A small group of pro-Palestine protesters convened in Brooklyn on Monday night to condemn the actions of a group of pro-Israeli counter-protesters who beat a woman verbally and physically last week.
The dozens of pro-Palestinian Group set out for the Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights, the focus of duel protests that were attacked on the woman on Thursday.
Police were filled with streets, and some policemen stood in a line while holding bicycles, blocking the intersection. As the crowd began to flow into the street, a policeman recorded directed protesters to return to the sidewalk or face arrest.
A man was arrested near the Central Library shortly before 9 p.m., and the protests were peaceful and police stopped the group from reaching its scheduled destination.
The protest fliers quoted two other attacks that took place during the Crown Heights protests. Mayor Eric Adams said on Sunday night that the second woman was separated from other pro-Palestinian protesters and was harassed by counter-protesters. Mr. Adams said she was injured in the encounter.
Erin Williams, 37, is among those in the crowd. Ms Williams, who lives in Crown Heights, said the attack on the two women inspired her to join the protests.
“It’s not that I need care near me, but the last straw,” she said. “I’ve defended Israel when I saw a mob with 100 men threatening to rape a woman. I’m on the street.”
Police said they are investigating the attack on the first woman. The woman, who has not yet been publicly identified but issued a statement to The New York Times, said the attack happened after she was wandering at the protest scene due to the appearance of far-right Israeli officials at Lubavic headquarters.
Israeli National Security Minister Itama Ben-Gvir officials embraced racist anti-Arab views and strongly opposed the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. His speech on Thursday attracted a small group of Pro-Palstinian protesters and more pro-Israeli counterattackers, according to videos posted online by people in both camps.
In a statement to the Times, the woman said a large number of ultra-Orthodox Jews kicked her, threw things at her, threatened to rape her, and abandoned her gender, racist and anti-Arab abuse. Her account is consistent with videos of events that are widely shared online.
Thanks to strong provocative factors: the presence of Mr. Ben-Gvir, whose presence has been considered a political extremist in Israel for decades; it is located on Eastern Avenue outside Chabad headquarters, a precious location in the Hasidic Jewish community; and attacks on female bystanders.
As the attack spread, activists posted calls for protests on social media on Monday.
Organizers said their plan was “not welcome here, and Zionism was not welcomed to flood the streets of the Crown Heights.”
Protests against both sides of the Israel-Palestinian conflict have become common after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza.
According to the police department, there have been about 2,400 related protests since the war began, with 400 protests only in the past four months. According to the data, an estimated 29,500 people have participated in the protests since January 1.
At one point during Thursday’s protests, hundreds of men and boys in Hasidic costumes surrounded the woman, according to police and videotapes.
In a statement to The Times, the woman said she was not involved in the protests, but watched with neighbors as people started filming and pulled a scarf on her face. She asked her name not to be afraid of retribution.
The woman said she was soon surrounded by angry crowds and approached a group of police officers for protection. The video show shows the crowd began chanting “Arabian death” in Hebrew and followed her and an officer who started escorting her.
Many also shouted racism and gender discrimination to women when others pushed her. Video shows at least one person threw an orange building cone over her head before the officer was able to take her into the police car.
Rabbi Motti Seligson, spokesman for Chabad Lubavitch World, said the group condemned “rough language and violence” during the demonstrations, although he attributed it to “a small group of young people.”
“This action is totally unacceptable, completely contrary to the Torah values,” Seligson said in a statement. “This is further emphasized by the fact that a bystander who may not interact is pulled into melee.”
Scott Richman, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, responded to the sentiment, calling the incidents “totally unacceptable and shocking.”
He added: “No one should be criticized for harassment or violence because of their perceived views, nor should they be yelled in synagogues with anti-Semitic slander or accusations of genocide.”
The attack was also condemned by groups criticizing Israel. Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy director of the U.S. Council on Islamic Relations, said the group condemned “the violent mob of pro-Israel racists who hunted and attacked a woman on the streets of New York City.”
“It is impossible to separate the hatred, violent attacks of the mob from the ideology that Ben-Gvir has been promoted,” said Jews of Left-leaning activists in a statement.
Mr. Ben-Gvir has spent decades on the political brink of Israel and has made a quick impact in recent years as part of the coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In 1995, he first appeared on TV and threatened the life of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which first attracted public attention in Israel in 1995. A few weeks later, Mr. Rabin was assassinated by right-wing extremist Yigal Amir, who opposed the Prime Minister’s involvement in the Oslo peace process.
Mr. Ben-Gvir was also banned from serving in the Israeli army because of his political views, a country where most people perform military service through rituals.
For years he was known for keeping a portrait at the home of his Brooklyn man, Baruch Goldstein, who killed 29 Palestinians in a 1994 massacre at a mosque on the West Bank.
His visit to the United States was interrupted by frequent protests.
Hundreds of protesters were in New Haven, Connecticut on Wednesday.
Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat and representative of the House of Representatives’ longest-serving Jewish, appeared outside a Manhattan restaurant where Mr. Ben-Gvir spoke on Thursday.
Mr. Nadler announced in the joining of several Rabbis and Brad Lander, city auditor and mayoral candidates that he would introduce legislation aimed at imposing economic sanctions against Israeli settlers who committed violence in the West Bank.
Another protest against Mr. Ben Givell was held Sunday in front of the Edmond J. Safra synagogue in Gravesend, Brooklyn, according to police and videotapes.
According to two synagogue members, that synagogue was across the street from the House of Representatives, Shaare Zion. Members said his speech was scheduled to be cancelled at around 9:30 a.m.
Cassidy Jensen and Molly Longman Contribution report.
