Leading Hezbollah MP Calls to Penetrate ‘Heart’ of Western Societies by Investing in University Protests for Palestine

Lebanon Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad is advocating for penetrating “the heart” of Western societies through “investing” in Western university students protesting against Israel in order to subvert American college campuses and increase support for the Palestinians.

In an interview with Russia Today TV earlier this month, Raad, who heads Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc in the Lebanese parliament, highlighted the strategic importance of engaging with Western university students participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. 

According to a translation of his remarks reported by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), he stressed that the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah should capitalize on these students’ activities to infiltrate Western societies.

Noting the significance of Western students supporting Palestinians, he expressed his belief “that we should rely on the ability of the Arabs and Muslims to invest in the changes we are witnessing, specifically the involvement of Western students in the demonstrations in the West.” 

“There are Arab students who are demonstrating in the West, and this is something that we can understand, but the Western students who are demonstrating in support of Palestine…,” he continued, “we rely on our ability to invest in this positive activity by these students in the future.”

Reiterating the need to “invest in the Western students,” Raad called the endeavor a “challenge” that must be accomplished, insisting that “we need to enter the heart of Western societies.” 

“We need to address the people in the West,” he added.

The matter comes as Israel continues its efforts to dismantle Hamas in Gaza following the terrorist group’s deadly October 7 attack, the worst massacre against Jewish people since the Holocaust, which killed nearly 1,200 Israelis, wounded over 4,800, and resulted in 241 hostages — of which over half remain in Gaza. The vast majority of the victims are civilians and include dozens of American citizens.

The following day, Hezbollah fired guided rockets and artillery shells at Israel in response to the Israel-Hamas war that began a day earlier. Since then, intensified clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have significantly escalated tensions in the region, with exchanges of fire across the Lebanon-Israel border leading to major displacements and fears of an imminent major confrontation between the Iranian-backed terror group and the Jewish state.

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As a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and terrorist group, Hezbollah wields significant influence in Lebanon, effectively shaping its political and security landscape, and is often perceived as a state within a state. Its military strength has grown considerably, at times surpassing the capabilities of the Lebanese Army. With support from Iran and political backing from Syria, the group has expanded its activities beyond Lebanon, notably participating in the Syrian Civil War alongside the Assad regime. 

Hezbollah, which has been actively seeking to expand its influence beyond the Middle East, is designated as a terrorist organization by over a dozen countries and international entities, including major Western nations, members of the European Union, and most Arab League member states, due to its involvement in terrorist activities against American, French, Israeli, and other targets.

Consequently, it poses significant security concerns to Israel and has contentious relations with the United States. In 1983, Hezbollah bombed the Beirut Marine barracks in Lebanon, killing 241 American servicemen in what was one of the deadliest pre-9/11 attacks against the U.S. Speaking at a White House event marking the 35th anniversary of the attack in 2018, then President Donald Trump stated that, “No terrorist group other than al Qaeda has more American blood on its hands.”

Meanwhile, anti-Israel violence continues to roil campuses across the country, as reports reveal that pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. campuses are meticulously organized and funded by Qatari groups aiming to promote Islamist ideology.

During a rally on Saturday, pro-Palestinian activists raised the Hezbollah flag outside the Israeli consulate in Manhattan.

On Sunday, pro-Palestinian protesters were seen waving Hezbollah and Hamas flags at Hunter College in New York.

Hezbollah flags had also been displayed at a protest at Princeton University.

According to a new report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), Yale University has been exposed for significantly underreporting Qatari funding, revealing only $284,668 received between 2012 and 2023, while the actual amount is estimated to be at least $15,925,711. 

ISGAP previously noted that at least 100 American colleges and universities “illegally withheld information on approximately $13 billion in undocumented contributions from foreign governments, many of which are authoritarian.

World-renowned military historian and professor Dr. Victor Davis Hanson has called out “useful Western idiots” supporting the Palestinian cause, who he argues have alienated many Americans and will all but ensure the election of a tough conservative president later this year.