After nearly three hours, the pro-Palestinian protesters began making their way toward a nearby train station as groups of pro-Israel counter-protesters followed nearby and several skirmishes broke out. Police made at least one arrest.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/counterp.jpeg\")
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Protesters and counter-protesters are separated by police in Midwood, Brooklyn on May 11, 2026. (Grace Gilson)<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s protest, which was advertised on social media by the anti-Zionist group PAL-Awda as a demonstration to \u201cstop the sale of stolen Palestinian land,\u201d marked the latest in a series of pro-Palestinian protests<\/a> targeting Israeli real estate events at synagogues in recent months. The group takes aim at real estate sales in the West Bank, where pro-Palestinian advocates and many countries consider Israeli settlements illegal, but also has condemned all Jews who have moved to Israel as \u201csettlers,\u201d regardless of where they move.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter their Manhattan event, the same israeli real estate agencies are hosting an event in Brooklyn for settlers to buy property in \u2018Anglo neighborhoods\u2019 on Stolen Palestinian Land,\u201d PAL-Awda wrote in a post on Instagram<\/a> announcing the demonstration. \u201cThey blatantly advertise illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, such as Gush Etzion, Kfar Eldad and Karnei Shormon, violating international law.\u201d<\/p>\n The Israeli real estate events have drawn condemnation from anti-Zionist groups, as well as from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/a>, for advertising West Bank settlements.<\/p>\n Previous demonstrations, including a November protest at Park East Synagogue<\/a> in Manhattan during which demonstrators gathered feet from its doors, have drawn accusations of antisemitism from Jewish leaders and spurred a \u201cbuffer zone\u201d law<\/a> recently passed by the New York City Council that allows police to insulate houses of worship from protesters.<\/p>\n The law, which passed with a veto-proof majority, has not yet gone into effect, but police have still stepped up their efforts to keep protesters from synagogues since the November rally. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch apologized during a Shabbat service at the time for the police department\u2019s lapses at Park East.<\/p>\n The protests have had another effect: propelling Jews to the real estate events, whether to show support or to plot an exit route from the city.<\/p>\n Faye, a 75-year-old Jewish woman who lives in an apartment next door to the synagogue, said that she had attended the event to show \u201csupport for my people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNone of these people are going to tell me what to do. I don\u2019t care about Mamdani or any of the antisemitism, this is my city,\u201d said Faye, who declined to give her last name. \u201cI\u2019ve lived here my entire life. You leave, not me.\u201d<\/p>\n Police officers form a barricade around Young Israel of Midwood, a synagogue in Brooklyn, New York on May 11, 2026. (Grace Gilson)<\/p>\n Moshe, who represented a real estate firm at the event Monday and declined to share his last name, said the expo had drawn over 150 people. Moshe, who moved from New York to Israel himself, said interest in buying Israel real estate had grown by \u201ca lot\u201d in recent years, a surge he attributed to \u201ca feeling of unsafety in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Another organizer of the event, who requested anonymity out of fear of threats from protesters, said that while demonstrators had framed the rally as opposition to the sale of West Bank settlement properties, the outcry had been \u201cdisproportional\u201d to the events themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cWithin the last five years, has there been an event where there has been a project that is beyond the Green Line? Yes,\u201d the organizer said, referring to the boundary between Israel and the West Bank. \u201cThere\u2019s been plenty without, and even the one that had one, it\u2019s one of 100.\u201d<\/p>\n But while many residents flocked to the event to show solidarity, others said they were considering a move to Israel.<\/p>\n Sarah, a 69-year-old Orthodox Midwood resident who declined to give her last name, said she and her husband had attended the event because they were looking to buy or rent property in Israel after growing disillusioned with New York.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re anxious to get out of here already, we\u2019ve had enough in New York,\u201d she said, citing Mamdani and saying she felt he was \u201cnot protecting our community, you know, helping Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah said she had heard about protests in Manhattan but had not expected to encounter protesters in her neighborhood. She said seeing the demonstration made her feel \u201chorrible, because they hate us, and for no reason. We\u2019re not the kind of people who hate other people.\u201d<\/p>\n She said the protests fit into the reasons she was looking for a home in Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cHere, you don\u2019t know who could hurt you, harm you,\u201d Sarah said. \u201cThere, you feel safe because you know it\u2019s mostly your own people.\u201d<\/p>\n Jewish stories matter, and so does your support. The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.<\/p>\n \n\t\tOne-time \tChoose an amount to donate<\/p>\n \n\t\t$36$72$118$180\t<\/p>\n \tSupport Us<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/young-israel.jpeg\")
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