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At the Third Palestinian National Dialogue in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 14, 2025, American lawyer and activist Huwaida Arraf spoke about strategies to engage non-Arabs in pro-Palestinian activism. She said that Zionism and Israel must be dismantled as a “Nazi, fascist, and racist entity” by taking away its legitimacy. Arraf criticized the Palestinian leadership for promoting a two-state solution, which she said restores Israel’s legitimacy and undermines attempts to dismantle it. She emphasized that Palestinians do not want dialogue or a two-state solution, and that their message is dismantling Zionism, which is what “foreigners,” meaning non-Arabs, are seeking. Arraf added that non-Arabs will be involved in solidarity and activism for the sake of liberation, as long as Palestinian goals are clear.
Arraf, a Bernie Sanders delegate in 2020 and a 2022 Michigan candidate for U.S. Congress, is the co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement (FGM), the organization behind the Gaza Freedom Flotillas. She participated in the 2010 flotilla raided by Israeli forces and in a July 2025 flotilla as well.
Other speakers at the Istanbul conference included: Wadah Khanfar, former Director General of Al-Jazeera Network; Majed Al-Zeer, identified as the head of Hamas in Europe and sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury; Nael Barghouti, a Hamas leader released in the hostage release deal in February 2025 and previously in the Gilad Shalit deal in 2011; Salah Salah, a founding member of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Osama Abu Irshaid, Executive-Director of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Arraf’s remarks were posted on Palestinians Abroad on YouTube on November 21, 2025.
Huwaida Arraf: “We say that we need to dismantle Zionism and Israel, as a Nazi, fascist, and racist entity. We want to dismantle it by taking away Israel’s legitimacy, but along comes the so-called Palestinian leadership, and by talking about a two-state solution and so on, it restores legitimacy to the very thing that we are trying to dismantle.
[…]
“We need to send a very strong and united message which tells [the world] what our demands are. We don’t want dialogue, two-state solution, and all that. Zionism needs to be dismantled, and the existence of a racist, fascist state like Israel must lose all its legitimacy.
“This is the message. This is what the foreigners are looking for. They will be involved in solidarity and activism, for the sake of liberation, but ultimately, our goals need to be loud and clear to the world, in order to bolster our activism.”
Arraf, a Bernie Sanders delegate in 2020 and a 2022 Michigan candidate for U.S. Congress, is the co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement (FGM), the organization behind the Gaza Freedom Flotillas. She participated in the 2010 flotilla raided by Israeli forces and in a July 2025 flotilla as well.
Other speakers at the Istanbul conference included: Wadah Khanfar, former Director General of Al-Jazeera Network; Majed Al-Zeer, identified as the head of Hamas in Europe and sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury; Nael Barghouti, a Hamas leader released in the hostage release deal in February 2025 and previously in the Gilad Shalit deal in 2011; Salah Salah, a founding member of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and Osama Abu Irshaid, Executive-Director of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Arraf’s remarks were posted on Palestinians Abroad on YouTube on November 21, 2025.
Huwaida Arraf: “We say that we need to dismantle Zionism and Israel, as a Nazi, fascist, and racist entity. We want to dismantle it by taking away Israel’s legitimacy, but along comes the so-called Palestinian leadership, and by talking about a two-state solution and so on, it restores legitimacy to the very thing that we are trying to dismantle.
[…]
“We need to send a very strong and united message which tells [the world] what our demands are. We don’t want dialogue, two-state solution, and all that. Zionism needs to be dismantled, and the existence of a racist, fascist state like Israel must lose all its legitimacy.
“This is the message. This is what the foreigners are looking for. They will be involved in solidarity and activism, for the sake of liberation, but ultimately, our goals need to be loud and clear to the world, in order to bolster our activism.”
