A pro-Palestinian protester was filmed burning the Israeli flag as demonstrators on both sides of the divide were out in force at New York City’s Washington Square Park Wednesday night.
The protests come after a blast at a hospital in Gaza that Hamas claims killed at least 500 people which sparked widespread outrage.
Video shows several of them chanting ‘Allahu Akbar!’ as they burned the Jewish state’s Star of David flag.
Reports have suggested there are hundreds of pro-Palestine marchers and dozens of pro-Israel protesters at the park.
The leaders of the pro-Palestine faction are NYU Students for Justice in Palestine. Along with other campus organizations, they’re marching to criticize the university’s president for denouncing the Hamas attack.
A pro-Palestinian protester was filmed burning the Israeli flag as demonstrators on both sides of the divide were out in force at New York City ‘s Washington Square Park Wednesday night
Several pro-Palestine demonstrators chanted ‘Allahu Akbar!’ as they burned the Jewish state’s Star of David flag
President Linda Mills is being accused of ‘erasure’ of Palestinians in her comments on the shock Hamas attacks that have killed 1,400.
‘In her recent statement, President [Linda] Mills makes the decision to continue this trend of dismissal and blatant erasure of the experiences of Palestinians, both at NYU and in Palestine,’ the student group wrote.
‘The statement makes no mention of the excessive violence against Palestinians in the last few days, despite 413 Palestinians having been murdered in Gaza within the past 48 hours. It is framed to portray an untrue and misrepresentative picture where ‘terrorist attacks’ were only occurring against Israeli citizens.’
The massive crowd eventually came face-to-face with the pro-Israel supporters. Aside from the flag burning, things appeared peaceful but the NYPD tried to create separation between the groups, according to NBC New York.
Some marchers held signs demanding the US cut funding to Israel, while another held a sign to remember Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old from Illinois stabbed by a man believed to be influenced by coverage of the attacks this past weekend.
Iran-backed Hezbollah, which fought a war with Israel in 2006, called for a day of protest in Beirut on Tuesday in response to the attack.
Islamic Jihad denied that any of its rockets were involved in the hospital blast.
In denouncing what the group said was a strike by Israel, Hezbollah said in its statement: ‘The attack reveals the true criminal face of this entity and its sponsor … the United States, which bears direct and complete responsibility for this massacre.’
The massive crowd eventually came face-to-face with the pro-Israel supporters
Some marchers held signs demanding the US cut funding to Israel
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One protester held a sign to remember Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old from Illinois stabbed by a man believed to be influenced by coverage of the attacks this past weekend
Supporters of Palestine attend a vigil in Washington Square Park, Manhattan
Video from the hospital showed fire engulfing the building and the hospital’s grounds strewn with bodies, many of them young children. Hundreds of people were reportedly seeking shelter at the hospital at the time of the blast, which Hamas has called a ‘horrific massacre’ and a ‘crime of genocide’.
About 6,000 Palestinians were sheltering at the hospital, which is reportedly funded by the Anglican Church.
The strike, soon after at least six were killed in a strike on a nearby UN-run school during Israeli bombardments, escalates the 11-day-old war, which has already claimed thousands of lives on both sides.
It also happened just hours before US President Joe Biden was due to touch down in the Middle East for high-stakes talks on the war, which was cancelled as summit host Jordan and the wider region mourned the victims, the White House said.
Biden’s visit to Israel was still going ahead.
New York City, as are many melting pot immigrant communities across the country, are feeling anxiety over the attacks back and forth over the past week.
Several Palestinian Americans interviewed Friday in a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Arab population said the atmosphere has been tense in the last week.
Jumana Alkaram said she has not been personally threatened but that: ‘I know if I was to demonstrate my heritage or the Palestinian flag there would be some type of threat. Because the majority has the support of Israel and don´t have the full legit story about what´s happening in Gaza.’
In New York City, a Palestinian restaurant, Ayat, was forced to disconnect its phone after receiving ‘nonstop’ threatening voicemails, according to co-owner, Abdul Elenani.
The storefront features a mural of a crying Palestinian and its menu includes calls to ‘end the occupation.’
On Friday, a man entered the dining room shouting ‘terrorist’ at the people behind the counter, Elenani said.
Still, the hostile reception was overshadowed by the support he has received from his neighbors, many of whom are Jewish and share his views about minimizing civilian deaths, he said.
‘In New York, we all live together, we work together, we grow together,’ Elenani said. ‘And we all want this violence to stop.’
