“Global Escalation” was a series of anti-Israel protests that took place in major cities in the United States and around the world from November 27 to 29, 2024. Participants were encouraged to “step up the collective resistance” by holding strikes, refusing to shop, and “occupy[ing] & disrupt[ing].” Organizers referred to Thanksgiving, around which the protests were held, as a holiday of “colonial legacies.” ¹

Background

In November 2024, the Global Escalation released an Instagram post calling on protesters and activists to not participate in the economy while taking action around the Thanksgiving holiday to “reject this new ‘normal’ in order to “disrupt any and all entities that allow or enable genocide.” ²

Demonstrations

In addition to the United States, protests also took place in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, France, Spain, Greece and Australia, among other countries. ³ Organizers offered posters in Arabic, English, French, German, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, and other languages. ⁴

Global Escalation-affiliated events were held in the United States in New York City; Malden, Massachusetts; Charleston, South Carolina; Denver; Chicago; Sacramento; and Boise, Idaho. ³

In Charleston, organizers directed participants to meet at a park to start a car caravan to disrupt business through the city’s main thoroughfares. In Chicago, organizers called for action in the streets at Water Tower, a large shopping mall, as part of “rejecting capitalist ‘holidays.’” The Chicago action was coordinated by the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine and American Muslims for Palestine, National Students for Justice in Palestine, in addition to at least four other groups. ²

Global Escalation claimed to have access to a library of “Action Zines” on its website through Proton Drive which included articles including at least one connected to Samidoun, ⁵ which has been designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a “sham charity” and a “terrorist entity” by the Canadian government in October 2024. ⁶

1. “Global Escalation.” Global Escalation, 24 Nov. 2024, globalescalation.com/.
2. Costescu, Jessica. “Anti-Israel Groups Plan Coordinated Protests in “Global Escalation” over Thanksgiving Holiday.” Washington Free Beacon, 27 Nov. 2024, freebeacon.com/israel/anti-israel-groups-plan-coordinated-protests-in-global-escalation-over-thanksgiving-holiday/.
3. ​​“Global Escalation – Actions.” Global Escalation, 24 Nov. 2024, globalescalation.com/#actions.
4. “Global Escalation – Toolkit.” Global Escalation, 24 Nov. 2024, globalescalation.com/#toolkit.
5. “Action Zines.” Proton Drive, Global Escalation, 2024, drive.proton.me/urls/ZY5HG7DHDR#D2IBDDpoUctZ.
6. “United States and Canada Target Key International Fundraiser for Foreign Terrorist Organization PFLP.” U.S. Department of the Treasury, 15 Oct. 2024, home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2646.