Intifada is an Arab word referring to a rebellion, uprising, or resistance movement. In the context of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, it refers to two popular uprisings in recent decades.

The First Intifada: Started in 1987, and lasting until approximately the time of the Madrid Conference in 1991, the First Intifada was a violent uprising by Palestinian society to protest Israeli government policies towards the Palestinians. Throughout the First Intifada, young Palestinians took to the streets fighting the Israelis with civil disobedience, barricades, stone-throwing, and molotov cocktails. 

The Second Intifada: Ignited by Yasser Arafat in 2000 after the failure of the Camp David summit that year, the Second Intifada is recalled for the approximately 140 suicide bombs that were detonated across Israel over several years. These bombs targeted cafes, buses, restaurants, hotels, and most importantly, Israeli civilians. Thousands died on both sides of the Second Intifada, which lasted until around 2005. 

The history of intifadas in the Israel-Palestinian conflict is violent. Today, when there are calls to “Globalize the Intifada,” this is a call for violence against Israel or against Jews more broadly. Calls to “Globalize the Intifada” are usually heard alongside calls like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” There is no nuance to these statements: they are calling for the destruction and/or dismantling of Israel as a sovereign state in the Middle East.