A pro-Palestine crowd with their faces covered ripped apart an Israeli flag in Manhattan on Monday chanting their wish for Israelis to die, as they faced off with a pro-Israel group yelling at the Palestinians: They all need to die now!’
A large number of NYPD officers were stationed in between the rival gatherings, keeping them apart.
Some in the pro-Palestine camp blamed Israel for the terror attacks over the weekend, launched by Hamas, which have left 900 Israelis dead.
One pro-Palestine demonstrator roused their crowd with a chant of: ‘When Palestine is under attack. What do we do?’
Their colleagues replied: ‘We fight back.’
Another group began shredding the Israeli flag, to widespread cheers. Some stamped on it.
Pro-Palestine activists are seen on Monday shredding the Israeli flag in Manhattan
A pro-Palestine woman yells into a loud hailer at the tense Monday rally
Pro-Palestine demonstrators are seen on Monday in front of the consulate of Israel
Pro-Palestine demonstrators stamped on the Israeli flag, and appeared to set fire to it
In Boston, another pro-Palestine group stood on the U.S. flag, calling the United States ‘legit gangsters’.
In Manhattan, near the Israeli consulate, one member of the pro-Palestine group shouted, according to The New York Post: ‘We gotta kill them all! We’re going to kill them all! You better leave our country! You better get out of there!’
Jesse, 45, of Nolita, told the paper he thought Hamas’ attack was justified.
‘Fighting back isn’t terrorism,’ he said, brandishing a sign that read: ‘End aid to racist Israel.’
‘They’re not just occupying. They’re controlling, they’re murdering. They’re bulldozing schools. They’re filling wells with cement.
‘They have every right to fight back.’
Jesse likened the Israeli government to slave owners.
‘You cannot compare. It’s like comparing what the slaves did to get out of slavery,’ he said.
One pro-Palestine activist shouted at the Israeli contingent that they should prepare to ‘get barbecued’.
‘We’re going to liberate Palestine,’ the protester said, according to Fox News.
‘We already liberated parts of it already. So get ready to get barbecued.’
Pro-Israel demonstrators light candles in Manhattan on Monday
The pro-Israel crowd responded with their own taunts.
‘They all need to die now!’ a man yelled at the Palestinian supporters, according to The New York Post.
‘We need to protect Jews here and in America!’
Karen Lichtbraun,who leads Yad Yamin New York, where members ‘encourage Jewish self-defense’, told the paper that Hamas were terrorists, and were not pro-Palestine.
‘They are bombing our homeland,’ she said.
‘They’ve kidnapped our people. They’re torturing our people. They’ve invaded our homes. They’re dragging our women through the streets. They’re grabbing children directly our of their mothers’ arms.
‘There’s nothing pro-Palestine about it. They’re terrorists.
‘They just committed war crimes,’ she added, comparing the group to the Nazis.
Pro-Palestine activists are seen on Monday by the Israeli consulate
A crowd of pro-Palestine activists confronted the pro-Israel demonstrators
Several pro-Israel activists performed the Am-Yisrael-Chai, a religious celebratory dance, when music played
On the pro-Israel side of the protest, demonstrators brandished the national flag
There was tension within the pro-Israel group about the rhetoric, The New York Post reported.
One young pro-Israel supporter yelling, ‘Death to Hamas!’ into a megaphone was silenced by another pro-Israel woman.
‘Please stop,’ she said. ‘You’re making us look psychotic.’
The man replied: ‘That liberal s*** needs to stop now.’
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