Anti Israel activists gathered in Queens on Thursday night to demonstrate against an Israeli real estate event at a Queens synagogue, according to videos and statements published by organizers and counter protester, calling for "intifada" and "peoples' war" in response to the sale of property in Modiin and Ma'ale Adumim.
Led by Palestinian Assembly for Liberation (PAL-Awda) NY/NJ, keffiyeh clad activists with Palestinian flags rallied in Kew Garden Hills to protest Mortgage Israel and Tivuch Shelly's Israel Real Estate Event. 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, peoples’ war," activists chanted in a PAL-Awda Instagram story. "There is only one solution, Intifada revolution.
In another chant, protests demanded "settlers go back home," as "Palestine is ours alone."
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.
Anti Israel activists complained that law enforcement kettled protesters and restricted their dispersal, leaving them vulnerable to attack. The groups also complained that they were subjected to derogatory chants from counter protesters. The New York Police Department said that there were no arrests or summons as an outcome of the protests.
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."
PAL-Awda defended their protest at a synagogue on Friday night, arguing on social media that the event was racist and part of a broader pattern "hiding" events in Jewish community sites. The group rejected the outrage of elected officials about their protest, asserting that they were engaging in bad faith by ignoring the premise of their protests.
The protest was met with bipartisan condemnation by New York city and state officials, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani said on X on Friday that "support of a terrorist organization" had "no place in our city.'
"We will continue to ensure New Yorkers’ safety entering and exiting houses of worship as well as the constitutional right to protest," said Mamdani.
The mayor was criticized by Berger and others for a delayed response to the incident. National Jewish Advocacy Center CEO Mark Goldfeder and other critics also called on Mamdani to enforce laws against masked intimidation and disorderly conduct.
Mamdani allies such as congressional hopeful Brad Lander also condemned the protests on social media, arguing one could oppose West Bank land sales "without supporting terrorism & the mass murder of Jews."
City comptroller Mark Levine and city council speaker Julie Menin also condemned the protest, with the former stating that "reprehensible" support for terrorist organizations could not be normalized, and the latter committing to combat "vile antisemitism such as this."
Federal representatives such as Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and Congressman Ritchie Torres also issue harsh condemnations of the protest.
State officials weighed in, with New York Attorney General Letitia James rejecting support for terrorists such as Hamas, and Governor Kathy Hochul calling the activists' rhetoric "disgusting."
"Hamas is a terrorist organization that calls for the genocide of Jews," said Hochul.
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 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.