Police Hold the Line at Park East Synagogue as Anti-Israel Protesters Return

Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue drew another anti-Israel demonstration Tuesday — but this time police arrived in full force, barricading the streets around the building and preventing protesters from reaching its entrance.The protest, organized by Pal-Awda NY, targeted an Israeli real estate forum being held inside the synagogue. Hundreds of keffiyeh-clad demonstrators recited chants like “Death, death to the IDF” and “We don’t want no two states, we want all of it.” Videos from the scene showed protesters carrying Hezbollah flags and tearing down a sign bearing an image of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The demonstrators were confined to Lexington and Third Avenues as officers sealed off the streets on both sides of the synagogue. When protesters began to migrate toward the cordoned off areas, police followed, blocking them from passing the barricaded perimeter. Clashes broke out as NYPD officers prevented rowdy protesters from pushing past the barricades. Tuesday’s demonstration marked the second anti-Israel protest to target Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue. In November, protesters surrounded the synagogue during an event hosted by an organization that assists American and Canadian Jews in emigrating to Israel, Nefesh B’Nefesh. That crowd also chanted menacing slogans — but gathered just steps from the entrance, with little police intervention. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch later apologized to the congregation for the department’s lack of preparation.The incident prompted New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin to push for greater protections for houses of worship. Though Ms. Menin had initially sought a 100-foot buffer zone around houses of worship, the final bill instead compels the NYPD to establish within 45 days an official protocol for protecting religious sites from “physical obstruction, physical injury, intimidation, and interference” during protests. The measure passed 44-5 and was signed into law by Mayor Mamdani. It takes effect in June.Tuesday’s police response suggests that the department had absorbed the criticism from November. “I know that there was a lot of introspection internally, to make sure that that didn’t happen again,” Mitchell Silber, the chief executive of the Community Security Initiative, a Jewish security nonprofit that coordinates with the NYPD, told JTA. “And everything we’ve seen since then has been, you know, a tremendous NYPD presence, preparation, since that event.” UJA Federation of New York thanked the NYPD for their response, adding that “this is exactly what we warned about last November — at the very same synagogue — when calls to ‘globalize the intifada’ and other violent threats exposed how quickly demonstrations can become menacing and beyond the realm of peaceful protest.” The night before yesterday’s demonstration, Ms. Menin emphasized the need for protections for houses of worship. “As there is a protest at Park East, again, tonight, this is what we need to do,” she said. “We need to ensure the safety of the community. Of course, we allow the First Amendment right to peacefully protest — it’s sacrosanct — but what we don’t allow is intimidation, harassment, or injury as people are trying to go into their house of worship, and that should not be controversial. It also should not be controversial around schools.”Mr. Mamdani, for his part, released a statement criticizing the event for violating “international law” while affirming the right of safe entry and exit to the building. “Mayor Mamdani is deeply opposed to the real estate expo this evening that includes the promotion of the sale of land in settlements in the Occupied West Bank,” spokesman Sam Raskin said. “These settlements are illegal under international law and deeply tied to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians. As is always the case, NYPD will be on-site tonight to ensure the safety of protestors and guarantee those interested in entering the synagogue can do so.”Tuesday’s event, hosted by an Israeli real estate firm, is an annual exhibition of properties for sale in Israel. Known as “The Great Israeli Real Estate Event,” the expo bills itself as an opportunity to “listen to experts on a variety of topics — Aliyah, higher education in Israel, finances in Israel and more,” while promoting real estate opportunities across Israel, including in Gush Etzion, a bloc of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The United Nations considers the settlements illegal though Israel and America do not.Mr. Mamdani offered a similar response to the protest that erupted in November, declining to outright condemn protesters who shouted violent anti-Israel slogans and instead suggesting the event inside was “in violation of international law.” That event was hosted by Nefesh B’Nefesh, which promotes Jewish immigration across Israel but does not specifically direct immigrants to West Bank settlements.As videos of the demonstration went viral online, politicians condemned the protesters’ antisemitic rhetoric. Senator John Fetterman denounced the “Mob of Pro-Hezbollah / Hamas” protesters for “raging against law enforcement and terrorizing the NYC Jewish community near a synagogue and day care.” He added: “Where’s my party’s condemnation?” New York City Council Member Virginia Maloney said that the protest was a “strong reminder of the importance” of the house of worship buffer zone bill, adding that “peaceful protest is protected. Harassment and intimidation outside houses of worship are not.”

Police Hold the Line at Park East Synagogue as Anti-Israel Protesters Return

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