Hordes of pro-Palestine demonstrators have been slammed for flooding New York City streets on the second anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks in Israel. Protestors across many Western countries, including the US and Canada, have spent the day marching to “honor the martyrs of Gaza,” as Israel and Hamas continue ceasefire talks in Egypt.
In NYC, hundreds of protestors gathered in front of the Fox News building in Midtown and on college campuses, waving Palestinian flags and chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Activist Mahmoud Khalil, known for his leading role in the divisive 2024 Columbia University pro-Gaza protests, was a vocal figure in Tuesday’s events.
The former Columbia University graduate student, who was previously threatened with deportation, was seen speaking to other protestors in front of the prestigious college. “Our struggle did not start last year or the year before. It started by the inception of the Zionist ideology, back in the 19th century,” the Syrian native with roots in Palestine said. “On the racist idea that a land without a people for people without a land. This is a very racist idea that we see today.”
He described Israel as “stolen” land and asserted that he “will not be silenced.”
However, these protests have been heavily criticized as insensitive and antisemitic, particularly given that exactly two years ago, Hamas killed more than 1,200 innocent Israelis. Shocking videos from the protests show demonstrators stomping on Israeli flags and shouting, “Long live October 7th.”
“I think that hosting protests on October 7 is nothing less than sympathizing with a terrorist organization,” Ilan Sinelnikov, the President of the Students Supporting Israel national organization, told the Daily Mail. He continued:
“1,200 people were killed in a matter of eight hours. I have seen fliers from different clubs across the country who are celebrating this. I think it’s a provocation, it’s glorifying and sympathizing with terrorism. All over the world there are anti-Israel protests.”
Baruch Apisdorf, the CEO of Lets Do Something, a pro-Israel group founded after the October 7 attacks, described the harrowing terrorist attack as the “only terror attack in history where the victims were blamed.” He added, “We need to think about why that is.”
On Monday, Columbia University’s Butler Lawn was lined with 1,205 empty chairs, symbolizing the lives lost in the October 7 massacre. Lets Do Something set up the tear-jerking memorial. Last year, the lawn was overtaken by a pro-Palestine tent city, which became the scene of clashes between protestors and Jewish students.
“From what we were expecting and what we have all seen on the Columbia University campus the last two years, we got a positive response [to the memorial],” Apisdorf, whose best friend, David Newman, was killed in the October 7 attacks, told the Daily Mail.
“The worst reactions we got were from professors. We had a few who were coming up and saying, ‘How could you do this? There have been 60,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza and you are genociders.’ It’s pretty absurd to me that they would say that. There are a lot of students and professors involved in the Jew hatred.”
Apisdorf shared that he and Newman met when they were just 14 years old. While Newman was from the US, he did some schooling in Israel, which is how the pair met. They were inseparable until Newman was horrifically killed two years ago at the Nova music festival.
Apisdorf revealed he was texting Newman in his final moments. Newman’s last message to his friend, sent as he hid in a dumpster from the assailants, was “praying for dear life.” He was soon found and shot dead.
Beyond the university, Tuesday’s protestors adamantly expressed their stance against Israel through their sentiments and signs. One sign, painted to look like a street sign, read “F**k Israel Ln.” Other banners flaunted in front of the Fox News building read “An injury to Palestine is an injury to all” and “We honor all our martyrs.”
Many of the demonstrators were seen with their faces covered with masks and sunglasses.
Just as Apisdorf and Sinelnikov viewed the pro-Palestine demonstrations as anti-Israel, other critics denounced the activities online.
“They just LOVE the death of Jews,” one X user said in reaction to a video of the shouting crowd in front of the Fox News building, which featured yet another sign reading, “F**k Israel.”
It has now been two years since thousands of Hamas-led militants poured into southern Israel after a surprise barrage of rockets. They stormed army bases, farming communities, and the Nova music festival, killing 1,205 people, including 38 children, 736 Israeli civilians, and 379 members of the security forces.
Hamas also abducted 251 more people, some of whom have been released through ceasefire deals, while many died in captivity.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15171661/