Quds Day Rally in Times Square, New York: Speakers Compare Gaza to Warsaw Ghetto, Call for Intifada

At the Quds Day rally held on June 8 at Times Square, New York, activists called for "Intifada, Revolution!" and chanted: "With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you, Palestine!" Coffin-like boxes draped with the Palestinian flag lay on the ground. Bill Dores of the National Committee of the Workers World Party said that "today's Warsaw Ghetto is called the Gaza Strip" and that Israel would soon be "thrown in the dustbin of history." CAIR official and hip-hop musician Cyrus McGoldrick aka Raskol Khan quoted Hamas founder Ahmad Yassin, saying: "We will fight all of you until we get [our land] back." Larry Holmes, the first secretary of the Workers World Party addressed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, telling him to tell "racist Trump" to stop giving weapons to Israel. Videos of the speeches were posted on the FreeAlQudsNY YouTube channel.

Speaker 1: "Since they started the March 30th Land Day, hundreds were murdered and tens of thousands were wounded. Among them several children because Israel wants to kill the next generation of resistance fighters. They have said that every bullet arrives at its destination and they strategically target Palestinians. They prevent wounded protesters from being treated, and they silence journalists so news doesn't get shared. Palestine will be free as well, within our lifetime, inshallah. But even here, right here in New York, political organizers are oppressed by the police who are trained by Israeli offence forces, their strategic response group, which are military personnel trained in counter-terrorism tactics, try to silence us and follow activists while marching. They wait for any reason to arrest and lock us up. We won't stop voicing our opinions due to their threats. Tell me now. Are we terrorists?"

Crowd: "No!"

Speaker 1: "Are we going to stop marching?"

Crowd: "No!"

Speaker 1: "Are we going to stop protesting?"

Crowd: "No!"

Speaker 1: "That's what they call Palestinian freedom fighters and that's how they considered the Algerian mujahideen. We say that U.S. imperialists are the number one terrorists.

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"With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you Palestine! With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you Palestine!"

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Bill Dores: "Today's Warsaw Ghetto is called the Gaza Strip. People have been born there and died there, denied water. The water is poison. There are no jobs. Only two hours of electricity a day.

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"Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel's crimes. Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel's crimes. Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel's crimes. Down with racism! Down with Zionism! Down with the clan, the Nazis, Israel. Israel will soon go the way of the Third Reich and the Confederate States of America and Rhodesia and all the other racist entities that are thrown in the dustbin of history. Long live Palestine!"

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Cyrus McGoldrick: "And Sheikh Ahmed Yassin Allah yarhemuhu [God grant him rest] said: 'We would fight our own brothers if they stole land from us, and so we will fight you for everything that you've stolen until we get it back.' May Allah bless all of you. May Allah bless this day and every day that we gather for his sake."

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Istafa Naqvi: "I just want to read a letter that is written by seven-year-old Palestinian girl. And she writes, this is Rega: 'You took my water, burned my olive trees, destroyed my house, stole my land, imprisoned my father, killed my mother, bomb my country, starve us all, humiliate us all. But I am to blame when I defended myself shooting a rocket to you.' Brothers and sisters, this is the story of each and every Palestinian which is living there."

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Larry Holmes: "I just wanna make a little suggestion before I leave, you know our comrade Kim Jong-un, the head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, sometimes referred to as North Korea. Y'all know who I'm talking about, right? He's got a meeting with Donald Trump in a couple of days. And it was the struggle of the Korean people that forced that meeting. Don't be fooled. And we know that comrade Kim Jong-un has a lot of business along with defending his people that get needy. But if he could just, for a minute, if it's possible, just for a minute, divert from the agenda, and say: 'Trump, President Trump, or whatever, racist Trump, I have a message from the Palestinian people and the people of the world. Stop giving Israel weapons to murder our people. Free Palestine! Free free Palestine. Free free Palestine. Free free Palestine. Free free Palestine."

Speaker 2: "It is right to rebel."

Crowd: "It is right to rebel."

Speaker 2: "Israel go to hell."

Crowd: "Israel go to hell."

Speaker 2: "There is only one solution."

Crowd: "There is only one solution."

Speaker 2: "Intifada revolution."

Crowd: "Intifada revolution."

Speaker 2: "With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you Palestine!"

Speaker 3: "With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you Palestine! With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you Palestine! With our souls and our blood, we will redeem you Palestine!"