Detroit Palestine Conference Draws Thousands, but Extremist Voices Emerge
Detroit hosted the second annual “People’s Conference for Palestine: Gaza is the Compass,” drawing thousands of attendees with music, cultural programs, and political workshops. But as Aaron Poris reports, the gathering’s glossy façade was shadowed by extremist rhetoric and associations with groups accused of ties to terrorism.
Organizers barred journalists from entering without prior registration, leaving Poris to conduct interviews outside Huntington Place. There, some attendees denied Hamas atrocities on Oct. 7, praised the group as “resistance,” or dismissed Israeli civilian deaths as fabricated. One influencer declared, “Israel needs to be eradicated,” rejecting evidence of Hamas attacks.
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Inside, according to the program, sessions centered on strategies to “isolate Israel” and fight “colonialism and imperialism.” The speaker lineup featured Hussam Shaheen, formerly of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade; Raja Abdulhaq, banned from X for Hamas ties; and Omar Assaf, a veteran of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Sponsors included Students for Justice in Palestine and the Palestine Youth Movement, organizations critics link to Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood. Senator Tom Cotton has called for an IRS probe into the latter.
Across the street, just two pro-Israel demonstrators staged a counterprotest, waving a banner and accusing the conference of being fueled by foreign money.
Poris captures the contradictions of the weekend: an event marketed as community empowerment, yet steeped in rhetoric that denies atrocities and glorifies violence. For the full scope of the story — and to see the ground-level video report from Detroit — explore the complete coverage at The Media Line.
