DC protest features graphic blood libel imagery, draws condemnation from Jewish organizations

Anti-Israel activists staged a graphic demonstration at Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, reviving classic antisemitic blood libel imagery. Participants dressed as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. leaders, including President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden, sat beside a mock “menu” labeled “Gaza’s spilled blood,” drinking red liquid meant to resemble wine. They were also filmed biting into fake blood-soaked organs, with the red fluid dripping from their faces.

The activists, Hazami Barmada and Atefeh Rokhvand, later claimed responsibility for the stunt on social media. According to Barmada’s LinkedIn profile, he is a former UN staffer and a Harvard graduate, while Rokhvand identifies online as a member of Teachers Against Genocide.

The display was framed by its organizers as a political protest against what they describe as an American-funded Israeli “genocide” in Gaza. A video of the demonstration was circulated online with the caption “Israeli Friendsgiving.”

Jewish organizations criticized the display, noting its resemblance to historic blood libel imagery that falsely depicted Jews as harming non-Jewish children for ritual purposes. That accusation has been used for centuries to justify hostility and violence against Jewish communities, contributing to pogroms in Eastern Europe, later appearing in Nazi propaganda, and eventually gaining traction in parts of the Arab and Islamic worlds.

“The Jews lie under the guilt of blood and murder. Some have laid a most hideous fact to the charge of the Jews, that they have been wont once a year to steal Christian children, and to put them to death by crucifying out of scorn and hatred against Christians,” Mather falsely claimed in a 1669 tract.

“Blood libel was on full display today,” the American Jewish Committee stated in response to the anti-Jewish display at the U.S. Capitol.

“Dressed up as ‘activism’ and ‘performance art,’ this was nothing less than the revival of one of the oldest and most dangerous antisemitic tropes in history,” the Jewish organization assessed. “Blood libel has fueled violence, persecution and massacres of Jews for centuries. Seeing it resurface in our nation’s capital is both horrifying and unacceptable,” the AJC warned.

Blood libel was on full display today at Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Dressed up as “activism” and “performance art,” this was nothing less than the revival of one of the oldest and most dangerous antisemitic tropes in history.

Blood libel has fueled violence, persecution,… pic.twitter.com/YIY3hltMQA

— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) November 21, 2025

The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington echoed similar sentiments.

“Just steps away from the symbols and heart of American democracy, a scene that would have been right at home in Nazi Germany played out in the United States. Seldom have we seen such a sickening display of full-throated antisemitism,” the JCRC said.

The demonstration also invoked an antisemitic trope alleging that Jews control the United States and its foreign policy. The participant dressed as Netanyahu shouted at the actors portraying U.S. leaders, calling them “loyal lap dogs.”

Anti-Israel activists typically assert that their criticism is directed at Israeli policy rather than the Jewish people. However, analysts have observed that some anti-Zionist expressions that portray Israel as uniquely malicious or illegitimate closely resemble longstanding antisemitic themes, including the historical blood libel.

Earlier this week, some 200 pro-Hamas activists chanted “Death to the IDF” and “We don’t want no Zionists here” outside Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue. Many of the anti-Israel activists, who were masked and wearing keffiyehs, threatened violence against Israelis and Jews with slogans, including, “Resistance you make us proud, take another settler out,” and “From New York to Gaza, globalize the Intifada.”