Pro-Palestinian protesters staged a significant demonstration in New York City this weekend, tearing down American flags and replacing them with Palestinian ones. The incident also included vandalism at Grand Central Station and the New York Times.
The incidents were part of the “Flood Manhattan for Gaza” protest, which mirrored a similar demonstration in Brooklyn last month.
The protests included hundreds of people carrying Palestinian flags. Many of the demonstrators had their faces covered.
In one incident, the protesters shouted obscenities at a newspaper reporter, calling the journalist a “Zionist Pig.” Police had to separate the demonstrators from the reporter.
Video from Manhattan also showed protesters smashing the windows of a door at Grand Central Station, resulting in limited service on Friday.
The protesters marched from Columbus Circle to the offices of the New York Times, where some smeared the entrance with fake blood.
A photo from outside of the newspaper’s offices showed a New York Police Department (NYPD) cruiser with the words “FREE GAZA” painted on it.
Video from Friday night showed a man wearing a headscarf tearing down a number of American and United Nations flags at an intersection and replacing them with Palestinian banners.
Pro-Palestinian protesters honor Veterans Day in New York:
pic.twitter.com/gCSO55KbTP— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) November 11, 2023
Other protesters blocked a significant intersection in the city and refused to cooperate with police.
In other incidents, some of the protesters were involved in altercations with bystanders. An unknown number of protesters have been arrested for disorderly conduct.
During the demonstrations, some of the protesters lit an Israeli flag on fire.
The protesters chanted that they did not want “a Jewish state.” “Settlers, settlers go back home! Palestine is ours alone!” the group shouted.
Other protesters shouted for the Jewish state to “go to hell.”
The protesters also chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This is a commonly used phrase often associated with a desire to end the state of Israel.
An estimated 2,000 people took part in the protest.
