Anti-Zionist protesters chant ‘Death to the IDF’ at New York City synagogue
Activists gather in Manhattan to demonstrate against event promoting immigration to Israel, chanting to ‘globalize the intifada’ and accosting Jews
NEW YORK CITY — Anti-Zionist protesters chanted for an intifada and heckled Jews at a demonstration outside a prominent New York City synagogue on Wednesday night.
The demonstrators gathered outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan to protest against an event held by Nefesh B’nefesh, an organization that helps Jews immigrate to Israel.
Around 200 demonstrators chanted “Death to the IDF,” “We don’t want no Zionists here,” and, “Resistance you make us proud, take another settler out.”
“From New York to Gaza, globalize the intifada,” they chanted, to the beat of a drum.
A protest leader told the crowd, “It is our duty to make them think twice before holding these events. We need to make them scared. We need to make them scared. We need to make them scared.”
A smaller crowd of Jewish counter-protesters gathered on the sidewalk opposite the anti-Zionist demonstrators, separated by police and metal barricades, with the synagogue entrance in between.
The two groups shouted curses at each other and flashed bright flashlights in each other’s faces.
The Jewish group blew horns and whistles and shouted, “You’re cowards,” “Fuck Palestine,” and, “You’re protesting at a synagogue.”
The anti-Zionist group also berated the police officers at the scene.
The two groups were largely kept separate by police, but some shouting and shoving matches broke out on the sidelines.
A man in a kippah cursed at a protester, who shouted at him, “You’re part of a death cult.” Another woman shouted, “Fucking Jewish pricks,” while others called the Jewish demonstrators “rapists,” “racists,” and “pedophiles.”
Inside the synagogue, the event carried on, with Nefesh B’nefesh staffers welcoming attendees at a table near the front door.
The protest was led by the anti-Zionist activist group Pal-Awda, and was advertised by other organizations around the city, such as the city’s branch of Jewish Voice for Peace and an array of student groups, including two groups from Columbia University.
A Columbia spokesperson said the two groups were not recognized by the university and highlighted a Columbia statement affirming a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and harassment. The statement says the university has refused to recognize or meet with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, the campus alliance of anti-Zionist activist groups, which advertised the synagogue protest.
Pal-Awda advertised the event as, “No settlers on stolen land. Protest the settler recruiting fair.”
Nefesh B’nefesh does not direct immigrants to settlements; anti-Zionist activists often brand all Jewish Israelis as “settlers” to delegitimize Jewish existence in Israel.
There have been thousands of anti-Israel protests in New York City since the Hamas attack, the NYPD has said.
Demonstrations outside synagogues are uncommon, but tend to be especially vitriolic. Right-wing Jewish groups circulated calls to join the counter-demonstration before the protest, saying, “Silence is not an option.”
Protests at synagogues in the US have also sparked several lawsuits against the organizers, alleging infringement on the right to freedom of worship.
There have been several protests in New York and in nearby New Jersey against synagogues hosting events that market real estate in Israel, some also organized by Pal-Awda.
The synagogues do not organize the events; organizers rent out space in the buildings.
Jewish New Yorkers have repeatedly expressed concern over how Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will respond to protests at synagogues and in Jewish neighborhoods. Mamdani last year defended the protest slogan “Globalize the intifada,” which was used at the Wednesday protest, then said he would “discourage” its use after coming under massive pressure.
The protest chant “Death to the IDF” was popularized by the British punk rap duo Bob Vylan, who led the crowd in the chant during the UK’s Glastonbury music festival in June.
The chant was not previously common at New York City demonstrations, but broke out repeatedly at the synagogue protest.
Jews are targeted in hate crimes far more than any other group in New York City.
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