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Tensions escalated in Brooklyn's Borough Park on Tuesday night as an anti-Israel protest turned into a heated confrontation with local Jewish residents, leading to at least one arrest. The demonstration, organized by the activist group Pal-Awda, was aimed at a real estate event that protesters claimed was involved in selling Palestinian land to Israel.
Dozens of protesters gathered in a designated area set up by police, while across the street, dozens of local residents and pro-Israel activists held Israeli flags and responded with counter-chants.
Clashes broke out after some protesters crossed police barriers and approached the Jewish and pro-Israel group, leading to pushing, shouting, and physical confrontations. NYPD officers intervened, arresting at least one demonstrator.
Videos from the scene showed protesters chanting “Zionists go to hell” and “settlers go back home,” with some raising their hands in a triangular gesture associated with Hamas. Counter-protesters shouted back “terrorists” and “Nazis go home.”
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Anti-Israel protesters in confrontation with Jewish residents in Brooklyn
The demonstration, which lasted over an hour in freezing temperatures, eventually dispersed as police maintained a heavy presence. Some protesters continued shouting slogans as they walked toward a nearby subway station, while local residents observed from the sidewalks.
Pro-Israeli New York lawmakers swiftly condemned the protest. Congressman Ritchie Torres wrote on X: “The pro-Hamas mob that vowed to ‘flood’ Borough Park quickly descended into violence. Violence is not a bug of the ‘Free Palestine’ movement—it is a feature.”
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Congressman Dan Goldman also criticized the demonstration, calling it “deliberate harassment of one of the largest Orthodox Jewish communities in the U.S.” and adding, “Targeting Jews because of Israel’s actions is pure antisemitism.”
Since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, New York has seen hundreds of anti-Israel protests, but demonstrations specifically targeting Orthodox Jewish communities have been rare. For many Borough Park residents, Sunday’s events underscored growing concerns over the nature and direction of the protests.