2026 Al-Quds Day: Protesters Across U.S. Cities Openly Chant Support for Terror Groups
Thousands marched across major U.S. cities on March 13, explicitly supporting designated terror organizations while deploying blood libel and conspiracy theories against Jews
Demonstrators across major U.S. cities openly celebrated designated terrorist organizations and employed widespread antisemitic rhetoric during Al-Quds Day protests on March 13, 2026. In New York and Chicago, participants chanted “We Support Hezbollah Here, we support Hamas here,” shouted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”, and invoked historically antisemitic threat language.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, protesters openly expressed support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre.
NYC Rally Details
The New York protest began in Times Square on March 13 and proceeded through midtown Manhattan, drawing hundreds. Organizers affiliated with the Bronx Anti-War Coalition, Pal-Awda, and the Workers World Party explicitly praised terrorist leaders by name.
One speaker stated: “We honor the military prowess of our beloved commanders, martyr Yahya Sinwar, the lion of Gaza, Hassan Nasrallah, and all of the valiant commanders of the IRGC.” Protesters carried flags of Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both U.S.-designated terror organizations. Speakers also directed crowds to chant antisemitic blood libel accusations, including “Stop eating babies, stop raping children.”
The “Khaybar” Chant
At the Times Square al-Quds Day rally on March 13, 2026, protesters repeatedly chanted “Haydar! Haydar! Khaybar! Khaybar!” The chant invokes two loaded historical references. “Haydar” is an epithet for Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, revered in Shia Islam as a symbol of militant struggle. “Khaybar” references the seventh-century Battle of Khaybar, a Muslim military conquest against Jewish tribes in what is now Saudi Arabia.
Together, the chant functions as a direct threat, invoking historical conquest of Jews and implying future violence against contemporary Jewish populations. Authorities in multiple Western jurisdictions have classified variations of this chant as hate speech, and it has been cited in investigations of antisemitic hate crimes at Palestinian advocacy protests.
Antisemitic Conspiracy Rhetoric
According to the ADL, some protesters drew explicit parallels between disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and Israel, leveraging the criminal scandal to delegitimize Jewish and Israeli identity. In New York, demonstrators displayed a modified Israeli flag featuring Epstein's likeness in place of the Star of David. In Houston, protest signage read "Epstein axis vs. resistance axis," a rhetorical device linking Jewish identity with criminal conduct and moral corruption.
Iranian Regime Tool for Regional Influence
The annual event, held on the last Friday of Ramadan, explicitly aims to coordinate global opposition to Israel while advancing Iranian regime interest. The 2026 demonstrations—occurring amid Operation Epic Fury and heightened U.S.-Iran tensions—represent one of the most expansive displays of open terror group support at U.S. Al-Quds Day events in recent years, signaling the Iranian regime's deepening influence over American protest movements and its ongoing efforts to radicalize diaspora communities.
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