As Israelis mourn Oct 7, Western protests celebrate the massacre with some vowing to repeat it

Protests, many of them celebratory and violent, spread across the world on Tuesday, as Israel commemorated the second anniversary of Hamas’s massacre on Oct 7, 2023. 

In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, members of Palestine Action – a group whose UK branch has been designated a terrorist organization – defaced the façade of the Royal Palace in Dam Square with red paint and the words “F*** Israel.” According to Ynet, the group said the act was a protest against the city’s decision to ban a Palestinian memorial event while allowing what it called “Zionist propaganda.”

In Montreal, Canada, fully masked people burned Israeli flags, threw smoke bombs, and fired fireworks, while chanting violent slogans.  

In Melbourne, Australia, activists sprayed graffiti on city walls that said “Glory to Hamas” and “October 7 – Do it again,” alongside pro-Hamas rallies.

In London, hundreds of students from multiple universities held Free Palestine rallies, despite Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s call to refrain from such acts on the anniversary of the massacre. Students chanted “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” and “Palestine will live forever.” The unusual call by the prime minister, who has allowed rallies with violent chants to continue weekly for two years, came after an Islamic terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur. 

Protests were also held in Japan, where hundreds of demonstrators – including Palestinians – marched in Tokyo calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages. “Recognizing a Palestinian state isn’t enough if governments still cooperate with genocide,” said Lena Grace Suda, a Tokyo resident.

In New York City, protesters took to the streets in pre-planned demonstrations, vowing to bring the violence of October 7 to the US until “Palestine is free from the river to the sea.”

“We didn’t do enough! Next time, we’ll come back stronger than on the first October 7th!” they shouted.

Ben Leo, a host on GB News, described the protests in New York as even worse than London.

“The protest tonight was levels above anything you see in London, in terms of toxicity, aggression, and anti-Semitism,” he said. 

Western leaders, many of whom have harshly condemned Israel for defending itself, called for sanctions on the world’s only Jewish state, and even recognized “Palestine” made comments or posted on 𝕏 their condolences to Israel over the Oct. 7 attack.

Starmer, who recently recognized “Palestine”, said the passage of time “does not lessen the evil we witnessed that day – the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. We will continue to stand united against those who promote harm and hatred toward Jewish communities.”

French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, who also recently recognized “Palestine” said in a post on 𝕏: “Two years since the unimaginable horrors of Hamas’s terrorist attack, the pain remains like an open wound. We do not forget. Our hearts and thoughts are with all the victims – including 51 of our compatriots – and with the 48 hostages still held by Hamas. France continues its tireless efforts to bring them home.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement: “We will never forget the horrors of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and the pain inflicted on innocent victims, their families and all of Israel.” 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has encouraged anti-Israeli protests in his country, used the occasion to once again accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing “genocide:” 

“Today marks two years since Hamas’s horrific attack. It is a day to once again condemn terrorism in all its forms, to demand the immediate release of Israeli hostages – and to demand that Netanyahu stop the Palestinian genocide and open a humanitarian corridor,” he wrote. 

Last month, Sanchez “expressed regret that he didn’t have an atomic bomb ‘to stop Israel,’” in the words of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.