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Within Our Lifetime
Within Our Lifetime – United For Palestine (WOL) is a pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist activist organization primarily active in New York City. The organization was founded and is currently led by the Palestinian-American Muslim Nerdeen Kiswani. They are based out of Bay Ridge, a neighborhood in Brooklyn that is home to the majority of Palestinians in New York City. The Jerusalem Post has described them as the region's leading pro-Palestinian activist group.
WOL organizes around four principles: the Palestinian right of return, anti-Zionism, the Palestinian right to resist, and internationalism. While the organization is centered around Palestinian liberation, they are also generally anti-imperialist. WOL has praised Hamas and engaged in confrontational protest tactics, attracting criticism from politicians such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. A protester at a pro-Palestine march organised by WOL attacked a Jewish counterprotestor, Matt Greenman, in 2022.
WOL was founded in 2015 as NYC Students for Justice in Palestine. It took on its current name in 2018. The name "Within Our Lifetime" was chosen as a reflection of Nerdeen Kiswani's confidence in an imminent Palestinian liberation, as reflected in one of the group's protest chants, "We will free Palestine, within our lifetime!" Kiswani is the child of Palestinian refugees from Beit Iksa. She was born in Jordan but grew up in Brooklyn, where her parents owned a restaurant. She was formerly president of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at CUNY School of Law. Besides Kiswani, other prominent organizers include Abdullah Akl and Fatima Mohammed. WOL is active on university campuses, primarily in the New York City area. Jews from the anti-Zionist Haredi sect Neturei Karta have often participated in WOL's protests. Within Our Lifetime is not legally registered as a nonprofit and has no paid staff. It has a few dozen members, and its demonstrations typically attract a few hundred participants.
WOL has expressed support for Hamas and Palestinian political violence against Israel in general. After the October 7 attacks, WOL helped organize anti-Israel rallies in New York, releasing a statement supporting Palestinian violence against Israel: "Supporting Palestinian liberation is supporting whatever means necessary it takes to get there. Freedom has only ever been achieved through resistance." At the end of October, WOL's website praised the Hamas attack. It was later replaced by a denunciation of Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.
On 10 June 2024, WOL organized a protest at an exhibition commemorating the Nova music festival massacre on October 7. Protesters set off flares, waved flags of Hamas and Hezbollah, and displayed banners with messages such as "Long live October 7" and "The Zionists are not Jews and not humans." The protesters were recorded chanting pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans. This protest was condemned by government officials including White House spokesman Andrew Bates, New York Mayor Eric Adams, and Representative Ritchie Torres. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman also accused WOL of antisemitism.
WOL expressed hostility to American president Joe Biden and New York City mayor Eric Adams on account of their pro-Israel stances, and the group diverges from other pro-Palestinian groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace and Democratic Socialists of America in that they do not wish to work with the Democratic Party.
On 28 March 2024, WOL and other groups organized protests outside a Democratic Party fundraiser for President Joe Biden at Radio City Music Hall. Biden was joined by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at the event. Later that evening, after the fundraiser ended, WOL continued protests outside the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel, where Biden was staying overnight.
On 22 June 2024, WOL held a protest against a joint rally held by legislators Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders. WOL said the legislators should refuse to endorse Biden as the Democratic candidate in the 2024 presidential election and stop equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Bowman and Ocasio-Cortez had previously condemned the WOL protest at the Nova Festival massacre exhibition as antisemitic.
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Within Our Lifetime
Within Our Lifetime – United For Palestine (WOL) is a pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist activist organization primarily active in New York City. The organization was founded and is currently led by the Palestinian-American Muslim Nerdeen Kiswani. They are based out of Bay Ridge, a neighborhood in Brooklyn that is home to the majority of Palestinians in New York City. The Jerusalem Post has described them as the region's leading pro-Palestinian activist group.
WOL organizes around four principles: the Palestinian right of return, anti-Zionism, the Palestinian right to resist, and internationalism. While the organization is centered around Palestinian liberation, they are also generally anti-imperialist. WOL has praised Hamas and engaged in confrontational protest tactics, attracting criticism from politicians such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. A protester at a pro-Palestine march organised by WOL attacked a Jewish counterprotestor, Matt Greenman, in 2022.
WOL was founded in 2015 as NYC Students for Justice in Palestine. It took on its current name in 2018. The name "Within Our Lifetime" was chosen as a reflection of Nerdeen Kiswani's confidence in an imminent Palestinian liberation, as reflected in one of the group's protest chants, "We will free Palestine, within our lifetime!" Kiswani is the child of Palestinian refugees from Beit Iksa. She was born in Jordan but grew up in Brooklyn, where her parents owned a restaurant. She was formerly president of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at CUNY School of Law. Besides Kiswani, other prominent organizers include Abdullah Akl and Fatima Mohammed. WOL is active on university campuses, primarily in the New York City area. Jews from the anti-Zionist Haredi sect Neturei Karta have often participated in WOL's protests. Within Our Lifetime is not legally registered as a nonprofit and has no paid staff. It has a few dozen members, and its demonstrations typically attract a few hundred participants.
WOL has expressed support for Hamas and Palestinian political violence against Israel in general. After the October 7 attacks, WOL helped organize anti-Israel rallies in New York, releasing a statement supporting Palestinian violence against Israel: "Supporting Palestinian liberation is supporting whatever means necessary it takes to get there. Freedom has only ever been achieved through resistance." At the end of October, WOL's website praised the Hamas attack. It was later replaced by a denunciation of Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.
On 10 June 2024, WOL organized a protest at an exhibition commemorating the Nova music festival massacre on October 7. Protesters set off flares, waved flags of Hamas and Hezbollah, and displayed banners with messages such as "Long live October 7" and "The Zionists are not Jews and not humans." The protesters were recorded chanting pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans. This protest was condemned by government officials including White House spokesman Andrew Bates, New York Mayor Eric Adams, and Representative Ritchie Torres. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman also accused WOL of antisemitism.
WOL expressed hostility to American president Joe Biden and New York City mayor Eric Adams on account of their pro-Israel stances, and the group diverges from other pro-Palestinian groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace and Democratic Socialists of America in that they do not wish to work with the Democratic Party.
On 28 March 2024, WOL and other groups organized protests outside a Democratic Party fundraiser for President Joe Biden at Radio City Music Hall. Biden was joined by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at the event. Later that evening, after the fundraiser ended, WOL continued protests outside the InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel, where Biden was staying overnight.
On 22 June 2024, WOL held a protest against a joint rally held by legislators Jamaal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders. WOL said the legislators should refuse to endorse Biden as the Democratic candidate in the 2024 presidential election and stop equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Bowman and Ocasio-Cortez had previously condemned the WOL protest at the Nova Festival massacre exhibition as antisemitic.