Anti-Israel agitators clash with NYPD officers near synagogue

Anti-Israel agitators clashed with law enforcement outside a Manhattan synagogue on Tuesday night as pro-Israel demonstrators waved Israeli and American flags nearby.

Footage from the protest shows New York City police officers shoving the anti-Israel group back to create a street-wide separation between the two groups. The group waving Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyehs numbered roughly 100 and could be heard repeatedly shouting, "Israel should not exist."

The anti-Israel group, gathered less than a block from the Park East Synagogue, chanted, "Palestine will never die," and, "Stop the sale of stolen land."

The organizer of the protest was the anti-Israel group Pal-Awda NY/NJ, which previously organized a similar demonstration outside the same synagogue in November, according to the New York Post.

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It was in response to that protest that the New York City Council passed legislation allowing the NYPD to place barriers around synagogues to protect congregants from protesters. Police at Tuesday night's clash were seen enforcing that barrier.

The council passed the legislation with a veto-proof 44-5 majority, but NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani refused to sign the legislation, instead dragging it out until an April 25 deadline when it automatically became law, the Post reported.

The Anti-Defamation League released an annual report on Wednesday morning that found 2025 "marked one of the most violent periods for American Jews."

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Assaults against Jews rose to 203 from 196 compared to the year before, and assaults with deadly weapons rose from 23 to 32.

The group did find that non-violent antisemitic incidents, including incidents of harassment and vandalism, were down 39% and 21% since 2024 respectively.

"Our 2025 Audit, which shows it was one of the most violent years for American Jews on record is a reminder of how dramatically the threat landscape has shifted. Numbers that would have shocked us five years ago are now our floor," said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

The ADL audit includes both criminal and non-criminal acts of harassment, vandalism and assault against individuals and groups as reported to ADL by victims, law enforcement, the media and partner organizations, and evaluated by ADL's experts, the group says.