The Mayor of New York City , Eric Adams, has spoken out against pro-Palestinian protesters taking over Times Square during a rally on Sunday afternoon.
Adams, who had been on a ‘vanity tour’ to the South American countries of Ecuador and Colombia late last week but returned earlier in the on Sunday, said the streets of the Big Apple were not the place to ‘spread hate’.
‘Throughout the day, I’ve been monitoring the protest that started in Times Square and that moved through our streets to outside the Israeli Consulate General’s Office in New York,’ the Mayor began.
‘At a moment when innocent people are being slaughtered and children kidnapped in Israel, it is disgusting that this group of extremists would show support for terrorism. I reject this. New York City rejects this. Do not use our streets to spread your hate,’ Adams wrote on Twitter.
The Mayor of New York City , Eric Adams, has tweeted speaking out against pro-Palestinian protesters taking over Times Square during a rally on Sunday afternoon
![Adams, who had been on a 'vanity tour' to the South America but returned earlier in the day on Sunday, said the streets of the Big Apple were not the place to 'spread hate'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76314647-12608589-Adams_who_had_been_on_a_vanity_tour_to_the_South_America_but_ret-a-46_1696810507158.jpg)
Adams, who had been on a ‘vanity tour’ to the South America but returned earlier in the day on Sunday, said the streets of the Big Apple were not the place to ‘spread hate’
![Demonstrators in New York waved Palestinian flags during the peaceful march from Times Square to near both the Israeli consulate and the United Nations headquarters, where the Security Council was to convene over the weekend's violence](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76313155-12608589-Demonstrators_in_New_York_waved_Palestinian_flags_during_the_pea-a-54_1696810510968.jpg)
Demonstrators in New York waved Palestinian flags during the peaceful march from Times Square to near both the Israeli consulate and the United Nations headquarters, where the Security Council was to convene over the weekend’s violence
![People demonstrate in support of Palestinians and Israelis after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, in Times Square on Sunday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76315119-12608589-People_demonstrate_in_support_of_Palestinians_and_Israelis_after-a-44_1696810507010.jpg)
People demonstrate in support of Palestinians and Israelis after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, in Times Square on Sunday
On Saturday night the Mayor declared the city’s full-throated support for Israel tweeting picture of City Hall bathed in the blue and white colors of the Israeli flag.
‘New York City has the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel, and we stand side by side with Israel every day — but we do so with extra resolve tonight,’ the Mayor wrote.
About one thousand demonstrators gathered at Times Square in solidarity with Palestinians as pro-Israel marchers counter-protested following a bloody escalation in the Middle East conflict.
The rallies followed yesterday’s surge in violence that’s killed hundreds and wounded thousands in the region, after the militant group Hamas launched a deadly assault on Israel which responded by hammering blockaded Palestinian Gaza with heavy air strikes.
Demonstrators in New York waved Palestinian flags during the peaceful march from Times Square to near both the Israeli consulate and the United Nations headquarters, where the Security Council was to convene over the weekend’s violence.
‘We are here in solidarity with the Palestinian people who are fighting 75 years of Israeli settler colonialism, settler violence and 16 years of military blockade of Gaza,’ said Munir Atalla, a 30-year-old member of the Palestinian Youth Movement group, which was among the demonstration’s organizers.
‘What we saw yesterday was the people of Gaza breaking out of their open-air prison,’ he continued.
‘It’s impossible to view the events of this week, without first understanding the context that the Israeli regime is founded on violence… it’s founded on the erasure and annihilation of Palestinians.’
![On Saturday night the Mayor declared the city's full-throated support for Israel](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76315711-12608589-On_Saturday_night_the_Mayor_declared_the_city_s_full_throated_su-a-45_1696810507108.jpg)
On Saturday night the Mayor declared the city’s full-throated support for Israel
![The Mayor tweeted a picture of City Hall bathed in the blue and white colors of the Israeli flag](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76315517-12608589-The_Mayor_tweeted_a_picture_of_City_Hall_bathed_in_the_blue_and_-a-47_1696810507224.jpg)
The Mayor tweeted a picture of City Hall bathed in the blue and white colors of the Israeli flag
![Some thousand demonstrators on Sunday gathered in Manhattan's Times Square to voice support for the Palestinian people and urge against continued US military aid to Israel](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76313153-12608589-Some_thousand_demonstrators_on_Sunday_gathered_in_Manhattan_s_Ti-a-53_1696810510966.jpg)
Some thousand demonstrators on Sunday gathered in Manhattan’s Times Square to voice support for the Palestinian people and urge against continued US military aid to Israel
![Demonstrators in New York waved Palestinian flags during the peaceful march from Times Square to near both the Israeli consulate and the United Nations headquarters, where the Security Council was to convene over the weekend's violence](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76313161-12608589-Demonstrators_in_New_York_waved_Palestinian_flags_during_the_pea-a-55_1696810510983.jpg)
Demonstrators in New York waved Palestinian flags during the peaceful march from Times Square to near both the Israeli consulate and the United Nations headquarters, where the Security Council was to convene over the weekend’s violence
The demonstrations came as the United States quickly affirmed its support for Israel, with US President Joe Biden ordering US ships and warplanes closer to its ally and sending fresh military aid.
‘Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes,’ protestors in New York chanted.
Sarah Barqawi, 38, told said she came to Sunday’s rally ‘because my family is currently under siege in Gaza and are just waiting to know if they will be alive or dead, without any electricity, without any support, without any supplies.’
‘They are merely trying to defend their right to existence.’
![Supporters of Israel face people rallying in support of Palestinians in Times Square in New York on October 8, 2023](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76313157-12608589-Supporters_of_Israel_face_people_rallying_in_support_of_Palestin-a-56_1696810511236.jpg)
Supporters of Israel face people rallying in support of Palestinians in Times Square in New York on October 8, 2023
On Saturday evening the New York branches of organizations including Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now marched to the Brooklyn home of Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s majority leader, to call ‘for an end to all US military funding to Israel.’
Schumer was among the chorus of US political leaders over the weekend to reiterate support for Israel and its ‘unwavering right to defend itself.’
At a separate Manhattan protest on Sunday, a couple hundred people waving Israeli flags decried ‘vicious Hamas,’ among them Ofer Jacobawitz, who said, ‘We need to demonstrate for public opinion.’
‘We just want everyone to know that we’re supporting Israel and whatever it does now to in order to defend itself and prevent this from ever happening again.’
![Palestinian solidarity demonstrations came as the United States quickly affirmed its support for Israel, with US President Joe Biden ordering US ships and warplanes closer to its ally and sending fresh military aid](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76313159-12608589-Palestinian_solidarity_demonstrations_came_as_the_United_States_-a-57_1696810511239.jpg)
Palestinian solidarity demonstrations came as the United States quickly affirmed its support for Israel, with US President Joe Biden ordering US ships and warplanes closer to its ally and sending fresh military aid
![New York's Governor Kathy Hochul lambasted Manhattan's Palestinian solidarity rally as 'abhorrent and morally repugnant'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76316235-12608589-New_York_s_Governor_Kathy_Hochul_lambasted_Manhattan_s_Palestini-a-48_1696810507457.jpg)
New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul lambasted Manhattan’s Palestinian solidarity rally as ‘abhorrent and morally repugnant’
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76315529-12608589-image-a-49_1696810507549.jpg)
![The Governor ordered landmarks in the state including the World Trade Center to be illuminated in blue and white](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76315527-12608589-The_Governor_ordered_landmarks_in_the_state_including_the_World_-a-50_1696810507609.jpg)
The Governor ordered landmarks in the state including the World Trade Center to be illuminated in blue and white
![tSunday night](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76315521-12608589-tSunday_night-a-51_1696810507639.jpg)
New York’s Moynihan Train Statin was lit up in blue and white this weekend
![New York State's officers in Albany were all bathed in blue and white light on Saturday evening](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/09/01/76315523-12608589-New_York_State_s_officers_in_Albany_were_all_bathed_in_blue_and_-a-52_1696810507646.jpg)
New York State’s officers in Albany were all bathed in blue and white light on Saturday evening
New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul — who lambasted Manhattan’s Palestinian solidarity rally as ‘abhorrent and morally repugnant’ — meanwhile ordered landmarks in the state including the World Trade Center and Niagara Falls to be illuminated in blue and white.
‘New York is proud to be home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel,’ she said.
As he marched on Sunday at the Palestinian solidarity rally, Morgan Bassichis, 40, said that ‘as a Jewish person who believes that everyone, with no exception, should be free, I am firmly in support of the Palestinian freedom movement, and I believe that all violence in the region is a result of the root cause of Israeli apartheid.’
‘It’s our job as people in the US to get our government’ to stop financing Israel, he said.
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