NY leaders condemn pro-Palestinian ‘intifada’ chants at NYC synagogue protest

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Protesters gathered exterior a synagogue in New York Metropolis on Wednesday night time to shout a slew of anti-Israel chants, drawing condemnation by New York leaders, together with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, whose historical past of anti-Israel statements sparked fear and concern in New York's Jewish neighborhood even earlier than he was elected.

The "No Settlers on Stolen Land" protest befell exterior of Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue, which was internet hosting an occasion by Nefesh B’Nefesh, a nonprofit that helps American Jews immigrate to Israel. The protesters known as for an intifada — a time period broadly thought-about a name to violence in opposition to Jews — and for the dying of Israel Protection Forces. Additionally they chanted "We do not need no Zionists right here."

Gov. Kathy Hochul , D-N.Y., condemned the protest as a "blatant assault on the Jewish neighborhood."

"No New Yorker ought to be intimidated or harassed at their home of worship," Hochul said in a statement . "What occurred final night time at [Park East Synagogue] was shameful and a blatant assault on the Jewish neighborhood. Hate has no place in New York."

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Protesters collect on the "No Settlers on Stolen Land" protest on the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, throughout an occasion hosted by Nefesh B'nefesh, a corporation that helps American Jews immigrate to Israel, on Wednesday night time, Nov. 19, 2025, in New York Metropolis. (Selçuk Acar/Anadolu by way of Getty Pictures)

Dora Pekec, spokesperson for New York Metropolis Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, advised Fox Information Digital that Mamdani has "discouraged the language used finally night time’s protest and can proceed to take action."

"He believes each New Yorker ought to be free to enter a home of worship with out intimidation, and that these sacred areas shouldn't be used to advertise actions in violation of worldwide legislation," Pekec added.

Throughout the Democratic mayoral primary , Mamdani refused to sentence the phrase "globalize the intifada" — arguing that he doesn't assist policing language. He later relented that he would "discourage" others from utilizing the phrase after conversations with Jewish New Yorkers.

In the meantime, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, who's presently visiting Israel, additionally condemned the protests on Thursday and dedicated to visiting Park East Synagogue when he returns to New York Metropolis.

"Homes of worship are the place folks go to heal, mirror, and respect each other. Church, mosque, synagogue, it makes no distinction. Screaming vile language exterior any of them isn’t 'protest' it’s desecration. It exhibits how sick and warped these agitators have turn out to be," Adams stated, whereas urging New Yorkers that "we can not hand this metropolis over to radicals."

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Rabbi Elchanan Poupko, host of The Jewish World podcast, posted one of many a number of movies from the protest, amassing greater than 2 million views.

" Antisemites have showed up exterior Park East synagogue and are chanting for intifada," Poupko said in his post . "The Rabbi of the synagogue is a holocaust survivor who remembers vividly the horrors of Kristallnacht . Now, he will get to see the identical human materials that shattered the glass of synagogues in Berlin and Vienna in 1938, exterior his personal synagogue. This isn't about Gaza and has by no means been about Gaza. That is an assault on the Jewish folks."

Rabbi Arthur Schneier is the senior rabbi at Park East Synagogue. Based on the synagogue's web site, he was born in Vienna in 1930, survived the Holocaust in Budapest, Hungary, and arrived in the US in 1947.

Kristallnacht, or the "Evening of Damaged Glass," refers to violent anti-Jewish riots that befell on the night time of Nov. 9-10 in 1938 that marked a turning level in Nazi Germany’s rise to energy and violence in opposition to Jews, in keeping with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum .

A protester waves a Palestinian flag exterior the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan on Wednesday night time, Nov. 19, 2025, in New York Metropolis. (Selçuk Acar/Anadolu by way of Getty Pictures)

New York City has confronted a surge in antisemitism because the Oct. 7 Hamas assaults and the following conflict in Gaza, which have sparked in depth protests throughout the town, together with at Columbia College.

All through his mayoral marketing campaign, Mamdani maintained his dedication to defending Jewish New Yorkers, regardless of push again from Jewish leaders and his mayoral opponents, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa.

A lady carrying an Israeli flag enters the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, New York Metropolis, throughout a "No Settlers on Stolen Land" protest exterior on Nov. 19, 2025. (Selçuk Acar/Anadolu by way of Getty Pictures)

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Weeks earlier than Election Day, a slate of outstanding New York Metropolis rabbis joined greater than 650 rabbis nationwide to signal "A Rabbinic Name to Motion: Defending the Jewish Future," asserting that Jewish People "can not stay silent" on discrimination in opposition to Jewish folks and citing Mamdani's stances which might be vital of Israel.

Mamdani has been broadly criticized for a wide range of his statements and positions on Israel, together with his assist for sanctions in opposition to Israel and his reticence to denounce Hamas in interviews. The sample dates again to his faculty days at Bowdoin School, the place he based the College students for Justice in Palestine Chapter.

" Anybody who has paid consideration over the course of the final two years is aware of that such rhetoric has sparked an increase in antisemitism and violence in opposition to Jews," Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson, Temple Emanu-El’s senior rabbi, advised Fox Information Digital.