At the "Stand with Lebanon" rally in Dearborn, MI held on September 25, 2024, following a series of attacks against Hizbullah leaders and fighters, protesters cheered for Hizbullah secretary-general at the time Hassan Nasrallah and Lebanese speaker of the parliament Nabih Berri. Participants shouted "Death to Israel," and Osama Siblani, community leader and editor-in-chief of The Arab American News, who was the MC of the event, said that Hizbullah has begun to invade the galilee, which was met with cheers from the crowd. He continued to say that Netanyahu wants to bring Israeli citizens back to their homes in the north of Israel, but he has one thing to say to him: "Go back to Poland!"
Mayor Abdullah Hammoud followed this and stated that the people of Dearborn want the values which they are advocating for in the city, for the entire globe. Siblani closed the rally with the statement: "Greetings to the resistance, from Dearborn, Michigan!" Other speakers at the event were Wayne County commissioner Sam Baydoun and Dr. Baqir Berry, the imam of the Islamic Institute of Knowledge, who has said in an April Friday sermon that the Jews need to be re-educated and that the Zionists are barbaric savages. The rally was streamed live on Dearborn in Arabic on Facebook two days before Nasrallah was assassinated.
Click here or below to view the clip on MEMRI TV:
Community Leader Osama Siblani: We Will Take You Back To Poland! We Are Americans And America Is Changing – Look At The Universities!
Crowd: "Death to Israel!"
Man: "No, no... Without this..."
Crowd: "Death to Israel!"
Man 2: "No, no, no."
Osama Siblani: "Let them do 'Death to Israel' over there. They entered the Galilee, by the way."
Crowd: "Death to Israel!"
Siblani: "They are starting to go in [to Israel]. Believe me, they will take care of the job. They will take care of the job.
"Here, we will take care of the job that we need to do here. And trust me – we are going to win here and there.
[...]
"Just for the record, we are Americans, and we are not going to vote or anyone who is not American, but a Zionist. We are Americans, and for your information and everybody's information, America is changing – look at the universities.
[...]
"I will stay here in Dearborn, and let everyone hear it, and I am responsible for it: In your damn dream that you will go to the Litani River. And to Netanyahu, who wants to bring the people [back] to the north: We are going to take you back to Poland."
Woman in crowd: "Death to Netanyahu! Death to Netanyahu!"
Siblani: "Brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the podium the greatest mayor in the United States of America, our brother, Abdullah Hammoud."
Crowd: "Say Allah Akbar!"
[...]
Dearborn Mayor Hammoud: We Want People Across The Globe To Have The Values We Advocate For In Dearborn
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud: "The reality is that they wish for us to divide ourselves. That has been the playbook for over seven decades. But my message is very clear: The values which we advocate for here in Deaborn – we understand, we not only want for the people within the city of Dearborn, but for the people across this globe."
[...]
Siblani: "I want to tell you... And now I am going to tell you who is my leader. He is standing behind me, and his name is Abdullah Hammoud!"
[...]
Siblani: Our Martyrs Are Heroes, Our Leaders Are Great, Chief Among Them Is Nasrallah; Raise Your Flags High! Greetings To The Resistance From Dearborn!
Woman: "Let us stand in solidarity with Lebanon and Palestine."
[...]
Siblani: "Thank you very much, she forgot to mention one, but it's okay, I will do it: Hassan Nasrallah! Raise your flags high.
[...]
"Our martyrs are heroes, our leaders are great, and first among them, their leader, the great Sayyed, Hassan Nasrallah.
[...]
"Let's not forget the one who makes the decision, the great scholar, [Speaker] Nabih Berri!"
Man: "We heed your call, oh Berri!"
[...]
Siblani: "Greetings to the resistance from Dearborn, Michigan."
