A massive anti-Israel protest in Brooklyn turned violent Saturday night as protests clashed with police.
The “Flood Brooklyn for Palestine” protest, which took place three weeks after Hamas terrorists slaughtered more than 1,400 people in Israel, demanded that the United States cut ties with Israel, according to the New York Post.
As the rally went on and darkness fell, protesters refused police demands to disperse as they lit fires in the streets and shut down traffic. Some threw eggs at the police.
“It got pretty heated,” a law enforcement source told The Post. Several protesters were detained, but it was uncertain how many would face charges.
“Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want no Zionists here!” drum-beating protesters yelled waving Palestinian flags and signs with slogans such as “Zionism is Genocide.”
“We are not like other groups simply calling for a cease-fire,” one woman said. “We are calling not simply for an end to genocide. We are calling for an end to the siege, an end to the blockade. An end to the occupation.”
Today in Bay Ridge there was a rally against “Genocide in Gaza”. No speaker mentioned HAMAS atrocities against innocent Israeli civilians. And crowd chanted HAMAS slogan: “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!” – advocating for eradication of Jews from Israel. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/VQlAkNEbwN
— Council Member Ari Kagan (@CMAriKagan47) October 21, 2023
This was not a rally for a two state solution or for liberation of Gaza from HAMAS or public call to free hundreds of kidnapped Israelis & Americans. It was a shameful pro-HAMAS & anti-Israel rally that I strongly condemn.
TY, @NYPDnews, for keeping Bay Ridge safe! 2/2— Council Member Ari Kagan (@CMAriKagan47) October 21, 2023
Republican City Councilmember Ari Kagan, who is Jewish, lashed out at the protesters.
No speaker mentioned HAMAS atrocities against innocent Israeli civilians. And crowd chanted HAMAS slogan: “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!” – advocating for eradication of Jews from Israel,” the Jewish Republican representing part of southern Brooklyn said on X.
“This was not a rally for a two state solution or for liberation of Gaza from HAMAS or public call to free hundreds of kidnapped Israelis & Americans. It was a shameful pro-HAMAS & anti-Israel rally that I strongly condemn.”
The rally was part of an outpouring of anti-Jewish sentiment across New York City.
Last week, a Jewish deli was defaced with a swastika, the New York Post reported.
“It’s sad that people just feel the need to say they hate Jews in 2023. That people can just be so open about it. That Jew hatred is out therein now people just feel more empowered to say it,” owner Jeremy Lebewohl said.
Vandal etches swastika on doorframe of Upper East Side Jewish eatery
Jack Lebewohl, whose brother Abe opened the deli’s first location in the East Village in 1954, told the Daily News the discovery was shocking, but not unbelievable.https://t.co/8g15CmLonx
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) October 18, 2023
The deli posted a picture of the swastika on its Instagram page.
“Outside of our restaurant today. Thank you for reminding us that we are on the right side of history. This isn’t just a fight about land. This isn’t just a fight about Israel. This isn’t just a fight with all the Jews of the world. This is a fight of good vs evil,” it said in its post.
The deli has been staunchly pro-Israel in its recent social media posts.
“I would never take pleasure, God forbid, in the deaths of Palestinian civilians,” Lebewohl said. “But there’s a big difference between saying that all civilians should be protected when you have a group of people that are purposely killing, mutilating, slaughtering civilians.
“Everybody should be able to say black and white, teenage girls being raped, babies being killed in front of their parents, no context is required, every person should be able to say very clearly that is horrible,” he said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
