Anti-Israel Activists Pay Tribute To 10/7 Architect Yahya Sinwar, Reflecting Pattern of Glorifying "Martyred" Terror Chi

Anti-Israel Activists Pay Tribute To 10/7 Architect Yahya Sinwar, Reflecting Pattern of Glorifying “Martyred” Terror Chiefs

After Israeli military forces killed Hamas leader and October 7 architect Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on October 16, 2024, U.S. anti-Israel activists quickly responded with praise and veneration for the terrorist who masterminded the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and the abduction of some 250 people just over one year ago. Student groups, including numerous chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), were among the loudest voices memorializing Sinwar with sympathetic, pro-Hamas statements and social media posts.

These openly pro-terror responses fit into a pattern of behavior from many in the anti-Israel movement who have repeatedly glorified and celebrated notorious terrorists, both online and on the ground since the October 7 attack. In recent months, in particular, similar responses have followed the assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September 2024 and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024.

This most recent wave of support for infamous terror group leaders demonstrates how, as ADL has frequently documented, many activist groups that claim to be simply “anti-Israel” or “anti-Zionist” in fact openly revel in violence against and the murder of civilians — and Jews in particular — in Israel.

Anti-Israel Activists Memorialize Sinwar

Student Groups

Dozens of chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and other campus groups were among those explicitly supportive of Sinwar after his death, reposting hagiographies, obituaries, and images of him with captions like “glory to our martyrs” or “rest in power.” Some of these posts also incorporated additional violent rhetoric and imagery, including of weapons and inverted red triangles (a symbol popularized by Hamas to mark targets).

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