Culture Shock: Egyptian Authorities Shut Down Western Activists’ March to Gaza
“It’s getting violent from the police. They are beating people and shoving them onto buses to be deported.”
An organized group of anti-Israeli Western liberal activists launched its long-planned “Global March to Gaza” on Friday. The participants arrived in Arish, Egypt, to begin a 48-kilometer trek to the border city of Rafah, where they would gather with “people from around the world” in a show of solidarity for their Palestinian brethren.
According to the event’s website, the activists planned to unite in a global call for justice and demand the following actions from world leaders: the opening of borders to humanitarian aid, a permanent ceasefire, and, of course, the end of the illegal occupation.
Well, as the saying goes, the devil fools with the best-laid plans. To put it mildly, the activists were not welcomed by the Egyptians.
There’s been little to no mainstream media coverage of this event, because why would there be? But according to social media posts, several group members were reportedly arrested, many of them had their passports confiscated, and some claimed they were handled roughly — even violently — by the Egyptian police. Others reported that local civilians hurled objects at them, adding insult to an already humbling experience.
In the video below, obtained by a conservative influencer, Egyptians can be seen clashing with the activists.
BREAKING: Clashes erupt in Egypt as local Egyptians confront Western leftist activists who arrived to “march to Gaza.”
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) June 13, 2025
The next recording was posted by a member of the group. He and his fellow travelers had been held up at a checkpoint between Cairo and Ismailia. Despite the delay, the activists appeared upbeat. Several were waving Palestinian flags as the crowd chanted “free, free Palestine.” That must have gone over big with the Egyptians, who are not fans of the Palestinians.
He reported:
Everyone’s passport has been taken. We have been told that no one is allowed to cross this checkpoint unless if they are Egyptian. People are not getting their passports back. Some have been waiting for hours. Some people have been told to get their passports back, they have to get on a bus to the airport to be deported. There are hundreds and estimated 1000 people at this checkpoint alone. People are rallying and chanting at this checkpoint – “Free Free Palestine.”
An update on #GlobalMarchToGaza – myself and many others including Canadians are being held up at a checkpoint between Cairo and Ismailia. Everyone’s passport has been taken. We have been told that no one is allowed to cross this checkpoint unless if they are Egyptian. People are… pic.twitter.com/OGk6zU3WU7
— Yipeng Ge 葛义朋 (@yipengGe) June 13, 2025
The situation devolved as the day went on. There were reports that marchers were being deported by the Egyptian authorities and mistreated by the police.
To be clear, a Canadian physician just texted me that Egyptian authorities are deporting marchers increasingly violently, and taking passports.
“It’s getting violent from the police. They are beating people and shoving them onto buses to be deported.”
To be clear, a Canadian physician just texted me that Egyptian authorities are deporting marchers increasingly violently, and taking passports.
“It’s getting violent from the police. They are beating people and shoving them onto buses to be deported.” https://t.co/xkw3nuOSEb
— Rachel Gilmore (@atRachelGilmore) June 13, 2025
Below, a young woman cries as she describes how badly the activists have been treated.
🚨 BREAKING NOW | Egyptian Forces Drag Gaza Activists Off Buses Like Luggage
⚠️ Global March to Gaza protesters learned the hard way.
And it's hilarious.
This lady cried on camera after realizing Cairo doesn’t care about Western savior syndrome. pic.twitter.com/1E73DNkvt3
— Shirion Collective (@ShirionOrg) June 13, 2025
According to one account, even the Egyptian children joined in the action.
Even Egyptian children are helping to remove the western terrorist sympathizers, some with smaller whips of their own
😭🤣🫡 pic.twitter.com/HsEkiBPqly— Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) June 13, 2025
These babied protestors from weak Liberal lawless cities had no idea what was coming for them in Egypt 🤣 pic.twitter.com/IUYmDwQQ2g
— Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) June 13, 2025
A lesson learned.
Despite homosexuality being criminalized in Egypt, the Egyptian Police aren’t scared to hold hands with one another to form a human barrier against western Jihadis.
Also, how come they didn’t protest LGBTQ+ rights? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/wXX2M7DwaZ
— Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) June 14, 2025
And I’ve saved the best for last!
In the final video, a pro-Palestinian man from Wales literally gets down on his knees and begs an Egyptian policeman to let them pass: “[Inaudible] for love, stand with your brothers and sisters in Palestine. I have never seen or experienced anything like it. Please, I beg you. Allow us to march to Palestine. You’ve GOT to listen to me.”
Welsh pro-Pal rocks up in Egypt and faced with the complex reality of this conflict gets on his knees:
“I beg you. Allow us to march to Falastin. You’ve GOT to listen to me.”
The arrogance, naïveté and narcissism in one sweaty speech. pic.twitter.com/YtI8jLgP5h
— Heidi Bachram 🎗️ (@HeidiBachram) June 14, 2025
If only he were making this plea to the administration of Columbia University.
It’s unclear, but unlikely, if any of the activists made it beyond the checkpoint. Their idealistic adventure had been shut down by the Egyptian authorities, leaving them disillusioned — and unceremoniously deported.
But what did they expect? Armed with slogans, Palestinian flags, and a naïve faith in the universality of their “woke” worldview, they marched into a region with little patience for Western moral posturing. Their experience exposed a fundamental disconnect: the assumption that their brand of activism, rooted in Western academic ideology, would be welcomed in a vastly different cultural and political landscape.
Instead, they learned the hard way that virtue signaling doesn’t translate well outside their own echo chambers.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn or X.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Who did these fools think they were dealing with, the Israelis with sandwiches and water?
Reminds me of when Code Pink flew to Pakistan to protest for women’s rights or something, were met right on the tarmac, put back on planes and shipped out. I’m always amazed at how naive westerners are thinking the entire world is like their home countries and they can do anything they want. This is what leads to all those great arrest stories we see.
So local Muslims didn’t agree with the activists’ stereotype of what Muslims should believe? Mon dieu!
Gee, it’s almost like you shouldn’t fuck around in other countries where no one asked for your input.
Sounds like:
a. Egypt First
b. Make Egypt Great Again
c. Deport Illegal Criminals
d. _______________________
d. Not in my backyard
Hint to the protesters. Allah wasn’t in their court.
d. Arabs don’t like the Palestinians. More often than not, where Palestinians go, trouble follows.
Arabs? Nobody likes or wants the Palestinians. They’ve proven to be more trouble than they are worth for those countries that have tried to allow them within their borders. And that’s why no country in the Middle East is willing to allow them refuge or sanctuary within their borders. They are the pariahs of the region.
That’s why Egypt has that border wall. So called Pali’s have been thrown out of every country including Egypt. It’s almost as if no one wants a few million terrorists dropped on them.
The only time Arabs are not fighting each other is when they have outsiders to pick on.
They didn’t walk like an Egyptian.
…but will they have a Manic Monday?
Better yet…. have them march to Gaza, take their passports and leave them permanently in Gaza.,
I support this position
Perhaps MAyor Bass can and travel to support he fellow useful idiots
Israelis do not deserve have our ingrates foisted upon them.
The hubris is staggering: flying into a another nation to march on their sovereign soil for a group of murderous thugs in yet another nation?
How entitled can these morons be? Never mind, we know the answer. So glad the Egyptians disabused them of their arrogant assumptions.
“It’s getting violent from the police. They are beating people and shoving them onto buses to be deported.”
Here’s one weird trick to avoid being beaten by Egyptian police: stay the (bleep) out of Egypt.
Follow me for more great content.
What’s next? A fanciful hike in the remote foothills of Afghanistan to prove to the world how peaceful Muslims are?
As my favorite American philosopher would say “What a maroon!”
I love it when a plan comes together.
On the plus side, now they can watch the Big Beautiful Parade on the airport TV while waiting to get deported.
Too bad Greta wasn’t with them.
The Egyptians treated them too kindly.
No, they didn’t learn anything. They think that the Egyptians just do not understand the importance of the cause; the Egyptians are ignorant and need things properly explained. They will not learn.
Activists, liberal activists, liberal, pro Palestinian activists, liberal pro Palestinian, antisemitic activists? Those activists are being abused by Egyptian authorities?
My givadam is busted.. My Hellyes FAFO is in full throttle.
Many in our country need the same treatment.
Wow, it’s almost like they aren’t in a country who won’t put up with their crap. I have long said the best thing for many of these people would be to go to the area of the world they are advocating for and see how long they last. Here is the first example.
Whatever else can be said about Egypt they seem quite.serious about preserving their own cultural and social mores without any regard for the wishes/demands and interference by or moral preening of wokiesta leftists.
I’m surprised the Goblin of Doom didn’t immediately get on a flight from Stockholm and fly to Cairo to join her friends of the International Selfie Brigade for Justice in Wherever.
She doesn’t fly unless she’s forced. Global warming and all that.
I thought she got arrested in Israel.
No. She was put on a plane and deported. Not sure to where but probably back to Sweden or similar.
There is a cure for stupid, but it hurts. The greater the stupid, the more hurt is required. This is not a gaurantee. Results may vary. Don’t try this at home.
This is today’s feel good story.
Hmmm….”March to Gaza” or “Children’s Crusade”? Which shows more naivete and lack of awareness of the way the world works? At least these folks don’t have to worry that they will be sold into slavery.
Children’s Crusade didn’t have the history of the Children’s Crusade to learn from.
The ‘Children’s Crusade’ of 1212 was unsanctioned. They had plenty of info re crusades and the many dangers/risks since the beginning in 1095. They had four ‘numbered’ crusades and more than a half dozen ‘named’ crusades to draw from. This includes the prior attempt at a ‘popular/grassroots’ crusade in 1096 led by Peter the hermit which often gets folded into the 1st crusade.
Doesn’t take modern internet to gain the knowledge that travelling to a place where the people running it will kill or enslave those they defeat carries risks.
I’ve read that Egypt was given the opportunity to take Gaza. They declined as it’s full of Gaza Arabs. Same with Jordan and the West Bank.
Yes, Begin offered them Gaza at the Camp David talks but Sadat was too smart to take it.
It would take a heart of stone not to laugh.
Turns out I do not have a heart of stone.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA . . .
That is all.
Why can’t we do this?
Even by their own reasoning, what did they think they were going to accomplish? They think there’s starvation in Gaza — so they want to add more mouths to feed. They think the Israelis are bombing indiscriminately — so their presence wouldn’t protect anyone.
But Trump is actually Hitler, a fascist, a tyrant, and a would-be king. Will they learn how foolish it is to say these things? No, they won’t.
The devil has plans for unlaid
fools.
Here is some advice. If you plan on gathering in a foreign country to have a giant march to another place in support of terrorists you should first clear it with the countries government. Those people are lucky they were just deported and not stuck in an Egyptian prison.