Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists gathered outside Tisch Hospital in New York City on Monday, accusing Israel of abducting over 450 medical personnel amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
A smaller group of pro-Israel supporters also assembled, resulting in clashes that required police intervention to maintain order.
The demonstrators chanted slogans like “We don’t want no Zionists here” and “Palestine, you make us proud,” while holding signs with messages such as “Gaza forever,” “Abolish Israel” and “Right of Return.”
The protest, organized by the Within Our Lifetime group, also called for the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a Gaza hospital director detained by the Israel Defense Forces due to alleged ties to the Hamas terrorist organization.
This demonstration followed a New Year’s Day protest in Times Square that supported Palestinian terror. The protest came hours after a deadly attack in New Orleans, where a man drove a pickup truck adorned with an Islamic State flag into a crowd, killing 15 and injuring 35.
The New York Post reported that anti-Israel protesters, many waving Palestinian flags, chanted “there is only one solution: intifada revolution” during their march. Such rhetoric has long been condemned by Jewish organizations and scholars as incitement to violence against Jews.
The protesters also shouted “we will honor all our martyrs,” according to the Post.
Israeli diplomat Yaki Lopez condemned the demonstration, writing, “Pro-Hamas demonstrators chanted ‘intifada revolution’ in New York City while Jihadist terrorists carried out a deadly attack in New Orleans, killing over a dozen Americans.”
He added, “This is the grim reality of the ‘globalization of the intifada’ they called for. It’s terror, pure and simple.”
