Logo

A hateful mob of anti-Israel protesters descended on a prominent New York City synagogue Wednesday night, chanting “Globalize the intifada” and sinisterly urging the “resistance” to “take another settler out.”

Some 200 demonstrators gathered outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan and heckled Jews attending an event by Nefesh B’nefesh, a Zionist organization that helps Jews immigrate to Israel, according to the Times of Israel.

“It is our duty to make them think twice before holding these events,” one protest leader told the crowd.


  Anti-Israel protesters outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan. Yoav Ginsburg/ZUMA / SplashNews.com Anti-Israel protesters outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan. Yoav Ginsburg/ZUMA / SplashNews.com

“We need to make them scared. We need to make them scared. We need to make them scared,” the agitator repeated emphatically.

The crowd also chanted “From New York to Gaza, globalize the intifada” to the beat of a drum.

“Resistance you make us proud, take another settler out,” the hate-filled group chanted at one point, video shows.

The demonstration was roundly criticized by Jewish leaders and elected officials across the city, including Park East Senior Rabbi Arthur Schneier, who has led the congregation for five decades.

“The violent scene in front of Park East Synagogue is a reminder, a warning not to be silent. No house of worship should be subjected to this type of demonstration,” the 95-year-old Holocaust survivor told The Post on Thursday.


  Some 200 demonstrators gathered outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan and heckled Jews attending an event by Nefesh B’nefesh. Yoav Ginsburg/ZUMA / SplashNews.com Some 200 demonstrators gathered outside the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan and heckled Jews attending an event by Nefesh B’nefesh. Yoav Ginsburg/ZUMA / SplashNews.com

Park East Synagogue Cantor Benny Rogosnitzky on Thursday called the display “very disturbing.”

“And while the right to protest is an inherent right, last night was very disturbing… the sort of language that you never want to hear at a protest on either side,” he told The Post. claiming the chants made by pro-Palestinian group were chants like “Kill the Jews” and “Destroy Israel.” 

“And a lot of people were very, very concerned in the community about those protests and about what was being chanted at them.”

Mayor Eric Adams also condemned the protest, calling it “totally unacceptable no matter your faith or background.” He said he would visit the institution when he’s back from his trip abroad.


  Anti-Israel protesters gather outside a prominent synagogue in Manhattan on November 19, 2025. Yoav Ginsburg/ZUMA Press Wire Anti-Israel protesters gather outside a prominent synagogue in Manhattan on November 19, 2025. Yoav Ginsburg/ZUMA Press Wire

“This type of protest and vile language should concern us all,” Adams said on X. “When you desecrate one house of worship, you desecrate them all.”

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani offered a softer statement against the demonstrators while criticizing the event taking place at the synagogue.

“The Mayor-elect has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so,” a transition team spokesperson said in a statement.

“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.”


  The large crowd chanted “From New York to Gaza, globalize the intifada” to the beat of a drum. Yoav Ginsburg/ZUMA Press Wire The large crowd chanted “From New York to Gaza, globalize the intifada” to the beat of a drum. Yoav Ginsburg/ZUMA Press Wire

The protest was led by the anti-Israel activist group Pal-Awda NY/NJ group, which advertised the event as “No settlers on stolen land” and “Protest to stop the settler recruiting fair.”

Nefesh B’nefesh, which promotes immigration to Israel from North America, does not have official links to settlements in the West Bank but showcases information on settlements like Gush Etzion, according to Israeli news outlet Haaretz.

Much of the international community believes settlements in the West Bank are illegal – in contrast with the position of Israel and the United States.

A Jewish counter-protest assembled in the front of the synagogue and yelled back, “You’re cowards,” and blasted them for “protesting at a synagogue.”

Videos show NYPD officers at the scene separating the two groups behind a metal barricade, but no arrests were reported, according to the department.

Rogosnitzky, who is also the director of the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Park East Day School, said congregants appreciated the cops turned out in “full force” – and hopes that type of response remains when Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani takes office.

“We hope that the incoming mayor will continue the same line of reinforcing the NYPD, supporting them while allowing peaceful protests, not allowing protests where people are attacked or feel threatened in any way,” he said.

Pal-Awda NY/NJ, which spearheaded the rally, regularly spews anti-Israel comments on social media and even hailed the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel on the second anniversary of the deadly sneak assault by Hamas.


  Anti-Israel protesters stood outside a prominent Manhattan synagogue on November 19, 2025. SARAH YENESEL/EPA/Shutterstock Anti-Israel protesters stood outside a prominent Manhattan synagogue on November 19, 2025. SARAH YENESEL/EPA/Shutterstock

“Two years ago today, the Palestinian Resistance broke the gates of the world’s largest open-air prison, disrupting the norm of decades of dispossession and apartheid imposed by ‘Israel,’” the group wrote on Twitter this year. 

Nefesh B’nefesh carried on with the event inside the synagogue, welcoming attendees at a table near the front door, the Times of Israel reported.

“The fact that a mob can say antisemitic slurs in front of a synagogue, or anywhere if it’s ‘kill Jews’ and ‘destroy Israel’ and things like that, you know, that’s very, very bad,” said Synagogue congregant Paul Atler, 73.

The retiree said Mamdani — who has been criticized for anti-Israel comments and a threat to arrest Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he steps foot in the city — needs to stand against rising antisemitism across the state and country.

“I am very worried about the use of antisemitism in the country in general, and in New York in particular because I am a New Yorker through and through and I’m hoping that the new mayor will stand up against antisemitism,” he said, “and I’m concerned about that.”

The Park East Synagogue has been at its location since 1890.

Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy