Anti-Israel Mob Holds Protest at NYC Exhibit that Remembers the Nova Festival Victims

Anti-Israel Mob Holds Protest at NYC Exhibit that Remembers the Nova Festival Victims

By: Fern Sidman

On Monday night, a mob of anti-Israel protesters staged a rally outside a downtown Manhattan exhibit memorializing the victims of the Nova Music Festival massacre, where 364 attendees were killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7, according to a report on Monday in The New York Post. This protest, marked by extreme rhetoric and violence, has drawn significant condemnation from various quarters.

Anti-Israel bigots are protesting the Nova Music Festival Exhibition, which seeks to commemorate the lives of the hundreds of young Jews barbarically murdered by Hamas on October 7th.

These bigots deny the massacre at the Nova Music Festival, calling it “Zionist propaganda.”… pic.twitter.com/8eD9lZXPr0

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) June 11, 2024

The protest took place outside the Nova Music Festival Exhibition on Wall Street, an event dedicated to commemorating the lives lost in the brutal attack by Hamas. Video footage from the scene reveals a crowd of protesters chanting inflammatory slogans, such as “Long Live the Intifada” and “Israel go to hell,” The Post report said. Additionally, the protesters waved a flag associated with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group, and lit red flares, further escalating the tension.

#HappeningNow Smoke bombs and flares set off outside of the Nova Exhibition, the October 7th Music Festival exhibit taking place on Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. pic.twitter.com/kUKpktTUmk

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) June 11, 2024

The protest organized by Within Our Lifetime began in Union Square, where demonstrators unfurled a banner proclaiming “Long live October 7th,” according to social media footage. The protest was reportedly organized as part of a “citywide day of rage for Gaza.” This context suggests a broader, coordinated effort to express opposition to Israeli policies and actions. However, the choice of location and the nature of the slogans have been perceived by many as deeply disrespectful and incendiary, particularly given the recent massacre’s context.

Unveiled in April, the Nova Exhibit aims to give New Yorkers a visceral understanding of the terror inflicted by Hamas on October 7. The report in The Post said that according to its website, “The installation sets out to recreate an event dedicated to peace and love that was brutally cut short by Hamas’s attack on Israel from Gaza on that fateful day.” The exhibit, which is expected to run through the end of this week, serves as a poignant reminder of the lives lost and the trauma endured. In addition to commemorating the hundreds of concert-goers killed, the exhibit sheds light on the broader atrocities committed during the attack. As per The Post report, in March, a United Nations envoy reported “reasonable grounds” that Hamas terrorists committed rape and “sexualized torture” during the assault, further highlighting the brutality of the event.

In NYC an exhibition remembering the Nova Festival music festival massacre on #October7 is protested by pro war demagogues waving Hezbollah flags, calling it Zionist propaganda and “Long live the intifada”#AntizionismisAntisemitism always and foreverpic.twitter.com/h8bYFhWRgD

— Daniel D. Moses 🎥🎗️ דניאל (@danieldmoses) June 11, 2024

The response to the protest was swift and pointed. Aviva Klompas, a former speechwriter for the Israeli government, expressed her horror on social media, questioning the moral compass of those who would protest at such a sensitive site. “How utterly evil do you have to be to protest outside a site that memorializes the 1,200 victims of October 7?” she tweeted, The Post report noted.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine also condemned the protest in unequivocal terms. He described the targeting of the exhibition as “repulsive and vile,” emphasizing that such actions are antithetical to any genuine pursuit of peace, as per the information provided in The Post report. His condemnation was echoed by New York GOP Rep. Michael Lawler, who labeled the protesters’ actions as “disgusting.”

Joel Petlin, superintendent of the Kiryas Joel School District, provided a poignant commentary on the motivations behind the protest. The Post report indicated that he asserted that there was only one reason for the choice of location: to insult the memory of those who perished in the massacre.  “They support the terrorists who perpetrated it, and they want it to happen again,“ he said.

#NOW Protesters unfurl banner that reads “Long Live October 7th” in Union Square NYC pic.twitter.com/UH82UL92Vf

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) June 10, 2024

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, previously stated that calls for intifada are essentially calls for violence against Israelis and Jews.

A few blocks from the Nova Exhibit, tensions flared in Zuccotti Park, a location synonymous with protest and civil disobedience, the Post reported. Here, an individual purportedly supporting Israel was surrounded and taunted by about a dozen protesters who labeled him a “Zionist.”

Throughout the protest, there were several flashpoints of conflict between police and demonstrators. One significant standoff occurred when police demanded that protesters move outside the barriers lining the street. As was indicated in The Post report, the situation escalated as several smoke bombs were set off, and the yellow-and-green flag of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist organization, was prominently raised. These actions not only heightened the immediate tension but also symbolized broader geopolitical alignments and hostilities.