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Protesters in Dearborn, Michigan, shouted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” during an International Al-Quds Day rally held in the town.
“Imam Khomeini, who declared the International Al-Quds Day, this is why he would say to pour all of your chants and all of your shouts upon the head of America,” Tarek Bazzi, a Michigan-based activist associated with the Hadi institute, said in a video from the rally that was shared by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
Bazzi’s comments were followed by crowds chanting “Death to America!” in the background.
Bazzi reasoned that the rallies held on the day “are so anti-America,” instead of a focus on Israel, because “it’s the United States government that provides the funds for all of the atrocities,” pointing to Israel’s continued siege of Gaza as an example.
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Protesters march in Dearborn, Michigan, on May 18, 2021, to protest President Biden’s support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. (Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images)
The activist went on to quote Malcom X, who said the U.S. is “one of the rottenest countries that has ever existed on this Earth,” while arguing to eliminate the entire American “system.”
“It’s not just Genocide Joe that has to go,” Bazzi said, referring to President Biden. “It is the entire system that has to go. Any system that would allow such atrocities and such devilry to happen and would support it – such a system does not deserve to exist on God’s Earth.”
Bazzi then turned his attention to Israel, telling the audience that when “fools” ask them “if Israel has the right to exist,” the chant “Death to Israel” is “the most logical chant shouted across the world today.”
The remarks were followed by chants of “Death to Israel” from protesters in the crowd.
Protesters supporting Palestinians hold a rally outside the Dearborn police station as President Biden visits a Ford electric vehicle center nearby, May 18, 2021, in Dearborn, Michigan. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
International Al-Quds Day, an annual pro-Palestinian event that is held on the last Friday of Ramadan, enjoys significant support in Dearborn, which has the highest proportion of Muslim residents in the country.
Celebrations of the day have been controversial throughout the world, even drawing a ban by German authorities in Berlin on multiple occasions.
Rallies to mark the day have been taking place in Dearborn for at least 20 years, according to MEMRI Executive Director Steven Stalinsky, who told Fox News Digital that the town has become a “hotbed of hate for many years.”
“You can see rallies and sermons in support for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran,” Stalinsky said, noting that the threats emanating from the city have become even more pronounced since the October Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Republican state Rep. Phil Green told Fox News Digital that he agrees with assessments of a growing problem in Dearborn and around the country, arguing that it saddens him to see “the world’s problems coming to our doorstep.”
“This type of extremism, this type of rhetoric, this type of division … threats of violence was a Middle East thing, it seems like a lot of that was limited to the Middle East, and now it’s come to our doorstep,” Green said.
Green said the majority of Dearborn’s citizens are peaceful and don’t promote violence, but he acknowledged the movements bubbling up from the town are worth monitoring closely for lawmakers.
Dearborn also became the center of a protest movement against Biden last month, with activists from the town encouraging Democrats to vote “uncommitted” instead of supporting the president’s re-election bid.
“It’s not just Genocide Joe that has to go,” one activist said, referring to President Biden. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)
Bazzi’s speech was followed by remarks from Michigan Iman Usama Abdulghani, who called Israel an “evil settler colonialist project” and a “cancer” while applauding those who are willing to publicly criticize the country.
“Israel is ISIS, they are Nazis, they are fascists, they are racists,” Abdulghani said. “The people of the world now know this.”
Protesters were then heard chanting “Free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea,” a controversial phrase classified as “hate” by the American Jewish Committee.
According to Stalinsky, that type of rhetoric has become a common theme in Dearborn.
“I am not saying that everyone in Dearborn is a terrorist, but there is a large amount of support for jihadi groups there,” Stalinsky said.
