NEW YORK— Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters swarmed the streets of New York City Monday, causing some small contingents of Jewish New Yorkers to show up with Israeli flags or signs of support for the Jewish state, only to be shouted down by the massive crowd of demonstrators.
On the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, protesters waved Palestinian flags and held signs reading “cease fire now,” “Free Palestine,” “If I die U must live to tell my story” and “Israel is starving Palestinian Children.”
A demonstrator who called himself Nas said because of the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel, “every Muslim in this election should vote to punish the Democrats.” He said he has no plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.
“I’m voting for Trump,” he said. “You can disagree with me. That’s no problem, but I want to punish the Democrats. They’re going to pay in the ballot box.”
He said of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “He wants your blood, his blood, her blood, his blood. I’m not doing that. F— Israel. Let them pay for their sins, and I swear to God, never will I give them October 7.”
“Just like give me liberty or give me Palestinian slaves,” he said. “Give us liberty, give us freedom, Give us our country back, or give us death. We’re not playing. The UN has been playing with us for decades.”
Israel’s year-long military invasion in Gaza, and a widening war in Lebanon with Iran’s proxies, have prompted a backlash among liberal Democrats against the administration and Ms. Harris in the election year.
The protesters in New York did encounter supporters of Israel. One young man who showed up outside the New York Stock Exchange sported a sweatshirt that read “bring them home,” referencing the more than 100 hostages kidnapped by Hamas. A pro-Palestinian protester screamed at him.
“Give us the Palestinian kids in your jails,” the protester shouted. “Give us the Palestinian women in your jails. Give us the Palestinian men in your jails. Then you get your people back, but you guys want to keep our prisoners, rape them, torture them.”
Other demonstrators applauded and egged him on before police moved away the man wearing the pro-Israel sweatshirt.
Protesters marched toward Pace University when one student, Anthony, 22, confronted them wearing an Israeli flag as a cape. The crowd excoriated him with profane insults before the NYPD moved him, as well.
“I’m trying to mourn my people’s losses. I’m Israeli and this is what we have to deal with every day. This is supposed to be a day of mourning. A day of rest. A day of love, and this is what our streets look like in New York in America,” Anthony told The Washington Times. “It’s upsetting to me. I’m not here to start issues. I’m not here to cause violence. I’m just here to show my love and support.”
Other Pace University Jewish students were with Anthony holding Israeli flags.
“We just wanted to come out here in a very peaceful manner, said Alexis, 19, “We like to keep it very like minimal and just stand here. We are not going anywhere. We’re strong and we’re small in number. We’re small, strong and beautiful.”
A female pro-Palestinian protester in New York said she and her fellow demonstrators want to make it loud and clear that “enough is enough.”
“No more genocide, no more killing, no more hate, not with our tax dollars, not with our U.S. politicians,” she said. “No more to diplomatic support for Israel and to the Zionist state. We are here because we love life, we love freedom, we love justice, and we are here to speak out in support of that.”
A group called “Within Our Lifetime” (WOL) called on its supporters to “flood New York City for Palestine” to denote the anniversary of the deadly surprise attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel.
“On Monday October 7th Flood New York City For Palestine, stand with Gaza and uplift the Palestinian people resisting genocide by any means necessary since 1948,” the group stated on X. “Call out of work and school, take to the streets and join us throughout the day.”
WOL requested that supporters “confront the forces of imperialism and zionism and let the world know that NYC stands with [Palestinians] heroic struggle in the face of annihilation.”
The protests took place throughout the city Monday, including at Wall Street, City Hall, Washington Square Park, Union Square, Grand Central, Times Square and Columbus Circle.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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