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Edited by: Fern Sidman
In a strongly worded statement, the White House has condemned an anti-Israel protest that took place on Monday in New York City, where participants were seen waving flags of the Hamas terrorist organization. According to a report in The Times of Israel, the protest, which drew a crowd of approximately 7,000 people, resulted in four arrests following clashes with police. The demonstration has sparked a heated debate about the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States, particularly in the context of ongoing global tensions.
As was confirmed in a report in The New York Post on Monday, the chaotic demonstrators gathered at Union Square in Manhattan in the early afternoon and began their raucous march to Washington Square Park. Protesters displayed flags of Hamas, along with banners from, Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah, while chanting slogans such as “Free Palestine!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.” Hezbollah, an Iranian backed Lebanese terrorist group, has been consistently firing rockets into northern Israel since the brutal Hamas massacre of October 7th.
The atmosphere grew even more charged when a counter-protester appeared with an Israeli flag. According to the information in The Post report, almost immediately, the individual was subjected to verbal abuse from the crowd. “Throw it away, and put that piece of s–t in the garbage,” one anti-Israel demonstrator shouted, encapsulating the intense hostility towards symbols of Zionism. Chants of “Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want Zionists here!” echoed through the streets, further inflaming the situation. The counter-protester was also labeled a “baby-killer” by others, a derogatory accusation that has become increasingly common in the rhetoric surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, expressed the Biden-Harris administration’s unequivocal condemnation of the event. “As President Biden and Vice President Harris have said, there is absolutely no place in America for the poison of anti-Semitism – none,” Bates stated, as was reported by the TOI. The administration’s message was clear: any expression of support for Hamas, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, is utterly unacceptable and stands in stark opposition to American values.
Bates underscored the particularly egregious nature of the protest by highlighting its timing, which coincided with the funeral of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American hostage who was brutally murdered by Hamas. “It is especially heinous to express support for Hamas on the same day as the funeral for an innocent American hostage who they brutally murdered,” Bates added, as per the TOI report. The recovery of Goldberg-Polin’s body by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) over the weekend, along with the bodies of five other hostages, has further intensified the emotional and political weight of the administration’s response.
The protest in New York is not an isolated incident but part of a disturbing trend of rising anti-Semitism in the United States and around the world. The Biden administration has repeatedly voiced its commitment to combating this growing threat. The White House’s response to Monday’s protest is a reflection of a broader strategy to address the surge in hate crimes and discriminatory rhetoric, which has been exacerbated by global conflicts and domestic political polarization.
“This is a moment for all Americans to come together and stand against anti-Semitism and against the sickening hate and evil that Hamas represents,” Bates urged, as per the TOI report.
