>Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protestors gathered at Times Square on Sunday, October 8, amid the deadliest escalation of the decades-long conflict with Israel. Tensions ran high as dozens of counter-protestors in support of Israel also turned out, with verbal clashes between both sides continuing until the late afternoon. While one side demanded freedom from the occupation of Palestine, the other was condemning the recent attack on Israel by the Islamist militant group, Hamas.
On Saturday, October 7, the militant group Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, launched an attack on Israel with a series of rocket strikes that hit major cities across the country. Militants entered southern Israel, taking captives back to Gaza and killing hundreds more. In retaliation, Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza, with their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring war with Hamas. Since the attack on Israel, over a thousand people have been killed on both sides of the conflict. Palestinians have suffered another five thousand people injured, with over one million civilians in Gaza now forced to evacuate.
A Palestinian woman attended the rally with her daughter of around 10-years-old. “We feel that enough is enough, we’re just asking for justice,” the mother, Gigi, said. “We want peace. Palestinians have suffered for so many years. A lot of people have died or been displaced from their homes, and we are all fed up,” she added.
Metal barricades and police officers separated the groups of protesters in Times Square as they continuously shouted at each other. A few pro-Palestine men were seen running towards the side of the Israeli counter-protestors, in an attempt to start a physical fight — the police were quick to break up the altercations. Later in the afternoon, the demonstrators and counter-protestors marched east towards the UN Headquarters, where another pro-Israel rally had gathered.
Pro-Palestinian men were seen stomping on Israeli flags. Another held up an image of a swastika. Both sides were yelling insults and displaying offensive hand gestures, with the pro-Palestinian demonstrators chanting phrases like, “Free Palestine, Stop the Killing” and, “Israel’s a terror state,” while Israel’s supporters shouted, “Shame on you,” and called the demonstrators “Terrorist supporters.”
The demonstration in solidarity with Palestine, organized by the New York branch of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), was met with some condemnation by elected officials. New York Democrats themselves seemed to be divided on the issue, with some reprimanding the demonstration for being held so soon after the Hamas militants’ attack on Israel. Ritchie Torres, a Democratic U.S. Representative for New York, denounced the rally saying it was “glorifying the terrorism of Hamas as ‘resistance’,” in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
An Israeli family attended the demonstration with their two young daughters. The family had spent over a month on holiday in New York City, when the Hamas militants attacked their country. “We’re shocked,” said the father, who only shared his first name, Daniel. “We’ve been [at war] with them for many years, but this is the first time they have crossed the line, doing horrible things.” The family’s flight back home was originally scheduled for the date after the attack. They postponed their return out of concern for their safety. “In the future we need to live together as good neighbors, but they have to behave like human beings and not kill people and kidnap kids,” said the father. “Hopefully it will happen someday.”
People from different parts of the world showed their solidarity with Palestinians at the rally in New York City. “We are doing the bare minimum in giving them our voice to support their cause, as their brothers and sisters from all over the world,” said a young German man, who is an alumnus of New York University.
“If I was trapped in an open-air prison for decades, I’d want to take up arms, too,” said another man wearing a sweatshirt with the phrase, “Fight the Power.”
The demonstrators also gathered attention from New York residents, who were simply passing through Times Square at the time of the protests. While some rushed to get out of the crowds, others stopped and listened as chants from both sides echoed through the busy streets.
A mother with her two kids was quickly making her way around the mass of protestors, when her young son asked, “Mom, what is this?” In a hurry to get her children to a safer space she answered, “They’re just trying to fix the problems in the world.”