An anti-Israel mob descended on a Big Apple synagogue and Jewish school Thursday night — screaming “we support Hamas,” a sickening video shows.
Roughly 200 protesters were caught on camera chanting support for the terrorist organization as they waved Palestinian flags outside the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills synagogue in Queens.
“Say it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here,” the group could be heard shouting as cops barricaded them across the street from the synagogue.
On the opposite side of the street, a crowd of about 50 furious counter-protesters waved Israeli flags as they chanted, “USA, USA, USA” in an attempt to drown them out.
The disturbing scene was quickly condemned by Jewish leaders and politicians – as some state and city lawmakers are pushing to enact protest buffer zones around houses of worship.
The protest was organized by the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation PAL-Awda to decry the sale of “stolen” land in the West Bank.
Their “all out” call drew a crowd of demonstrators, including Neturei Karta, a group of anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews, who joined in the pro-Hamas chants.
The crowd passed around cans of “Palestine Cola,” a Swedish soft drink company that supports the Palestinian cause.
The protesters eventually scattered after roughly two hours, trailed by pro-Israel counter-demonstrators who appeared to be spoiling for a direct confrontation.
Assemblyman Sam Berger, a Queens Democrat whose district covers Kew Garden Hills, said the anti-Israel mob had to be “sequestered to a residential block, away from the synagogue and two schools they came to harass.”
“I am horrified for the young Jewish families I know who live on that block, huddled with their small children in the late hours of the night as agitators yelled their support for a terrorist organization with a bloody history of murdering Jews,” he said.
The same Pal-Awda group had previously stoked outrage when they stormed the prominent Park East Synagogue in Manhattan in November as they chanted “Globalize the intifada” and called for the “resistance” to “take another settler out.”
During that incident, roughly 200 protesters descended on the synagogue and heckled Jews attending an event by Nefesh B’nefesh — a Zionist organization that helps Jews immigrate to Israel.
The backlash prompted New York lawmakers, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, to push a ban for protests within 25 feet of houses of worship.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization that calls for the genocide of Jews,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in an X post Friday, responding to the vile chant at the latest protest.
“No matter your political beliefs, this type of rhetoric is disgusting, it’s dangerous, and it has no place in New York.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) ripped the demonstration as “insane.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a vocal critic of Israel who has faced fire for failing to condemn the “globalize the intifada” rallying cry, also took aim at the Hamas-supporting chants.
“I think that that language is wrong,” he told a Post reporter on Friday, while leaving a public event in Brooklyn. “I think that language has no place in New York City.”
The mayor’s condemnation still came after a torrent of pols – including his predecessor Eric Adams – had already angrily weighed in.
After drawing fire for revoking Adams’ executive orders focused on antisemitism, Mamdani re-issued a directive to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch to look into creating safe perimeters around houses of worship for protesters.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who is the body’s first Jewish leader, has said she wants go further by putting the cordons into the city’s laws.
“Openly and proudly sympathizing with Hamas, especially while standing in the largely Jewish community of Kew Gardens Hills, stokes fear and division,” she posted on X about the protest.
“I will continue to fight against vile antisemitism such as this, and I urge everyone to come together at this time to combat rising hatred in all its forms.”
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