Inside the anti-Israel network planning a sweeping DNC protest

EXCLUSIVE — Nearly 100 organizations planning to protest against Israel next week in Chicago outside the Democratic National Convention are under the spotlight in a new report by a watchdog group.

The report, authored by NGO Monitor, highlights how left-wing activist hubs sympathizing with Hamas after its Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel are aiming to pressure Democrats to adopt anti-Israel policies. The forthcoming protest, which was dealt a blow this week after a federal judge rejected a request from activists for more space to demonstrate, comes as Republicans raise concerns over whether Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, will be tough on Hamas.

The Biden-Harris administration has called for de-escalation in the Middle East as Iran and its terrorist proxies attack Israel.

“The same NGO network that orchestrated and funded the mobs chanting ‘intifada now’ on university campuses and in major cities will be harassing and intimidating DNC delegates and participants in Chicago,” Gerald Steinberg, the founder and president of NGO Monitor, said in a statement.

Groups planning to protest outside the DNC between Aug. 19 and 22 include CODEPINK, Palestinian Feminist Collective, Students for Justice in Palestine Chicago, American Muslims for Palestine Chicago, and other pro-Palestinian groups active across the United States, NGO Monitor said in the report. One group, the ANSWER Coalition, was recently behind a violent protest in Washington, D.C.

Another, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, is an Israeli-designated terrorist group housed under a charity in Arizona, the Washington Examiner reported.

The anti-Israel coalition published a joint statement upon President Joe Biden deciding he would not run for reelection, accusing his administration of committing genocide in supporting Israel. NGO Monitor highlighted in the report how the DNC march coalition has “non-transparent” funding and is fundraising on the Action Network platform.

However, as the Washington Examiner has reported, many entities linked to anti-Israel protests, including the forthcoming one, are bankrolled by influential progressive dark money groups. The dark money groups, such as the Tides Center and its affiliated Tides Foundation, as well as the WESPAC Foundation, are fueled by Democratic megadonors such as George Soros and Bill Gates.

“The question is whether leaders of the Democratic party, including Vice President Harris, will stand firm against the antisemitic hatred and violence, in contrast to the university administrators,” Steinberg added in the statement.

NGO Monitor’s report highlights an investigative series by the Washington Examiner on Alliance for Global Justice, the Samidoun-linked group, and its ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The report noted that payment processors, including PayPal, Stripe, Salsa Labs, and Deluxe, cut ties with AFGJ over its terrorism ties.

The anti-Israel coalition has a wide variety of demands for Democrats, according to NGO Monitor. Those include ending U.S. aid to Israel, “community control of the police,” and others.

“We condemn the Democratic Party for promoting wars in Palestine, Ukraine, and countries all over the world, and for strangling dozens of countries with illegal sanctions that affect over 2 billion people,” the anti-Israel coalition said. “U.S. economic and military interests are behind the genocide in Gaza, and are threatening war on China. The US military puts the entire world in danger of war and targets people’s movements like in the Philippines and Colombia.”