On Friday, protesters in Dearborn, Michigan, were heard shouting "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" during an International Al-Quds Day rally in the town. Al-Quds Day, or simply Quds Day, is an annual pro-Palestinian event held on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
While the event is controversial globally, sparking multiple bans in Berlin by German authorities, in Dearborn, which has the highest proportion of Muslim residents in the country, it finds significant support. According to MEMRI Executive Director Steven Stalinsky, rallies commemorating the day have been held in Dearborn for over two decades. Stalinsky described the town as a "hotbed of hate" that has persisted for many years.
In a video shared by MEMRI Tarek Bazzi, a Michigan-based activist associated with the Hadi Institute, says,
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.
This cued the crowd to begin chanting, "Death to America!" in the background.
Bazzi justified the rallies' intensely anti-American rhetoric, attributing this sentiment to what he perceived as the United States government's support for alleged "atrocities," with a particular focus on Israel's actions in Gaza. His speech included a reference to a Malcolm X quote that portrays the U.S. in a highly derogatory light as, "one of the rottenest countries that has ever existed on this Earth," and advocating for the wholesale dismantling of the American "system."
About President Joe Biden, Bazzi said,
It’s not just Genocide Joe that has to go. 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 shifted his focus to Israel, telling the audience that when "fools" question whether Israel has the right to exist, he considers the chant "Death to Israel" as "the most logical chant shouted across the world today." This declaration was met with chants of "Death to Israel" from protesters in the crowd.
Stalinsky emphasized that these radicalized threats and rhetoric have intensified in Dearborn since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel in October.
He said,
You can see rallies and sermons in support for Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran.
Republican state Rep. Phil Green told Fox News Digital that he agrees that Dearborn has a growing problem that can also be seen across the county, saying,
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.
Dearborn also gained attention as the focal point of a protest movement against Biden in March, when activists urged Democrats to vote "uncommitted" in the Michigan primary, instead of endorsing the president's reelection campaign. Two precincts in the city resoundingly rejected Biden, and the "uncommitted" ballot option garnered 91 percent of the vote.