Pro-Hamas, Antifa activists swarm Seattle Jewish fundraiser, arrests made after assaults

Pro-Hamas, Antifa, and communist activists descended on downtown Seattle Sunday evening, targeting a Jewish fundraiser and creating a chaotic and, at times, violent scene outside Town Hall.

The event, hosted by StandWithUs Northwest, an organization that combats antisemitism, featured Miss Israel 2021 Noa Cochva and drew more than 300 attendees. Despite organizers keeping the location confidential, Antifa influencer Hannah Saunders, who runs the “anti fascist” news site Through The Static, encouraged activists registered for the event to gain the location and then circulated the address online ahead of time, enabling protesters to mobilize.

Calls to disrupt the event were amplified by organizers and affiliated radical groups. Activist networks, including the American Party of Labor Puget Sound Division and the Puget Sound Workers League, urged supporters to confront Cochva’s appearance, using inflammatory rhetoric and encouraging turnout.

By late afternoon, roughly 75 radicals had gathered outside the venue. Many wore keffiyehs and waved Palestinian flags while blocking access points to the venue, including the parking and valet areas.

One rioter lay down on the sidewalk in a pool of fake blood, attempting to block attendees from entering. At least one masked individual was seen making a throat-slitting gesture toward drivers attempting to enter.

Volunteers for the organization said the valets were too afraid to come back from parking cars.

Demonstrators chanted slogans including “Death to the IDF” and hurled slurs at attendees. Some attendees reported being hit, bumped, and shoved by the activists as they attempted to enter the venue.

One woman said an activist attempted to rip off her car’s side-view mirror, while another said she was doused in fake blood. One attendee was punched in the face as an activist attempted to steal his hat.

Seattle police staged inside the venue before intervening and ordered the activists away from the entry. Officers moved to push protesters back and secure exits after some attendees were blocked from entering, while others were trapped inside when they attempted to leave. Clashes broke out as demonstrators began pushing and shoving officers, prompting arrests.

According to the Seattle Police Department, officers were dispatched around 4:23 p.m. to the 1100 block of 8th Avenue. At the peak of the protest, approximately 75 individuals were present. Three people were arrested: two men, ages 21 and 33, for obstruction and disorderly conduct, and a third individual for assault.

Cochva addressed the crowd while the activists could be heard chanting, cussing, and banging drums outside. She criticized the influence of social media in shaping perceptions about Israel and Jewish people, warning that misinformation is fueling hostility.

She also shared a personal story about her grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who endured Auschwitz alongside her sisters, saying that her own advocacy is a continuation of that legacy, and emphasized the importance of speaking out.

When the event concluded, Seattle police moved the radicals away from the building, allowing the Jewish attendees to finally exit. Some activists followed and harassed the Jewish attendees as they tried to walk to their transportation home.