An anti-Israel activist who went viral over the weekend in Michigan for spurring “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” chants has a history of espousing violent rhetoric.
Tarek Bazzi, a Michigan-based activist associated with the Hadi Institute, ignited the chants this past Friday during a speech at an International Al-Quds Day rally in Dearborn, which subsequently drew widespread attention and criticism on social media.
“Imam Khomeini, who declared the International Al-Quds Day, this is why he would say to pour all of your chants and all of your shouts upon the head of America,” Bazzi said in the video shared by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
After Bazzi made his comments, the crowd began chanting, “Death to America!” Bazzi later shifted his attention to Israel, telling the audience that when “fools” ask them “if Israel has the right to exist,” the chant “Death to Israel” is “the most logical chant shouted across the world today.”
Protesters supporting Palestinians hold a rally outside the Dearborn police station as President Joe Biden visits a Ford electric vehicle center nearby, Tuesday, May 18, 2021, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Bazzi’s recent anti-Israel rhetoric and inflammatory comments appear to be commonplace for the activist in public settings while riling up crowds.
According to a separate video posted to Facebook in May 2021 by the Al-Quds Committee, which calls itself an “effort to peacefully raise the voice against Zionist atrocities and propaganda,” Bazzi can be heard using violent rhetoric towards Israel and Jewish people while speaking to a group of protesters.
“Understand what these slogans mean. ‘From the river to the sea’ means the absolute annihilation of the Zionist regime,” Bazzi says in the video reviewed by Fox News Digital.
“It is absolute evil. It is a cancer in the Middle East and in the world. There is no way to deal peacefully with such an entity,” Bazzi said. “There can be no two-state solution when you have a Zionist aggressor that knows no limits. A Zionist aggressor that will steal land and slaughter children and that will take pride in doing such deeds.”
“So yes, this is a class struggle in part. This is a national struggle in part,” Bazzi continued. “But I tell you, this is something deeper than all of that. This is a divine struggle. This is a struggle of divine justice against satanic injustice.”
Bazzi later told the crowd to “notice anywhere in the world that you have seen oppressed people come together, pick up weapons and call out the name of the one true God. They have attained victory. This is not a coincidence.”
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Supporters of Palestine drive in convoy near JFK Airport as they targeted the airport with protests on January 1, 2024 in New York City. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
“The right to pick up a weapon and fire it at your enemy that is kidnapping and imprisoning your children, that is murdering your family, that is stealing your home, usurping your resources,” Bazzi said. “That right, that right for self-defense doesn’t come from the UN. We don’t wait for America to give it to us. It comes from God.”
“There is a price to pay for that victory. Blood must be spilled. Martyrdom must be sought after. Resistance is necessary in any way possible,” Bazzi continued. “When the rockets are there, let them fire the rockets. When the rockets run out, then let them throw rocks, and when the rocks are all gone, then let them lift these hands, ball them into fists, and let them punch until victory comes.”
“Over here, we have a duty as well. We may not have the rockets and the rocks, and we may not be able to throw those punches, but we do have a duty,” Bazzi added. “This is a divine global struggle.”
Bazzi later instructed the crowd to tell the FBI to “go to hell” if they come knocking on their doors.
International Al-Quds Day, an annual pro-Palestinian event held on the last Friday of Ramadan where Bazzi ignited the “Death to America!” chants, enjoys significant support in Dearborn, which has the country’s highest proportion of Muslim residents.
Celebrations of the day have been controversial worldwide, even drawing a ban by German authorities in Berlin on multiple occasions.
Hundreds of pro-Palestine protestors march across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on Saturday, December 19, 2023. Demonstrators began at the Brooklyn Museum, walking to midtown Manhattan to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. (Stephen Yang for Fox News Digital)
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Rallies to mark the day have been taking place in Dearborn for at least 20 years, according to Steven Stalinsky, the executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, who previously told Fox News Digital that the town has become a “hotbed of hate for many years.”
“You can see rallies and sermons in support for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran,” Stalinsky said, noting that the threats emanating from the city have become even more pronounced since the October Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
The Hadi Institute did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by the time of publication.
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