U.S.-Based Palestinian Writer and Activist Mohammed el-Kurd: October 7, Plane Hijackings, and Suicide Bombings Taught Us That Only Violence Garners World Attention; Synagogues Display Israeli Flags Wh
American activist and TV personality Marc Lamont Hill had a conversation with U.S.-based Palestinian writer and activist Mohammed el-Kurd at a Philadelphia bookshop café on March 10, 2025. El-Kurd said that the events of October 7 taught Palestinians the same lesson as plane hijackings and suicide bombings: that only through acts of violence will they garner world attention. He added, 'I think Palestinian resistance factions are acting accordingly.' El-Kurd explained that in the past, he was careful to distinguish between Israelis or Zionists and Jews. However, he pointed out that Israelis themselves fight under 'what they call a Jewish flag' and claim Israel as the only Jewish state, while critics of Israel are expected to make that distinction. Speaking about the arrest of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, el-Kurd noted that many Jews and non-Jews claimed such acts would not make Jews safer. He argued that this discourse suggests that antisemitism is more evil and dangerous than all other forms of racism. El-Kurd compared the Confederate flag, the ISIS flag, and the Israeli flag, saying that people would find it 'a bit problematic' to have the former two flags in a church or mosque, yet many synagogues display Israeli flags.
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