Mia Kurzer

On November 19, 2025, approximately 200 anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the Park East Synagogue in New York City to oppose an event being hosted inside the synagogue by Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN), a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting potential Jewish immigrants to Israel.

Many protesters wore keffiyehs over their faces, and they stood directly outside the synagogue and chanted in support of terrorism. Individual protesters threatened violence and reportedly shouted antisemitic slurs.

The protest was organized by the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation (PAL-AWDA NY/NJ) and promoted by the New York City chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), known as JVP NYC. The pro-Hamas group Within Our Lifetime (WOL) was reportedly also among the organizers.

Protest videos posted on X showed protestors chanting: “Resistance, you make us proud! Take another settler out!" Among anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” is a euphemism for nationalistic terror and is used to glorify and encourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.

Protesters also chanted: "Intifada, intifada! Long live Gaza! Say it loud, say it clear, we don't want no Zionists [here]!" The term “intifada” carries the connotation of terrorist violence.

Pro-Israel counterprotesters stood in front of the synagogue and were shouted at by the protesters. One threatened to slit a counterprotester's throat, while another reportedly shouted: "F**king Jewish pricks."

Another video showed protesters shouting: "Death, death, to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]!" and: "Go to hell! Go to hell!"

Fox News showed [00:00:35] protesters stomping on an Israeli flag and chanting [00:00:22]: "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free!", a chant used to call for the elimination of the State of Israel.

One day before the protest, PAL-AWDA NY/NJ posted a promotional flyer to X that said: “NO SETTLERS ON STOLEN LAND / PROTEST THE SETTLER RECRUITING FAIR." The flyer featured a photo of Jewish immigrants disembarking from a chartered NBN flight. On the front of the plane was the word "Jerusalem," which PAL-AWDA NY/NJ underlined and inserted text alleging: "Established in Europe."

One way that anti-Israel activists spread antisemitism is to claim that Jews do not descend from the ancient Israelites, but are allegedly white Europeans who lack a connection to the Land of Israel entirely. The same flyer also accused Israel of "Genocide," and referred to the IDF as the "IOF," a term meaning the "Israel Occupation Forces."

On November 24, 2025, PAL-AWDA NY/NJ posted on X: "It's our duty to protest NBN's role in the ongoing colonization of Palestine." The post had a graphic promoting a December 2, 2025, protest, and the post accused Israel of perpetrating an "ongoing genocide...illegal settlement and ethnic cleansing of Palestine." The graphic featured a sign that said: "F**k Israel."

On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped hundreds and wounded thousands. War crimes included mass rape and torture. Many Palestinian civilians participated in and supported the attacks, and Gazans working in the targeted Israeli communities gave intelligence to Hamas on where to strike.

CNN reported that in response to the protest, the spokesperson for New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said that Mamdani “believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation...and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law."

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 countries have adopted the definition as well.

There were over 200 pro-Hamas and anti-Israel college encampments set up in North America, and over 20 more globally, in the spring of 2024. The first began on April 17, 2024, at Columbia University. The encampments were unofficially known as the “student intifada,” borrowing a term associated with terrorist violence.

Protesters harassed Jewish students, blocked Jews from campus facilities and shouted anti-Semitic slogans. They occupied campus grounds, in many cases illegally, caused property damage, violently took over buildings, celebrated terrorism and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Activists set up encampments to oppose Israel’s right to wage war against the Hamas terror group following October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 people, including 32 American and 8 Canadian citizens. Hamas also kidnapped 252 people, including 11 Americans and the bodies of 2 murdered Canadians.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by pro-terror activist Omar Barghouti in 2005 to turn “Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.” Barghouti has also called for Israel's destruction and the BDS movement demands would result in that same goal.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been infiltrating university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments propose resolutions to boycott or divestment from Israel or Israeli-affiliated entities. BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents and pro-terror activism on campus.