Protesters Target Israeli Real Estate Event in NYC

Anti-Israel activists in New York City are planning another protest today, Monday, against an Israeli real estate event, days after a similar demonstration outside Park East Synagogue in Manhattan led to clashes with police and counter-protesters.

The Palestinian Assembly for Liberation Al-Awda in New York City and New Jersey, known as PAL-Awda NY/NJ, said Friday on Instagram that it was organizing a rally against a Great Israeli Real Estate event expected to be held in Flatbush. The group said it did not yet know the exact location, since the event organizers typically release the address shortly before the exposition begins.

PAL-Awda accused the real estate agencies involved of promoting property purchases in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, including Gush Etzion, Kfar Eldad and Karnei Shomron. The group also claimed the event violated housing and anti-discrimination laws because attendance was allegedly limited to Jews with particular political views.

The event website includes a field for synagogue affiliation, though it is not required. Listed locations include some communities in Judea and Samaria, but most of the locations advertised are within the Green Line.

Today’s planned protest follows a demonstration Tuesday outside Park East Synagogue, where another event by the same real estate organizers was held. PAL-Awda said after that protest that it remained committed to opposing similar sales events.

“Tuesday’s protest reminded these land thieving agents and their Zionist collaborators that we will continue to show up whenever and wherever these sales occur,” the group wrote Wednesday.

Police prevented demonstrators from approaching the synagogue, keeping them behind cordons for the roughly three-and-a-half-hour protest. There were no arrests, but the New York Police Department said an officer suffered a leg injury during a struggle over barriers and was taken to a hospital.

Video and reports from the protest showed demonstrators pushing against police lines, attempting to remove barriers and clashing with Israel supporters. One activist filmed herself confronting a woman carrying an Israeli flag, calling her a rapist. Protesters also chanted, “There is only one solution: Intifada, revolution,” and at least one Hezbollah flag was seen at the demonstration.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized the real estate event, saying he opposed the promotion of land sales in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria. Several city officials, however, condemned the protest and the activists’ violent rhetoric, particularly after the confrontation outside a synagogue and the chants calling for intifada.