The New York City Police Department told JNS that officers arrested someone on Thursday night at a protest outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, where an Israeli real estate event was going on.
“One individual was taken into custody and issued a summons,” the NYPD told JNS. “The demonstration concluded at 10:20 p.m. without further incident.”
A Hamas flag and antisemitic signs could be seen in video footage of the protest, which was organized by Palestinian Assembly for Liberation Al-Awda.
The group shared video on social media that showed protesters trying to push past barricades and clashing with NYPD officers at the scene.
Protesters chanted “death, death to the IDF,” and one protester held a sign stating, “f*** your buffer zone.” Both the city and state have pursued legislation related to buffer zones, which would be free of obstruction, around religious and educational sites.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani vetoed a bill, which passed the New York City Council, directing the NYPD to make a plan to create buffer zones around religious schools. A near-identical bill about buffers around houses of worship passed the City Council with a veto-proof majority. The state is also pursuing creating 50-foot buffers around religious institutions.
The protester’s sign also included the phrase, “dismantle the synagogues of Satan.”
The pro-Israel event was organized by the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israeli Building Center, and it featured Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion.
It promoted Israeli property opportunities, advertising that attendees could “discover the most sought-after real estate opportunities in Israel and connect with leading developers and companies in the field.”
During the event, Lion gave a “Jerusalem ambassador in the diaspora” award to Deni Avdija, an Israeli who plays basketball for the Portland Trail Blazers and who was an all-star this year.
Organizers said that 1,000 people attended the event.
“Deni Avdija is not only an extraordinary athlete, first and foremost. He is an ambassador at heart and in spirit for the State of Israel and our values,” Lion said. “On the court and beyond it, especially during this challenging time, Deni proudly represents the strong and beautiful face of our nation.”
“Presenting him with the Jerusalem ambassador award is our way of thanking him on behalf of Jerusalem and the millions of Israelis and Jews around the world who draw inspiration from him every single day,” he added.
On Friday, Palestinian Assembly for Liberation Al-Awda told Mamdani to pursue “legal avenues to put a stop to these illegal land sales” and to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and disband the police department’s strategic response group.
