American National Bolshevik And Elected Official Visits Middle East With American Communist Party Chairman Haz Al-Din, Interviews Hamas Leaders And Attends Funeral Of Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah; Al-Din Reportedly Detained By Homeland Security Upon Return
Between February 13 and February 23, 2025, three executive officers of the National Bolshevik (NazBol) American Communist Party embarked on a tour of the Middle East, where they networked with Hamas and Hezbollah figures and attended major events, including the funeral of the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Together with American Jackson Hinkle and the Russian-American Haz Al-Din, Chris Helali of Vermont first visited Qatar, where he interviewed Hamas leaders Basem Naim and Osama Hamdan. The three men then travelled to Beirut, where they visited the assassination site of Hassan Nasrallah, followed by his funeral, which took place at the city's Sport City on February 22.
Helali is the International Secretary of the American Communist Party, and was elected last year to be the High Bailiff of Orange County, Vermont, winning the race as a write-in candidate. He received 2.5% of the vote. Haz Al-Din, the chairman of the ACP and the third member of the delegation which travelled to the Middle East, was allegedly detained and questioned for five hours by Department of Homeland Security agents on his return to the United States.
The following report will highlight Helali's participation in the trip to Qatar and Lebanon, as well as his interview with Hamas leaders on February 14.
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Helali Joins Hinkle And Al-Din On Middle East Tour
The primary X (formerly Twitter) account of the NazBol American Communist Party posted an image on February 23 featuring Jackson Hinkle, Haz Al-Din, and Chris Helali attending Nasrallah's funeral in Beirut. The channel wrote: "American Communist Party Executives Haz Al-Din, Chris Helali and Jackson Hinkle attended the funeral of the martyred Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as a show of solidarity to the people of the region from America."
A week earlier, on February 14, Helali was – along with Hinkle – invited to Qatar to meet, and interview, two senior leaders of Hamas. Both men then met with Basem Naim and Osama Hamdan, and gave the men a platform to spread anti-Israel and pro-Hamas propaganda. Hamdan was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Treasury in 2003. [1]
Announcing Helali's interview, Jackson Hinkle wrote: "EXCLUSIVE: HAMAS speaks with AMERICAN JOURNALIST! Chris Helali (@ChrisHelali), International Secretary of the American Communist Party (@ACPMain) interviewed HAMAS Political Bureau members Dr. Basem Naim & Osama Hamdan."
During the interview, both Naim and Hamdan praised the pro-Hamas protests that have taken place on university campuses across the West. Hamdan said, "We believe that what had happened in the universities was very important, because it showed the will of the new generation - a generation who can't be controlled by the media, who can't be controlled by just emotions, a generation who understand the things, understand the situation, the issue, and he has his own beliefs and his own ideas based on the justice for all the people. We hope that can be continued and can be effective."
Naim echoed this sentiment, saying: "We hope to see that the American people in the streets, at the universities, and everywhere supporting our just cause. And we were really very proud of observing and watching thousands and thousands of Americans citizens in the streets, in the railway stations, at the universities, protesting and demonstrating for the just cause of Palestine and against the genocide and against the massacres committed by the Israeli regime against our people."
To see the video of this interview, click HERE or see below:
An ACP propaganda outlet that promotes the group's activities, wrote on February 15: "UPDATE: American Communist Party (ACP) Executive Chris Helali had a public meeting and dialogue with Hamas Politburo members, Dr. Basem Naim & Osama Hamdan. Liberal student activists have previously accused ACP of being pro-Israel."
The channel then shared information regarding Helani's subsequent trip to Lebanon, saying on February 23, "BREAKING: Vermont County High Bailiff, Chris Helali, has ATTENDED Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's funeral. Experts believe Helali is the only elected official in the United States not currently spreading propaganda in favor of Israel, instead choosing to honor anti-Zionist resistance."
Lebanese media outlet Al Mayadeen interviewed Helani while he was in Lebanon. The ACP outlet announced the interview on February 22, writing: "BREAKING: Independent resistance news media outlet, Al-Mayadeen, has IGNORED the cries of Zionists to censor American Communist Party members by interviewing County High Bailiff and ACP International Secretary, Chris Helali."
In their own announcement of the interview, Al Mayadeen posted on their English language X account a clip of Helali, writing: "In an interview for #AlMayadeen, Christopher Helali, International Secretary of the American Communist Party, described the funeral of Sayyed Hassan #Nasrallah as a moment of profound loss and unwavering resistance. Reflecting on his return to #Lebanon after more than a decade, he highlighted the enduring heroism of the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples in the face of Zionist and imperialist aggression. Helali likened their struggle to historic battles for justice from #Vietnam to #Algeria, emphasizing that the resilience of Lebanon's people, like its cedar trees, 'have deep roots.' As mourners from across the world gather, he sees this as more than a farewell; it is a testament to a movement that will endure, a fight against oppression that transcends borders and generations."
Helani, along with Al-Din and Hinkle, networked extensively while at the funeral of Nasrallah, meeting with various leaders and prominent individuals, including pro-Iran Iraqi Cleric Sheikh Nour Al-Saadi. Hinkle announced the meeting by sharing a picture of the three Americans meeting with Al-Saadi while wearing Hezbollah scarves and flying a Hezbollah flag. Hinkle wrote: "I just had the honor of meeting Sheikh Nour Al-Saadi at the funeral of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine. Carrying the flags of the Sayyed Al-Shuhada Brigades."
The group also met with French pro-Hezbollah journalist Shahin Hazamy. Hinkle shared an image of the men meeting with Hazamy, and wrote: "It is my honor to meet the legendary SHAHIN HAZAMY in Beirut, Lebanon!"
During the funeral, Helani also recorded a number of videos for a pro-ACP social media outlet, for whom he appears to be a correspondent. The outlet's X account shared a video of Helani discussing the funeral, and wrote: 'our contributor Christopher Helali reporting from the funeral procession of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah."
The account then shared a second video in which Helani discussed the flyover of Israeli fighter jets during the funeral procession, and wrote: "We report from Beirut following the funeral procession for Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, after the Israeli Air Force attempted to intimidate the innocent civilians in attendance."
[1] Home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/js672, August 22, 2003.
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(Source: Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, April 25, 2025) This report will present the positions of writers in Qatar on the subject of the "weapons of the resistance," particularly the position of Al-Sharq editor Jabar Al-Harmi: Al-Sharq Editor Al-Harmi On X, May 24, 2025: Like The Taliban, Hamas Must Not Give Up Its Weapons – And Must Not Disavow Its October 7 Attack Al-Sharq editor Jabar Al-Harmi called on Hamas not to give up its weapons and not to disavow its October 7, 2023 attack. He likened Hamas's situation to that of the Afghan Taliban, who never relinquished their weapons and even, he said, forced the U.S. to negotiate with them by force of their weapons, in addition to "defeating Russia and then the U.S. and the West all together" who today seek "the love of the Afghans – love that comes by force of arms." 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Even if the Palestinian people is wounded, and if the Gazans are dead, do not think that the enemy is relaxed – on the contrary, its fear is greater, and it is now focusing on its entity's future. Will this entity, which is [weaker than] a spiderweb,[5] survive, or will it disappear and not see out its eighth decade? Its disappearance is nearer than you think. 'If you should be suffering – so are they suffering as you are suffering' – but the difference [between the two comes at the end of the verse]: 'You have hope of reward, help, and support from Allah, which they cannot hope for.'[6]"[7] Post by Jaber Al-Harmi ( May 24, 2025) Al-Harmi On X, April 14, 2025: The "Weapons Of The Resistance" In Gaza Are Not For Sale And Are Nonnegotiable In a previous X post, on April 14, 2025, Al-Harmi rejected the demand that Hamas disarm, using the same parallel to the Taliban's refusal to negotiate over disarming. He wrote: "The resistance in Gaza, whether Hamas or another [resistance movement], will not fall into the trap of disarmament, no matter what guarantees [it receives]... "[In the case of the] Taliban in Afghanistan, the U.S. tried to set this [disarmament] as the main condition for negotiations, [but the] Taliban would not negotiate at all about this, and the U.S. was forced to go back to the negotiating table with the Taliban while the latter was armed from head to toe. They told the U.S.: 'It was only the weapons that brought you to sit at the negotiating table with us. Therefore, the resistance must not negotiate over its weapons in any way.' The weapons of the resistance in Gaza are not for sale and are nonnegotiable."[8] Article In Al-Sharq, April 23, 2025: The Weapons Of The Resistance Are An Existential Necessity And An Influential Means Of Action Opposition to disarming Hamas was also seen in many articles in the Qatari government press. For example, Palestinian writer Hadir Rashad explained in his column in Al-Sharq, under the headline "The Weapons Of The Resistance Are Not For Bargaining," that "it is not easy to raise the issue of disarming the resistance without this proposal crashing into the obvious wall of reality, according to which weapons in the hands of peoples under occupation are not a choice but an existential necessity... The weapons of the resistance in Gaza will never be a mere symbol or slogan – they are an influential means of action that caused the occupation heavy losses in lives and in [its] economy... "The call to disarm the resistance in Palestine before the occupation departs is a call for surrender, not peace; for permanent consent to the aggression and not for stopping it; for apparent calm whose hidden meaning is seizing the trump card from the hands of the people that has only force of will and arms."[9] Article In Al-Watan, May 16, 2025: Weapons Are Honor, Relinquishing Them Is Humiliation In his May 16, 2025 column in the Qatari government daily Al-Watan, Palestinian writer Samir Al-Barghouti presented the results of a Palestinian poll that showed widespread Palestinian support for Hamas amid the decline in the prestige of the Palestinian Authority and of Fatah. He stated that "82% of the Palestinian [respondents] said that they oppose handing over the weapons of the resistance." He summarized the survey, stating: "Since the first and second intifadas, and the [Al-Aqsa] Flood [the October 7 attack], Palestinians have believed that they have no other choice but resistance, and that weapons are honor, and relinquishing them is humiliation."[10]
