On February 18, 2025, antisemitic rioters descended on Jews in the Boro Park neighborhood in New York. The riot was organized by Pal-Awda – the NY/NJ branch of Al-Awda (The Palestine Right To Return Coalition) – which encouraged participants to “Flood Boro Park,” a reference to Hamas’ name for the October 7th massacre (the “Al-Aqsa Flood”).

Al-Awda supported the October 7th invasion and is linked to Samidoun, a US-designated terrorist organization, and its officials have celebrated terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Funding

Al-Awda is registered in the US as an IRS 501c3 tax exempt charity. The NGO does not publish information about its funders.  In 2022, (last available) total reported income was $44,789; expenses were $54,195.

Al-Awda serves as fiscal sponsor for a BDS-promoting NGO, US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI).

Links to Samidoun, a US-designated terrorist organization

  • Al-Awda listed Charlotte Kates – International Coordinator at Samidoun – as  a member of its National Board (as of October 21, 2024).  Samidoun is designated as a terrorist organization by the US Treasury Department (see below).
  • Al-Awda and Samidoun have partnered on events.  For instance, on May 21, 2020, Samidoun Europe Coordinator Mohammed Khatib spoke at an Al-Awda event “marking 72 years of Nakba and continued resistance.”
    • In November 2024, the Netherlands denied Khatib entry, citing his terror ties.
    • In July 2024, Belgian authorities initiated the process of stripping Khatib of his asylum status.
    • In November 2023, Germany banned Samidoun, citing an agenda that “impairs and endangers the peaceful coexistence of Germans and foreigners,” and “advocates and calls for the use of violence.”

Support for violence, including the October 7th massacre

Al-Awda and its staff have celebrated violence against Israeli civilians and glorified US-designated terrorist organizations:

  • In May 2024, Al-Awda published a joint statement calling for the “complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea” and endorsing the “right to resist by any means necessary.”
  • On October 7, 2023, Al-Awda released a statement emphasizing its “unwavering support of the Palestinian resistance,” adding “The Palestinian resistance, through their brave actions, are forging a path to bring the ongoing Nakba to an end.”

Al-Awda leaders have also promoted Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

Lamis Deek

In an April 2022 speech, Lamis Deek – identified by Al-Awda as its “New York Representative” – stated: “We declare unequivocally that all Palestinians are freedom fighters. That those who fight for justice and the other like Hamas, like Jabhat, like Islamic Jihad, like Iranian Al-Quds Forces, like the PFLP [Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine], are all freedom fighters who fight not just for the defense and liberation of Palestine, they fight for the safety and the protection of all people to whom Israel, is apartheid is a global threat.”

Charlotte Kates

  • In August 2024, Kates traveled to Iran to accept the “Eighth Annual Islamic Human Rights And Human Dignity Award,” as one of six recipients, alongside the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Ziyad Nakhaleh. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who had been killed in Iran in late July 2024, was also honored at the event.
  • In May 2024, Kates was arrested as part of a Vancouver hate-crime investigation after she praised the Oct. 7 attack as “heroic and brave” and called for the removal of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and several other groups from the list of terrorist organizations.
  • At a March 2024 event, Kates stated, “There is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader of Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas.”