Pro-Palestine Activists Weaponize Thanksgiving to Delegitimize U.S.
The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Palestinian Youth Movement, and Within Our Lifetime released materials denouncing America as a "settler colonial state" and rejecting Thanksgiving itself
Multiple pro-Palestinian groups mounted concurrent campaigns against Thanksgiving over the holiday weekend, explicitly rejecting it as a celebration of “settler colonialism.” The efforts ranged from violent disruptions of Black Friday shopping in Manhattan to nationwide distribution of materials characterizing the United States as an illegitimate state built on “genocide.”
The most visible confrontation occurred November 28 on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, where approximately 70 protesters wearing keffiyehs stormed a Zara store blowing whistles, waving Palestinian flags, and chanting accusations at startled holiday shoppers. “They fund the genocide, Free Palestine!,” one woman screamed inside the fashion retailer, while another shrieked “Zara is a genocidal company” while blowing a whistle at employees. The incident resulted in four arrests.
Activists Frame U.S. as Illegitimate “Settler Colonial State”
The US Campaign for Palestinian Rights issued materials refusing to acknowledge Thanksgiving, instead promoting what it called a “National Day of Mourning” for “Indigenous peoples native to settler colonial states of the U.S.” The organization’s social media posts characterized American history as “genocide violently enacted on them to steal the land” and declared that this “genocide is still active today.”
The group also attempted to draw parallels between Palestinians and Native Americans: “The struggle of the native Palestinian people is directly connected to the struggle of Indigenous peoples here on Turtle Island, and our liberation is intertwined.” The use of “Turtle Island”—a term borrowed from certain Native American creation stories—represents a deliberate rejection of the name “America” itself.
The organization directed followers to observe November 27 as a day of resistance “from Turtle Island to Palestine,” framing both the United States and Israel as parallel colonial projects that should be opposed.
“So-Called Thanksgiving” Rejected at Alcatraz Ceremony
The Bay Area chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement went further in its anti-American rhetoric, repeatedly referring to “so-called ‘Thanksgiving’” in Instagram posts announcing its participation in ceremonies at Alcatraz Island. The group described the holiday as a “colonial myth” that should be rejected.
In a lengthy statement, the Palestinian Youth Movement explicitly characterized the United States as maintaining a “violent colonial and imperialist legacy” comparable to Israel’s actions. “Across continents, our people in Palestine and the Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island have faced similar patterns of violent land dispossession and territorial fragmentation by the settler-colonial systems,” the organization declared.
The group accused America of perpetuating genocide through its support for Israel: “The US maintains its violent colonial and imperialist legacy, as it continues to provide Billions of dollars worth of arms to Israel for their co-led genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.”
CAIR Provides Holiday “Talking Points” Against Israel
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Greater Los Angeles chapter posted detailed materials titled “How To Talk About Palestine at the Dinner Table,” providing followers with scripted responses designed to argue against Israel during Thanksgiving family gatherings.
The talking points document, posted on CAIR California’s website, included responses to questions like “Israel just wants peace” and “Criticizing Israel is antisemitic.” The materials instructed readers to characterize Israel as conducting a “77-year-long campaign of ethnic cleansing” and to cite the International Court of Justice’s ruling that Israel operates under “systemic discrimination, segregation, and apartheid.”
CAIR-LA’s accompanying statement revealed the organization’s view of Thanksgiving itself: “With Thanksgiving and the International Day of Solidarity With the Palestinian People falling in the same week, we are reminded of the deep connections between struggles for justice.”
The framing suggested that Thanksgiving—traditionally a day of gratitude and family unity—should instead be viewed through the lens of international activism against Israel.
Within Our Lifetime Rejects Holiday Celebration
The pro-Palestine activist organization Within Our Lifetime, known for organizing aggressive protests in New York City, posted Thanksgiving Day messaging that explicitly rejected the holiday. “Today as many celebrate Thanksgiving, we center Gaza and Palestine,” the group declared, directing followers to donate to Gaza rather than participate in traditional American celebrations.
Strategy of Delegitimizing America and Israel Simultaneously
The Thanksgiving campaigns underscore a deliberate strategy by pro-Palestinian groups to delegitimize both the United States and Israel by portraying them as parallel “settler colonial” projects lacking moral legitimacy. By appropriating Indigenous American narratives and explicitly rejecting American national identity—using terms like “Turtle Island” and “so-called Thanksgiving”—these organizations position themselves as opponents of the America itself, not merely critics of specific policies.
After the defeated Ottoman Empire lost its territorial holdings in the Middle East, with the exception of the Jewish people, no other indigenous peoples were allowed self-determination. Instead, the lands of the imperial Turks were given to the prior imperial conquerors they had defeated: the Arabs.
Put in American terms, this would be the equivalent of returning the lands in the U.S. Southwest taken from Mexico not to the resident Indian tribes but to Spain.
Yet the world accepts Arab settler-colonialism in the Middle East and North Africa as a given if not an outright good for its subject peoples. That fact alone highlights the special pleading and general intellectual bankruptcy of the currently fashionable “settler-colonial” doctrine … and yet it remains untouchable as an “explanatory” device.
You have to give it to the propal movement, especialy CAIR, they are doing a wonderful job of shape shifting. How do you defend yourself from this propoganda. Dont know. The war in Gaza is effectively over. Instead of reacting to their strategy get ahead of the curve and create some propoganda of your own. Post the executions in Gaza by the hamas dudes as an indication of their civilisation. Doesnt matter that a very large majority of Gazans support this action, but that is not important. Its for the european audience. Its barbaric islamic jihadi justice we want to expose. Attack CAIR. Highlight their anti Amercan rhetoric. Every day. Dont go down the path of connecting their leadership with hamas or Muslim Brotherhood. Most people have zero idea of the MB and the implications and consequences of that relationship. In any case within a a short time CAIR will reinvent itself. Talk to Steve Coughlin on his prediction of what they will do next. Or read the milestones document of the MB. use the post modern philosophy that feelings trump facts. Use phrases like " every decent American understands that an attack on the traditional American thanksgiving ceremony is an attack on our core values." Everyone wants to be a decent American. Feelings feelings feelings is the name of the game. Goebels knew this a long time ago.
Thankyou