BBC that 14,000 Gazan babies would die in 48 hours without aid. Many media outlets repeated it without clarification, quick to portray Israel as a wanton child killer. But the actual report the UN representative cited estimated that 14,000 children could face acute malnutrition – over the course of a full year, not two days. A very different statistic, and for reference there are currently three million people suffering malnutrition in the UK right now. That kind of misinformation fuels resentment and anger. And in this case, it may have contributed to a brutal, racially motivated attack. It is not just bad journalism it is a reckless modern-day blood libel.
Antisemitic attacks are on the rise globally. The Combat Antisemitism Movement reported that there has been a 107% spike in global antisemitism. Many of these incidents are tied to the same slogans and ideologies we see on placards in these protests.
Historian Paul Johnson warned in A History of the Jews that: “One of the principal lessons of Jewish history has been that repeated verbal slanders are sooner or later followed by violent physical deeds. Time and again over the centuries, antisemitic writings created their own fearful momentum which climaxed in an effusion of Jewish blood.”
Unfortunately, it seems the Western World has failed to learn this lesson and we are watching history repeat itself. Only this time the slanders are dressed up in the language of justice and resistance, garner popular support, and appear across the mainstream media of supposedly civilised democratic nations.
It is entirely possible to support the rights and dignity of Palestinian civilians without glorifying violence, delegitimising Israel’s right to exist, or demonising the Jewish people. But when the lines are deliberately crossed and even encouraged by those who should know better, then we need to speak up. This is no longer just about a conflict in the Middle East, it is about the safety of Jewish communities everywhere.
“Globalise the Intifada” is not a call for peace. It is a call for blood. And tragically, it is already being answered.
Thomas Fretwell is the Founder and Director of the Ezra Foundation, the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Hastings, the host of the Theology & Apologetics Podcast, and a Contributor to Harbinger’s Daily.
Editor’s Notes: Antisemitism’s Driving Force
Dr. Thomas Fretwell, in his article, “Hell-Bent On Hating Jews: Is There Any Rational Explanation For The World’s Longest Hatred?” detailed Satan’s role in driving antisemitism and how the church should respond.
“Satan has tried to wipe out the Jews through the Egyptians, the Amalekites, the Babylonians, the Hittites, the Assyrians, the Romans, the Nazis, through religions, and through politics,” he described. “Yet we can have full assurance that Satan will never succeed. In Jeremiah 31, God identifies Himself as the creator of the sun, moon, and stars and states emphatically that, only if someone is able to remove these ordinances, will they be able to destroy the Jews. In other words, it is impossible – the existence of the Jewish people is a testimony to God’s enduring faithfulness to keep His promises: ‘If this fixed order departs from before Me, declares the LORD, Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever’ (Jeremiah 31:36).”
“How tragic it is that, within the lifetime of Holocaust survivors, we are once again witnessing the blatant outward expression of antisemitism in the Western world,” Fretwell lamented. “It requires a firm response from all those who understand the debt Western civilization owes to its Judeo-Christian heritage. As Christians, it means we must absolutely repudiate antisemitism in the strongest possible terms wherever and whenever it appears.”
“Unfortunately, there is a sad legacy not only of virulent antisemitism within politics but also within the church,” he cautioned. “This means the church must be diligent to remove any last vestige of theological antisemitism that festers among various strands of replacement theology today. The church today must show solidarity with and assurance to the Jewish community by demonstrating to them that these charges will not go unnoticed and will not be left unanswered.”
