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Maryland 2 Palestine

Type:

Pro-Palestinian group

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Maryland 2 Palestine is a left-of-center anti-Israel group based in the Washington, D.C. metro area. It claims to be a “grassroots Palestinian-led” group. 1

The group began organizing local direct action and teach-ins in 2021 and held several anti-Israel events in 2024 and 2025. 2

Background

Maryland 2 Palestine’s vision is a world in which Palestinians and “marginalized people are free from the shackles of colonialism, imperialism and state-sanctioned violence.” 2

The group affirms that the “liberation of Palestine” includes the “right of return” for all Palestinian refugees, which would allow Palestinians to reclaim territory within the internationally recognized borders of Israel. It also claims that Zionism was used to “illegitimately establish a racist, settler-colonial entity on indigenous Palestinian land via the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.” 2

Direct Action

In February 2025, Maryland 2 Palestine held “Haircuts for Palestine” at Richard Montgomery High School, from which it pledged to donate all revenue to Relief and Development’s Palestine Relief Fund and Helping Hand for Relief. 3 That month, the group also protested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, D.C. and called for his arrest 4 and collaborated with Doctors Against Genocide and the Party for Socialism and Liberation 5 on a demonstration to resume funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). 5 Maryland 2 Palestine was also one of several groups protesting President Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. 6

In September 2024, the group worked with the DMV chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement and the Party for Socialism and Liberation in D.C. to stop traffic in Georgetown in order to protest Israeli attacks on Lebanon. At the end of the rally, attendees were encouraged to attend an October 5 protest at the White House. 7

Maryland 2 Palestine hosted a rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the so-called “Nakba Day” in May 2024 8 and joined a rally in Annapolis called “MD Youth Rally for a Free Palestine” along with Baltimore County Young Democrats in February 2024. 9

In January 2024, the group joined the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights and several other anti-Israel groups including Jewish Voice for Peace DC Metro, Dissenters DMV, and DMV Palestinian Youth Movement to protest at the Maryland statehouse to demand that money go to “community,” rather than “genocide.” 10 The group also organized a rally outside AIPAC’s headquarters in Washington, D.C, to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and stopping U.S. aid to Israel in March 2024. 11

In November 2023, about a month after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, Maryland 2 Palestine coordinated a march in Washington, D.C. in concert with anti-Israel groups including American Muslim Alliance, the Palestinian Feminist Collective, U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Al-Awda, the People’s Forum, ANSWER Coalition, National Students for Justice in Palestine, U.S. Palestinian Community Network, and Palestinian Youth Movement. 12

In 2022, Maryland 2 Palestine launched a campaign to prevent the Montgomery County, Maryland Council from adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The group claims to have slowed the legislation’s passage. 13

Maryland 2 Palestine claims to have been featured in the Qatar-controlled Al Jazeera and the Iran-run HispanTV outlets. 13 14 15

Leadership

Alexandra Melinchok was co-chair of Maryland 2 Palestine in August 2022. 16

References

  1. “MD 2 Palestine.” MD 2 Palestine, 2022, https://www.md2palestine.com/.
  2. “MD 2 Palestine.” MD 2 Palestine, 2021, https://www.md2palestine.com/about-us.
  3. “Haircuts for Palestine.” Find a Protest, 2025, www.findaprotest.info/event/Rockville/371ee00f-b33e-4b0b-bf57-5ed703f84236.
  4. “Netanyahu Meets with Trump in Washington in First Head of State Visit : Peoples Dispatch.” Peoples Dispatch, 4 Feb. 2025, https://www.peoplesdispatch.org/2025/02/04/netanyahu-meets-with-trump-in-washington-in-first-head-of-state-visit/.
  5. Wood, Olivia, and Gabrielle McNamee. ““We Want Justice”: Hundreds March to the Capitol in Support of Palestinians.” The Eagle, 8 Mar. 2024, www.theeagleonline.com/article/2024/03/we-want-justice-hundreds-march-to-the-capitol-in-support-of-palestinians.
  6.  Carter, Jace. Thousands Protest Trump’s Coronation, Vow to Fight Billionaire Oligarchy. 23 Jan. 2025, www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2025/01/23/thousands-protest-trumps-coronation-vow-to-fight-billionaire-oligarchy/.
  7. Wild, Franziska. “Marchers Shut down Traffic in Georgetown to Protest Israeli Attacks on Lebanon.” The Georgetown Voice, 29 Sept. 2024, https://www.georgetownvoice.com/2024/09/29/marchers-shut-down-traffic-in-georgetown-to-protest-israeli-attacks-on-lebanon/.
  8. Maryland 2 Palestine (@md2Palestine). “ALL OUT DMV! RAIN OR SHINE WE’RE OUTSIDE FOR PALESTINE.” X, May 18, 2024. https://x.com/md2palestine/status/1791898538911158437
  9. Guest Contributor. “Three Case Studies of Keeping Extremely Bad Company – JMORE.” JMORE, 12 Mar. 2024, https://www.jmoreliving.com/2024/03/12/three-case-studies-of-keeping-extremely-bad-company/
  10. US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. “US Campaign for Palestinian Rights on Instagram: “on Wednesday January 17th Organizers from Maryland2Palestine and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, with the Support of DMV Palestinian Youth Movement, Dissenters DMV, and Jewish Voice for Peace DC Metro, Led Demonstrators at the Maryland State House to Demand Maryland Legislators Pick a Side: Community or Genocide.”” Instagram, 17 Jan. 2024, www.instagram.com/p/C2Npx_AAqLO/
  11.  Azem, Sana. “Protesters at AIPAC Headquarters in DC Demand Gaza Ceasefire, End to US Aid to Israel.” WJLA, 13 Mar. 2024, https://www.wjla.com/news/local/pro-palestine-protest-gaza-ceasefire-american-israel-public-affairs-committee-hamas-war-joe-biden-palestinian-youth-movement-party-for-socialism-and-liberation-maryland-2-palestine-policy-humanitarian-aid?photo=1.
  12. Bawab, Nashwa. “There Is Hope—and a Growing Movement for Palestine. Join Us in Washington D.C. On Saturday.” In These Times, in-these-times, 2 Nov. 2023, https://www.inthesetimes.com/article/palestine-gaza-israel-ceasefire-protest-march-washington.
  13. MD 2 Palestine. “Our Work.” MD 2 Palestine, 2022, https://www.md2palestine.com/our-work.
  14. Robbins, Elizabeth. “Al Jazeera Must Register as a Foreign Agent of Qatar.” FDD, 24 Nov. 2023, www.fdd.org/analysis/2023/11/24/al-jazeera-must-register-as-a-foreign-agent-of-qatar/.
  15. Marzia Giambertoni. “Hezbollah’s Network on America’s Southern Doorstep.” Rand.org, RealClearDefense, Apr. 2025, www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2025/04/hezbollahs-network-on-americas-southern-doorstep.html.
  16. France, Steve. “Activists Block Adoption of IHRA Definition of Antisemitism by Maryland County.” Mondoweiss, 9 Aug. 2022, https://www.mondoweiss.net/2022/08/activists-stop-adoption-of-ihra-definition-of-antisemitism-by-maryland-county/.
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