October 7 Praise at Oregon Hillel and Communist Party Statements Show Radical Left’s Support for Terror Groups and Antisemitic Targeting

The Oregon chapter of the American Communist Party provided no comment after Right Now Oregon requested clarification of its positions on Hamas, the October 7, 2023, attacks and the targeting of Oregon Hillel.

The inquiry followed an active chapter member’s public defense of Jackson Hinkle in comments on Right Now Oregon’s coverage of the Hillel demonstration. Right Now Oregon also asked whether the member held an official office or leadership position and whether the comments represented the chapter. No response was received, leaving the member’s statements distinct from an official party position.

Hillel targeting prompts public exchange

At the October 7 demonstration outside Oregon Hillel in Eugene, protesters chanted “Hillel off campus” and “Glory to the martyrs of the Al-Aqsa Flood,” invoking the name Hamas used for its October 7 operation. The available reporting does not establish that Oregon ACP organized or participated in the demonstration.

The protest followed posters targeting Hillel Executive Director Lenny Steinberg and demanding the Jewish organization’s removal. University of Oregon President Karl Scholz condemned the posters in an October 5 campus message, describing language targeting religious and ethnic identity as reprehensible.

“Antisemitism, violence and threats have no place here,” Scholz wrote. He said the university did not know whether those responsible were affiliated with UO. His statement preceded the demonstration.

In the subsequent Facebook exchange on Right Now Oregon’s coverage, an active Oregon ACP member wrote, “God bless the Palestinian resistance!”

Asked whether the chapter officially supported Hamas and its October 7 attack, the member responded with an image of a national ACP post highlighting a visit to Yemen by Hinkle and fellow party figure Christopher Helali.

Right Now Oregon then asked about a statement attributed to Hinkle: “I don’t give a fuck about what happened to Israelis on October 7th, 2023. Free Palestine.”

“American patriots agree with Jackson Hinkle,” the member replied. “We refuse to die for any foreign government, let alone one that is using our tax dollars to commit genocide.”

The member directed readers to official party and chapter social media accounts but did not explicitly answer the questions about Hamas, the attacks or the Hillel demonstration. The original Hinkle post was not independently located during this review; its wording and attribution are based on the screenshot supplied in the exchange.

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Earlier Portland posts praise Hinkle

Jackson Hinkle is an American political commentator and a founding member of the American Communist Party, combining Marxist-Leninist politics with appeals to American patriotism. He is a prominent anti-Israel activist whose public messaging and appearances have expressed solidarity with Hezbollah and the Houthi movement in Yemen.

In three posts dated August 24, 2024, the account called him “a prophet” who speaks “with the grace of MLK and the wisdom of Stalin”, described him as “a great man like MLK or Stalin”, and declared him “a prophet sent by allah”.

Those quotations were supplied to Right Now Oregon and could not be independently retrieved during this review. The account’s official relationship to Oregon ACP has also not been established. The posts praise Hinkle personally and predate the recent exchange concerning his remarks about Israeli victims.

Oregon ACP’s chapter messaging separately emphasizes opposition to American involvement in wars supporting Israel. A chapter Facebook post describes a September 21 banner demonstration over Interstate 205 in East Portland, where participants displayed “We will not die for Israel,” alongside demands to end foreign wars, restore industry and cancel debt.

Those demands overlap with the national party’s program, which calls for cancellation of public and private debt, nationalization of major industries, an end to foreign military aid and closure of overseas military bases. It also proposes replacing existing police agencies with people’s militias and establishing a single continental congress in place of the current federal legislative structure.

National party rejects Israel and praises armed opponents

The national ACP’s published statements establish positions extending beyond opposition to American military involvement.

In an official July 25, 2024, statement, its executive board rejected recognition of Israel, characterized the Zionist project as fascistic and extended solidarity to Palestinians across the forms their struggle for national self-determination takes.

The statement did not expressly identify Hamas or address whether the party approved of the killing of civilians and taking of hostages during the October 7 attacks.

In a September 28, 2024, statement following Hassan Nasrallah’s death, ACP described the Hezbollah leader as a revolutionary hero and expressed solidarity with those continuing resistance against Israel and its American supporters.

In March 2025, the party defended the blocking of Red Sea shipping lanes and targeting of vessels as responses to Israel’s conduct in Gaza. It urged Washington to negotiate with authorities in Yemen and end aid to Israel. Those explanations represent the party’s justification for the actions.

Competing assessments of the Gaza campaign

ACP’s portrayal of Israeli aggression differs sharply from John Spencer’s analysis of the Gaza campaign. Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at West Point’s Modern War Institute, argues that Hamas’ extensive tunnel network, military positions within civilian areas and use of human shields created exceptional military challenges.

He contends that Hamas sought to exploit civilian casualties to generate international pressure that would halt Israel’s campaign before its objectives were achieved. Spencer also credits Israel with unprecedented precautions to reduce civilian harm in urban warfare, including evacuation warnings and detailed maps communicating with civilians. These are his assessments of the campaign, rather than findings establishing the legality of every military action.

Taken together, the Hillel chants and ACP-related statements illustrate support for militant anti-Israel causes among radical elements of leftist politics. They differ, however, in what they establish: the demonstrators directly praised October 7 attackers, national ACP statements express solidarity with Israel’s armed opponents, and an Oregon member defended remarks dismissing Israeli victims. Whether the Oregon chapter officially endorses Hamas, its October 7 attacks or the targeting of Hillel remains unanswered.