Palestinian Activist Blasted for Whining that Firebombing, Hijacking Planes Deemed Unacceptable Form of Protest

A Palestinian youth hurls a Molotov cocktail against Israeli troops during confrontations
MOSAB SHAWER/AFP via Getty
Joshua Klein

Prominent Palestinian writer and activist Mohammed El-Kurd is facing fierce backlash after complaining it’s unacceptable to commit acts of terrorism, such as hijacking and throwing deadly molotov cocktails, in support of Gaza.

In a viral X post on Monday, the popular Palestinian activist wrote: 

You can’t protest peacefully. You can’t boycott. You can’t hunger strike. You can’t hijack planes. You can’t block traffic. You can’t throw Molotovs. You can’t self-immolate. You can’t heckle politicians. You can’t march. You can’t riot. You can’t dissent. You just can’t be.

The post appeared to be in the context of the Sunday self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old member of the U.S. Air Force, who who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, as he yelled “Free Palestine!” and broadcast the act on the streaming site Twitch. 

“If you are a soldier sacrificing yourself to protect US interest, you are a rational, noble hero. But if you sacrifice yourself to protest the genocide your country is funding, you are mentally ill,” El-Kurd wrote, seemingly dismissing mental health concerns expressed by others.

Similarly, many on the left have praised the airman’s suicide as an extreme form of protest, claiming he undoubtedly “had moral clarity.”

 “Rest in power Aaron Bushnell,” wrote Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein.

“Let us never forget the extraordinary courage and commitment of brother Aaron Bushnell  who died for truth and justice!” wrote prominent progressive activist and independent presidential candidate Cornel West.

In response, many took to social media to condemn El-Kurd’s radical comments.

“What world do we live in where people can’t just hijack airplanes and throw Molotov cocktails peacefully?” asked conservative journalist Ian Miles Cheong.

“El-Kurd cried on 9/11 because many of his friends died on each of those planes. Was a terrible coincidence,” he wrote in another post.

“What is the world coming to when you can’t even hijack a plane and crash it into a building full of innocent people for peace?” wrote satirist and free speech activist Konstantin Kisin.

“This is what oppression looks like,” he added.

“You can’t hijack planes. You can’t rape women. You can’t shoot babies in the face. You can’t kidnap children. You can’t cut people’s eyes out. You can’t decapitate the elderly. You can’t torture girls. You can’t do suicide bombs. You can’t drive cars into people. You can’t try to commit genocide against non-muslims,” wrote Oscar-nominated screenwriter Lee Kern. “No one knows what it is to be a Palestinian .”

“No. You can’t riot, throw bombs or hijack planes. But you could consider being more rational and less anti-Semitic,” wrote academic Christina Hoff Sommers.

“You can’t commit crimes… So sorry,” wrote journalist Katherine Brodsky.

“Actually, you can do all of the things on that list that are otherwise legal. But the fact that Mr. El-Kurd (note the ‘indigenous Palestinian’ name), a leading Palestinian anti-Israel activist, doesn’t see a distinction between hijacking planes and rioting on the one hand, and protesting peacefully on the other (no one is stopping you!) may give us a clue as to why the Palestinian cause remains deeply intertwined with appalling violence,” wrote author and Professor David Bernstein.

“POOR MOHAMMED EL-KURD Not allowed to do fun things like hijack planes and throw Molotovs,” wrote  the Australian Jewish Association. “This extremist was a guest at the 2023 Adelaide Writers Festival subsidised by the State government.”

“Mohammed El Kurd is upset that you can’t just hijack a plane, his human rights must feel violated,” wrote political commentator Chris Rose.

“The pro-Hamas mob is angry that they aren’t allowed to hijack planes,” wrote speechwriter Aviva Klompas.

“Mohammed El-Kurd is a frequent speaker on US campuses…remember this the next time he flies into your hometown,” she added.

“I think you got hacked by someone trying to make you look like a joke, you should change your password,” wrote attorney Damin Toell.

“Oh no! How dare one not be able to hijack planes, throw Molotov cocktails, k1ll themselves, riot…!!” wrote the LeftismForU X account. 

“I reckon your fantasy is to throw molotovs and self-immolate while you’re hijacking a plane. That’s the Palestinian dream,” wrote Egyptian-British counter-terrorism researcher Khaled Hassan.

El-Kurd has a history of espousing radical rhetoric and has been accused of “unvarnished, vicious antisemitism.”

Last month, he made headlines after calling Zionism — the longing of the Jewish people to return to their ancestral homeland and the fulfillment of the dream of millennia — a “death cult” while stating that massacres should be “normalize[d],” during  a diatribe against the Jewish state at a pro-Palestinian rally in London.

After being called out for his radical statements, he claimed to have misspoken.

Despite his objections, he has repeatedly defended terrorists and praised the October 7 massacre — the deadliest attack against Jewish people since the Holocaust — justifying it as a “response” to Israel’s actions.

The massacre, which drew parallels to scenes from the Nazi-era Holocaust, resulted in over 1,200 dead inside the Jewish state, over 5,300 more wounded, and at least 241 hostages of all ages taken — of which nearly 140 remain captive. The vast majority of the victims are civilians and include dozens of American citizens.

El-Kurd argued that Hamas’s attack would be documented in future history books as an “example of revolutionary struggle” that one need not wait to “celebrate.”

According to him, Israel’s actions are “the provocation,” whereas any attack on Israel — no matter how cruel and barbaric — is justified as “retaliation.”

Suggesting that “Palestine” rests between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea (leaving no room for the current State of Israel), he has also expressed the belief that Israel has no right to exist, repeating a slogan that implies the eradication of the Jewish state and its millions of Jewish citizens.

Ironically, in November, El-Kurd dismissed CNN analyst Van Jones’s claim he misspoke when calling to take a stand against Muslims (instead of “anti-Muslim bigotry”), insisting that Jones was nonetheless guilty due to his positions.

“Your misspeaking should be the least of your concerns,” he wrote. “You marched for the genocide of the Palestinian People as Israeli bombs continue to kill tens of thousands of us.” “You made your bed,” he added.

Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.

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