Overview
- Roughly 200 pro‑Palestinian demonstrators rallied outside Park East Synagogue on Nov. 19, chanting “globalize the intifada” and “death to the IDF” and hurling insults, according to on‑scene reports.
- The protest targeted a Nefesh B’Nefesh immigration‑to‑Israel program and was organized by the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation/Pal‑Awda, which promoted it as opposing “settler recruiting.”
- NYPD officers kept protesters and counter‑protesters behind barricades and said the demonstration dispersed peacefully with no arrests as the event inside continued.
- Mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani’s spokesperson said he discourages the protest language and that houses of worship should not host activities “in violation of international law,” later clarifying the remark referred to promotion of settlement activity beyond the Green Line.
- Gov. Kathy Hochul and outgoing Mayor Eric Adams condemned the rhetoric, and Jewish groups called the chants incitement; reports differed on whether entrances were blocked, but police and other accounts said attendees were welcomed inside.