A driver in New York City slammed pro-Palestinian protesters for blocking traffic to the Williamsburg Bridge.
The man can be seen sitting in his vehicle, honking his horn, and asking people not to touch his car, as he is surrounded by a group of protesters on Monday morning, according to a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, by Elad Eliahu, a Jewish reporter.
Protesters throughout the city began to gather together around 9 a.m. at locations such as the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges, along with the Holland Tunnel, to protest Israel’s blockade of Gaza, the United States’ support to Israel, and to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
“Don’t touch my car. Don’t touch my car,” the man can be heard telling a protester before turning away. “You’re disrupting traffic! Idiots! You can’t do that! That’s against the law!”
Angry NYC driver shoves Palestine protesters blocking the Williamsburg bridge during rush hour traffic this morning out of his way
— Elaad Eliahu (@elaadeliahu) January 8, 2024
“You’re disrupting traffic idiots, you can’t do that, it’s against the law” pic.twitter.com/0bQLsAgUHN
The man can then be seen getting out of his vehicle and telling a protester to “get away” from his car before shoving multiple people away from his vehicle.
“Get away from my car!” the man shouts. “Bro, get away from my car. I have a daughter in Brooklyn!”
As the man is speaking, various people can be heard shouting in the background, “Don’t touch him” and “Run them over! Run them over!”
“Get out of the way! I have to go home!” the man yells as he gets back in his car and attempts to navigate his car through the crowd of protesters and away from the protest.
More than 300 people were arrested after blocking traffic to the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges and the Holland Tunnel.
The Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges were reopened to traffic a little before 11:30 a.m. and the Brooklyn Bridge was reopened to traffic before 11 a.m. Meanwhile, the officers from the Port Authority Police Department reopened the Holland Tunnel to traffic around 10:30 a.m.
Another driver stuck in traffic angrily shouted at protesters at the Holland Tunnel who were getting arrested, and informed them that “This is New York, not Palestine, not Gaza. New York.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) issued a statement stressing the importance of peaceful protests that did not add any “major disruption to the city.
“Some people are not just driving to and from, across our bridges to go to their place of employment, some of them are dealing with some real emergency type issues,” Adams said. “I have been extremely clear, it gives us all pain to see innocent lives being lost right now, we need to do whatever is possible to end anything that is going to take the lives of innocent people, but Hamas must be destroyed, they are a terrorist organization.”
In the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel which left 1,200 people dead and more than 200 people taken as hostages, there have been various pro-Palestinian protests around the world. Various student groups at universities have issued letters condemning Israel. Democratic donors, lawmakers, and White House interns have also expressed frustration with the Biden Administration’s support for Israel.
