Activists clash with NYPD while protesting Mamdani-opposed Israeli real estate event at Manhattan synagogue

Roughly 100 keffiyeh-wrapped activists waving Palestinian flags, banging drums, and shouting antisemitic slogans gathered near Park East Synagogue on East 67th Street, where The Great Israeli Real Estate Event was being held to promote real estate sales by Americans in Israel. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani opposed the event, with a spokesman from his office, Sam Raskin, telling The Intercept "Mayor Mamdani is deeply opposed to the real estate expo this evening that includes the promotion of the sale of land in settlements in the Occupied West Bank. These settlements are illegal under international law and deeply tied to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians."

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Video from the scene showed protesters chanting “Palestine will never die” as police barricades sealed off the area surrounding the synagogue. Officers ordered the crowd to “step back” while pushing the radicals onto the sidewalk after some tried to force their way past barriers.

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According to The New York Post, one NYPD officer suffered a leg injury and was hospitalized, police said. No arrests were made.

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“They’re a bunch of brainwashed fools,” Karen Lichtbraun, co-sponsor of Herut New York City, told the outlet. “Israel does not occupy anything. It’s the Jewish homeland. And this is all anti-Zionism, which is antisemitism, which is Jew hate.”

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The protest was organized by radical anti-Israel group Pal-Awda NY/NJ, which promoted the violence under slogans including “No settlers on stolen land” and “Stop the sale of stolen Palestinian land.” The group urged attendees to bring “flags, keffiyehs, and noisemakers.”

In November, the same antisemitic group organized a violent riot outside the same synagogue. That earlier violence prompted City Council Speaker Julie Menin to push legislation requiring the NYPD to craft security plans around houses of worship when demonstrations threaten access or safety. The bill passed with a veto-proof 44-5 majority and became law automatically on April 25.

“As the City Council made clear in passing our safe access legislation with overwhelming support, safe access to the building should be ensured while fully protecting the right to peaceful protest,” a spokesman for Menin told the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS).

Rabbi Josh Joseph of the Orthodox Union told the outlet, “The Mayor has a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of Jewish New Yorkers.”

Rabbi Yeruchim Silber of Agudath Israel of America said, “No one should face intimidation or harassment when entering a house of worship.” He continued, “This is not only unacceptable. It is a direct affront to the most basic constitutional freedoms.”