Anti-Israel protesters chanted pro-Hamas slogans near a synagogue in Queens, N.Y., on Thursday, in a demonstration that forced the early closure of a daycare, two elementary schools and a religious site, according to a local official.<\/p>\n
Unconfirmed videos on social media show dozens of protesters, many wearing masks, chanting, \u201cSay it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here\u201d near Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, a Modern Orthodox synagogue.<\/p>\n
A protest group, Pal-Awda, identified the location of the synagogue on social media earlier on Thursday and claimed that it was hosting an \u201cillegal event\u201d with \u201cZionist real estate agencies\u201d to sell property in Ma\u2019ale Adumim, Israel.<\/p>\n
New York State Assemblyman Sam Berger, a Democrat who represents the area, said that local Jewish institutions voluntarily shut down after police notified them of the demonstration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am extremely concerned that this protest is forcing a daycare, two elementary schools and a house of worship to close early, upending the daily lives of working New Yorkers,\u201d Berger wrote<\/a>. \u201cFor our New York City mayor, who has said he \u2018will always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors,\u2019 I am calling on Zohran Mamdani for an immediate condemnation of this demonstration.\u201d<\/p>\n As of Friday morning, Mamdani has not condemned the protest on either of his accounts on X. (JNS sought comment from Mamdani\u2019s office.)<\/p>\n In response to a similar protest outside Park East synagogue in November, Mamdani\u2019s office previously stated<\/a> that \u201cevery New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation\u201d but that \u201cthese sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law,\u201d referring to the alleged sale of real estate in Israel.<\/p>\n Other New York politicians, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, condemned the Kew Gardens Hills protests on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cHamas is a terrorist organization that calls for the genocide of Jews,\u201d Hochul said<\/a>. \u201cNo matter your political beliefs, this type of rhetoric is disgusting, it\u2019s dangerous and it has no place in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) similarly condemned the pro-Hamas chant.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever the amnesia surrounding Oct. 7, the truth must never be forgotten: Hamas murdered, maimed, mutilated, raped and tortured thousands of innocent Israelis,\u201d Torres wrote<\/a>. \u201cIt is, and has always been, a barbaric oppressor of its own people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSupport for Hamas is not an expression of empathy for Palestinians. It is an expression of antipathy toward Jews and Israelis,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u201cHate has no place in N.Y.C.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) put his condemnation in blunter terms.<\/p>\n \u201cThese a**holes in N.Y.C. proudly chant for Hamas in close proximity to a Jewish school and place of worship,\u201d Fetterman wrote<\/a>. \u201cThis is menacing and intimidation. The Jewish community deserves relief and protection from these raging antisemites.\u201d<\/p>\n The post \u2018We support Hamas here,\u2019 protesters chant outside Queens synagogue<\/a> appeared first on JNS.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anti-Israel protesters chanted pro-Hamas slogans near a synagogue in Queens, N.Y., on Thursday, in a demonstration that forced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97721,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[3862,2594,45177,2592,43678,59,45178,60,2595,2597,2601,7702,40100,164,9,24,63,663,45176,87,2593,2596,2602,43679,2600,45173,122,124,123,45174,45175,26120,421,9498],"class_list":["post-97720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-antisemitism","tag-arab-israeli-conflict","tag-foreign-relations-of-israel","tag-gaza-israel-conflict","tag-government-of-israel","tag-hamas","tag-impacts-of-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict","tag-israel","tag-israel-palestine-relations","tag-israeli-palestinian-conflict","tag-jews-and-judaism","tag-judaism","tag-judaism-related-controversies","tag-middle-east","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-palestine","tag-palestine-region","tag-politics","tag-politics-of-israel","tag-politics-of-palestine","tag-politics-of-palestine-region","tag-politics-of-the-arab-israeli-conflict","tag-politics-of-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict","tag-politics-of-the-middle-east","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-reactions-to-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict","tag-society-of-palestine","tag-synagogue","tag-u-s-news","tag-zionism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}