Qods Day Demonstrations in the U.S. and Canada: Activists Link Palestine and Racial Tensions in the U.S., Call to „Liberate“ Haifa and Tel Aviv | MEMRI TV

Qods Day Demonstrations in the U.S. and Canada: Activists Link Palestine and Racial Tensions in the U.S., Call to „Liberate“ Haifa and Tel Aviv | MEMRI TV

In demonstrations held on Qods (Jerusalem) Day on July 1, 2016 in various cities across the U.S. and Canada, activists drew a parallel between Palestinian rights and racial tensions in the U.S. Speaking in Chicago, Hatem Abdayyeh, a member of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, called to liberate „all of Palestine,“ including Haifa and Tel Aviv. Speaking in Times Square, New York, a „Black Lives Matter“ activist drew a parallel between Gaza and Harlem, saying that resistance was justified, whether in Palestine, Ferguson, Missouri, or NYC, and that „the liberation of Palestine is tied to the liberation of black people right here in the United States.“ Speaking in Toronto, Canada, London-based Indian Shiite cleric Maulana Abbas Abedi said that „Zionism is the mother of ISIS.“ Quds Day is an annual Iranian-led event, held on the last Friday of the month of Ramadhan. It was declared by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979.