A New York City Council member and a state senator were among the more than 100 protesters arrested at a pro-Palestinian rally sponsored by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — where hostile demonstrators bellowed antisemitic chants and waved signs supporting the bloodthirsty Hamas terrorists.
Brooklyn state Sen. Jabari Brisport, 36, and City Council Member Shahana Hanif, 32, were busted Friday night after the group stormed Bryant Park and blocked traffic at the “Cease Fire Now Rally for Gaza.”
Unsettling video, shared by the Big Apple’s DSA chapter on X, shows hundreds of protestors shouting the anti-Israel chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
“They believe Israel shouldn’t exist. That is anti-Jewish as it gets,” State Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz (D-Bronx) fumed, as he slammed the progressive lawmakers from his own party for participating in a march that advocated for the annihilation of the Jewish state.
State Sen. Jabari Brisport, 36, was among the many who flooded the streets of Midtown to show Palestinian support. J.C. Rice / NY Post
City Council Member Shahana Hanif, who represents parts of Brooklyn, said she and two of her team members were taken into custody by the NYPD. Instagram“They believe every Jew in Israel should be dead. It’s disgusting. I don’t know why they’re in the Democratic Party. They’re apologists for Hamas.”
Photos also show a protestor displaying a sign reading, “I DO NOT CONDEMN HAMAS.”
The executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis called the DSA’s participation in the rally “unconscionable.”
“They have no moral compass. They have shown us who they are,” Rabbi Joseph Potasnik told The Post. “On Election Day we must show them who we are. They can’t even bring themselves to condemn Hamas.”
Meanwhile, both politicians even took to social media to boast about being handcuffed at the rally.
A protester holds a sign saying, “No, I do not condemn Hamas” during the protest.
“A ceasefire is the only way to bring all hostages home! #ReleaseTheHostages!” Hanif wrote on Instagram. “I am proud to echo the calls for peace made by so many of my Palestinian, Muslim and Jewish neighbors. We have seen enough bloodshed, we need our elected officials in every level of government to demand a ceasefire now.” @ShahanaFromBK / X
More than 100 people were arrested at the Friday rally in Midtown. @JabariBrisport / X“Last night I was arrested with 100+ peace activists calling for an immediate ceasefire. We will not let our leaders repeat the mistakes of the past by escalating this war,” Brisport wrote on X Saturday.
Hanif — who represents the council’s 39nd District covering Park Slope and other parts of central Brooklyn — revealed she and two of her team members were taken into custody by the NYPD.
“A ceasefire is the only way to bring all hostages home! #ReleaseTheHostages!” she wrote on Instagram. “I am proud to echo the calls for peace made by so many of my Palestinian, Muslim and Jewish neighbors. We have seen enough bloodshed, we need our elected officials in every level of government to demand a ceasefire now.”
Hanif called for Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to “support a ceasefire in Gaza.” @JabariBrisport / XHanif called for US Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to “support a ceasefire in Gaza” amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Jeremy Cohan, Co-Chair of NYC-DSA, said the rally was organized to “condemn the Israeli government’s ongoing bombardment in Gaza.”
“At a moment when Palestinians are being subjected to an ethnic cleansing funded by our government—on top of generations of apartheid and occupation that have already taken far too many Palestinian and Israeli lives—we New Yorkers must come together to prevent any more pain and death,” Cohan said in a statement.
At least 19 people were arrested a day later at an anti-Israel rally in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. @wolpalestine / Instagram“We won’t stop until this war ends: we demand our politicians support a ceasefire now.”
The mob began assembling in the park early Friday evening before protesters marched toward Gillibrand’s Midtown office.
Along the route, scores of demonstrators planted themselves on Fifth Avenue around 8 p.m., sitting in uniform lines across the busy road and ignoring requests from cops to stop blocking traffic.
The NYPD said a total of 139 people were taken into custody around 9:15 p.m. Friday and later released with criminal court summonses.
That rally preceded the “Flood Brooklyn for Palestine” demonstration in Bay Ridge on Saturday, when scores of protesters also blocked traffic, with some flooding a street for hours and clashing with police.
The Palestinian-led activist group Within Our Lifetime, which organized that rally, claimed attendees were “brutally attacked” by the NYPD, sharing a video on Instagram showing the moment several protesters were pushed to the ground in a chain reaction as an officer is seen throwing several punches.
Police said 16 protesters were arrested and issued criminal court summonses, while three others were taken into custody and released on desk appearance tickets. Three of the 16 were juveniles.
With additional reporting by Carl Campanile
