New York Officials Denounce ‘Intifada’ Chants Outside Synagogue Led by Holocaust Survivor

Anti-Israel Protesters Target Manhattan Synagogue, Drawing Condemnation from NYC Leaders

Protesters gathered outside Park East Synagogue in Manhattan on Wednesday night, shouting anti-Israel chants during an event hosted by Nefesh B’Nefesh, a nonprofit that helps American Jews immigrate to Israel. The demonstration, billed as “No Settlers on Stolen Land,” included calls for an intifada—a term widely considered a call to violence against Jews—and chants against Zionists and the Israel Defense Forces.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul swiftly condemned the protest, calling it a “shameful and blatant attack on the Jewish community” in a statement released Thursday. “No New Yorker should be intimidated or harassed at their house of worship,” Hochul said. “Hate has no place in New York.”

The protest has drawn particular attention given its timing—coming just weeks after Zohran Mamdani was elected as New York City’s next mayor. Mamdani, whose history of anti-Israel statements has sparked concern within New York’s Jewish community, responded through a spokesperson who said the mayor-elect has “discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so.”

“He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law,” said Dora Pekec, Mamdani’s spokesperson.

During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani faced criticism for refusing to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” initially arguing that he does not support policing language. He later said he would “discourage” others from using the phrase after discussions with Jewish New Yorkers.

Meanwhile, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, currently visiting Israel, condemned the protests and committed to visiting Park East Synagogue upon his return to New York. “Houses of worship are where people go to heal, reflect, and respect one another. Church, mosque, synagogue, it makes no difference. Screaming vile language outside any of them isn’t ‘protest’ it’s desecration,” Adams stated.

The synagogue targeted by protesters holds particular historical significance. Its senior rabbi, Arthur Schneier, is a Holocaust survivor who was born in Vienna in 1930 and survived in Budapest, Hungary, before arriving in the United States in 1947. Rabbi Elchanan Poupko, host of The Jewish World podcast, shared video footage from the protest that garnered over 2 million views, noting that Rabbi Schneier “remembers vividly the horrors of Kristallnacht.”

“Now, he gets to see the same human material that shattered the glass of synagogues in Berlin and Vienna in 1938, outside his own synagogue,” Poupko wrote. “This is not about Gaza and has never been about Gaza. This is an attack on the Jewish people.”

Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass,” refers to violent anti-Jewish riots that took place on November 9-10, 1938, marking a turning point in Nazi Germany’s persecution of Jews.

New York City has experienced a significant surge in antisemitism since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza. The conflict has sparked extensive protests across the city, including prolonged demonstrations at Columbia University that drew national attention.

Mamdani’s election has amplified concerns within New York’s Jewish community. Weeks before Election Day, more than 650 rabbis nationwide, including prominent New York City rabbis, signed “A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future,” expressing concerns about discrimination against Jewish people and citing Mamdani’s positions critical of Israel.

Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson of Temple Emanu-El told Fox News Digital, “Anyone who has paid attention over the course of the last two years knows that such rhetoric has sparked a rise in antisemitism and violence against Jews.”

Mamdani’s history of Israel criticism dates back to his college days at Bowdoin College, where he founded the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. Throughout his mayoral campaign, he maintained his commitment to protecting Jewish New Yorkers despite pushback from Jewish leaders and his opponents, including former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa.