Unmasking Pro-Hamas advocacy in Indiana

PRO-HAMAS ADVOCACY IN INDIANA AFTER 10/7

Introduction and Rationale

Since the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2025, pro-Hamas support has exploded across the United States, particularly on college campuses. Hamas, also known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, is the Palestinian arm of the Muslim Brotherhood and was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the US Department of State in 1997.

It is unlawful for a person in the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to a designated foreign terrorist entity.¹ According to the US Supreme Court, material support for terrorism may include speech in support of terrorism. (see Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 561 U.S. 1 (2010)²). According to that case, criminal prohibition on advocacy carried out in coordination with, or at the direction of, a foreign terrorist organization is constitutionally permissible and is not tantamount to an unconstitutional infringement of freedom of speech. This means that the government can criminalize speech that is coordinated with a designated terrorist organization, even if the speech itself is not advocating for terrorism.

It became clear after 10/7 that several organizations in Indiana- on and off college campuses- were coordinating with and advocating for Hamas. This is in line with reports from Hamas itself. A recent Times of Israel article describes how a Hamas member who held Israeli hostages in Gaza reportedly told the captives that Hamas was coordinating with “allies” on college campuses and in the media.³This sentiment was shared by the former leader of Hamas Khaled Mashal, who in January 2024 bragged about how American university students are being used as mouthpieces to promote Hamas propaganda.⁴

With the re-election of Donald Trump as president, there appears to be a sincere effort to prosecute entities within the United States who provide support to Hamas, especially with the formation within the Justice Department of a Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.⁵ This document was written to help bring supporters and enablers of Hamas within Indiana to the attention of this task force.

October 7th: Hamas calls for International Support to Achieve their Goals

On October 7, 2023, the same day as the Hamas invasion of Israel, Hamas mastermind Mohammed Deif called for a comprehensive war against Israel and demanded that the supporters of Palestine organize and fight:

“with all the possible tools at your disposal…today, for anyone who has a gun, it is now time to use it. Those who do not have guns, use knives, cleavers, axes, Molotovs. Use your cars, trucks, or bulldozers.” Al-Deif told Hamas supporters around the world “Today, the purest and honorable page of history is being written. Put down your names and families’ names on the page of glory. Those who can’t actually join the field can join by protesting and showing support.”⁶ (bolded words ours)

October 7-12th: Hamas’ Call is Immediately Taken up by US Organizations

In the United States the group National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) responded to Hamas’ statement by celebrating the Hamas massacre and calling for a “National Day of Rage” on October 12^th, 5 days after the Hamas invasion. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is the most prominent and active anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, and Anti-Semitic student group in the United States and was founded by Muslim Brother affiliate Hatem Bazian.

The NSJP became a clearing house for local SJP chapters, and released a statement that in support of the Hamas’ “historic win for Palestine…As the Palestinian student movement, we have an unshakable responsibility to join the call for mass mobilization.”⁷A “Day of Resistance Toolkit” was sent to supporters on college campuses throughout the United States with for a CALL TO ACTION: NATIONAL DAY OF RESISTANCE.⁷ The goals of the Toolkit were to “help contextualize, frame, and above all normalize and support our fearless resistance.”⁷

October 12th: Indiana Organizations Rally on Behalf of Hamas

Directly heeding the call of NSJP to its local chapters, the Indiana chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and affiliate organizations organized a “Day of Resistance” on October 12 in Indianapolis and on college campuses across Indiana to celebrate and promote Hamas’s goals. Note that the language included in their call (see next page for full advertisement) is precisely the language used by Hamas to threaten Israel and Jews– dehumanizing, bellicose, and ominous.

The SJP affiliates at Butler and Purdue Universities, the Indiana Mideast Peace Center, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the Indiana Liberation Center, American Friends Service Committee, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition and other groups all organized demonstrations in support of, as the promotional advertisement describes, “a historic win for the Palestinian resistance…not just slogans and rallies, but armed confrontation with the oppressors…”⁸

Conclusion

The timeline above and on the next pages indicate real time coordination between Hamas and its supporters in cities and campuses across Indiana. Additional social media texts of these supporters, a handful of which are shown below (more are available upon request), further demonstrate this alliance. According to the US Supreme Court, this coordination is unlawful. We therefore hope the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism uses this documentation to investigate to the full extent of the law Indiana groups that advocated for Hamas.

Advertisement for the Indiana DAY OF RESISTANCE -10/12/23

Timeline of Coordination and Collaboration with Hamas by Entities Within Indiana

Date	Organization(s)	Event	Example(s) of Coordination/Collaboration/Support
10/7/23	Hamas	Invasion and atrocities in Israel	—
10/7/23	Hamas Commander Mohammad Deif	Public statement calling for collaboration by protesting and showing support	—
	National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP)	Calls for National Day of Resistance on 10/12/23	Answers Hamas public demand for support/ protests
10/7/23	Professor Edward Curtis- IU Indianapolis	—	Supporting the right of Palestinians to “military resistance” on social media
	IU Bloomington		Graffiti using standard Hamas-like language
	IU Bloomington	rallies	Rallies where Jews are called kikes, dirty Jews, baby killers, nazis, cowards Protestors showed videos of Hamas murdering people in Israel and were celebrating and laughing
	IU Bloomington	classroom	Middle East Studies Professor Abdulkader Sinno (and advisor to Pro-Palestinian Group) intimidating Jewish students, who dropped the class, through anti-Israel tirades
10/7/23	Indiana Center for Midde East Peace (ICMEP)	Social media postings	Posts approvingly of Mohammed Deif, the mastermind of the Hamas attack, and the attack itself
10/12/23	Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)- Butler U. Jewish Voice for Peace-Indiana Party for Socialism and Liberation- Indianapolis Liberation Center ANSWER Indiana	Rally in downtown Indianapolis on 10/12/23	Cosponsors and advertises National Day of Resistance on 10/12/23Uses identical language as NSJP in their call for action and rally
10/12/23	SJP- Purdue	Rally on Purdue campus	Answers NSJP call for National Day of Resistance on 10/12/23
	Middle East Studies Association- IUPUI	Meeting at what appears on campus	Calls for donations to Islamic Relief and Pious Projects (both linked to Hamas and/or Jihadi groups) Call by one individual to use any means including violence in resisting (person later identified as IUPUI Eli Morey)