Anti-Israel activists gathered in Queens on Thursday night to demonstrate against an Israeli real estate event at a Queens Jewish site, according to videos published by organizers, calling for "intifada" and "peoples' war" in response to the sale of property in Modiin and Ma'ale Adumim.
Led by the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation (PAL-Awda), NY/NJ, keffiyeh-clad activists with Palestinian flags rallied in Kew Gardens Hills to protest Mortgage Israel and Tivuch Shelly's Israel Real Estate Event.
According to National Jewish Advocacy Center director Mark Goldfeder and community groups, the event was held at Queens yeshiva. Others reported that the event was held at a local synagogue. Neither institution immediately responded to queries.
Signs accused the Israeli company of recruiting "settlers" for "ethnic cleansing." New York State Assemblyman Sam Berger claimed on X that activists had chanted "we support Hamas here."
"Show me what you’re fighting for, intifada, people’s war," activists chanted in a PAL-Awda Instagram story. "There is only one solution, Intifada revolution.
In another chant, protesters demanded "settlers go back home," as "Palestine is ours alone."
PAL-Awda told supporters ahead of the rally that it was seeking to stop the sale of "stolen Palestinian land," arguing that Maale Adumim was an illegal settlement in the West Bank.
A representative of PAL-Awda said in a video statement during the protest that the companies were "selling homes in occupied Palestine on stolen land" and that they would not be "silent in the face of this colonial expansion of the Zionist project, which is a blatant violation of international law."
The anti-Israel group advised activists to travel in groups to and from the rally, wear masks, and avoid parking next to the protest site.
NYPD establishes safety perimeter at anti-Zionist protest site
The New York Police Department has set a safety perimeter in place around the protest site, according to Berger. The assemblyman said on X that a daycare, two elementary schools, and a house of worship closed early in anticipation of the protests.
Berger called on New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani to condemn the demonstration, fulfilling pledges to protect Jewish community members.
Goldfeder wrote to Mamdani that, based on similar events in the past, there was a risk against Jewish residents and institutions, urging the city to ensure enforcement of statutes prohibiting masked intimidation and disorderly conduct.
The protest had been planned earlier in the week and followed PAL-Awda's cancelled plans to hold a protest against an Israeli immigration event in New York City on Wednesday.
Past the set rally time for the protest against the Nefesh B'Nefesh's Manhattan “NBN on Tour” event, PAL-Awda cancelled instead of providing its supporters with the event location. While the leading organizations canceled the event, according to local activists, a small contingent of pro-Palestinian activists attended the location.
Anti-Israel activists began to share the location of the event after the protest had been cancelled, relating that they had learned the location from advertisements for counter-protests by Jewish groups.
PAL-Awda had justified the cancellation by claiming victory, as they had supposedly forced NBN to restrict attendance and promotion for the event. However, NBN said that the event had proceeded smoothly and attendance was as expected.