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Nerdeen Kiswani (Arabic: نردين كسواني^[1]) is a Palestinian-American activist and organizer. She is a co-founder and chair of Within Our Lifetime, a pro-Palestinian activist group in New York City.

Nerdeen Kiswani is the child of Palestinian refugees from Beit Iksa^[2] and was raised in Brooklyn.^[3] She has stated that growing up in a post-9/11 United States in which Muslims "were used to being called terrorists at school" was freeing in that her generation is no longer affected by that kind of propaganda.^[2] She has recalled listening to her grandmother's stories about the Nakba.^[4]

As a student at the School of Law of the City University of New York (CUNY), Kiswani was involved in the 2015 establishment of NYC Students for Justice in Palestine (NYC SJP), representing a coalition from across the various CUNY schools.^[1][2]

Due to her activism with NYC SJP, Israeli security forces prevented Kiswani from visiting her family in the West Bank in June 2015.^[2][5][6] She said that it was her worst experience as well as motivation for her pro-Palestine activism.^[7] Later that year, Kiswani and NYC SJP published an article which criticized pro-Palestinian activists for utilizing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) as their primary tactic and called BDS "a tool in a toolbox, not the toolbox itself". The BDS movement and the national SJP criticized the article.^[8][7][9]

In 2018, NYC Students for Justice in Palestine was renamed Within Our Lifetime (WOL).^[2][7] Kiswani helped pass two resolutions in favor of BDS at CUNY.^[1] In response, city councilwoman Inna Vernikov removed $50,000 in funding from CUNY law school.^[10][11] Elected as graduation speaker by the class of 2022, Kiswani's speech praised a BDS resolution adopted by CUNY faculty, criticized CUNY for not supporting pro-Palestine activism, and addressed the Israeli killing of the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.^[2][7][10]

WOL organizes pro-Palestine marches,^[12][13] including an annual Nakba Day march in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn^[14][15] and Gaza war protests that shut down New York City traffic and transportation.^[2][16][17] Kiswani typically speaks at WOL protests and has been arrested multiple times.^[2] In November 2023, Kiswani led a protest of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting in response to the cancellation of Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, Palestine.^[16][18] After her wedding in April 2024, Kiswani visited a Columbia University student encampment in her wedding thobe to offer her support.^[19][2][20]

During the Gaza war protests, Kiswani accused the New York City Police Department (NYPD) of police brutality, including assaults, violent arrests, property damage, and instigating conflict.^[14][21][22] After a June 2024 protest at the Brooklyn Museum, Hyperallergic and Democracy Now! reported that the NYPD tackled Kiswani and removed her hijab.^[23][24][25] Later that month, WOL protested an exhibit commemorating the Nova Music Festival massacre in New York City. Kiswani gave a speech in which she referred to Nova as "the place where Zionists decided to rave next to a concentration camp" and called the exhibit "Zionist propaganda to try and justify the mass murder of the Palestinian people." Additionally, she condemned the recent Nuseirat rescue and massacre.^[26][2] The protest was criticized as antisemitic by government officials, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.^[2][27]

Kiswani has stated that she was subject to harassment and death threats from Zionists attempting to suppress pro-Palestinian speech since she enrolled at CUNY School of Law.^[1][10] According to Mondoweiss, she has faced slander and intimidation from rightwing media, Zionist organizations, city politicians, and Hollywood actors.^[7]

In 2021, the New York Times reported that Kiswani’s school had received a very high volume of e-mails calling for her to be disciplined.^[28][3] The e-mails appeared to have largely been organized by Act.IL, an app created by former Israeli military and intelligence officers^[28][29] and partially funded by the Israeli government^[7] and Sheldon Adelson^[28] that gives assignments to users to fight what it considers anti-Semitism.^{[30][28][4][31][7]} In response, CUNY School of Law found that Kiswani had not violated any rules^[3] and released a statement in support of her free speech.^[4][31][7]

Kiswani believes Palestine has a right to defend itself and supports armed resistance, stating that "If you’re going to fight against essentially a killing machine, you can’t just do it with love and vibes and peace slogans alone."^[2][3] Kiswani has studied revolutionary movements and stated armed resistance has always been a part of them.^[2] She has described her use of the phrase "by any means necessary" as echoing Malcolm X.^[2]

Kiswani believes that two-state solution has "been dead on arrival for years now" and that Israel and Palestine are already a one-state reality "that’s controlled by Israel in every sense."^[2] She wrote on X that her group does not want Zionists "in Palestine, NYC, our schools, on the train, ANYWHERE", after a member of Within Our Lifetime shouted for Zionists on a subway train to raise their hand and leave.^[2]

Pro-Israel organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, Canary Mission, and StopAntisemitism have accused Kiswani of antisemitism. Kiswani has stated she is anti-Zionist, not antisemitic.^[2][32] Meta shut down WOL's and Kiswani's Instagram accounts in February 2024 for violating its prohibition against promoting "dangerous organizations or individuals".^[2][33]

Sarah Schulman of Jewish Voice for Peace, who has known Kiswani for years, has said that Kiswani's point of view makes sense in light of her experiences.^[2] Schulman has said: "I think that the thing people really need to ask themselves when they look at her is, if this was me, and this was my family that was being brutalized and murdered, would I be doing this?"^[2] Mondoweiss has praised Kiswani's organizing as "impressive" and "relentless".^[34]