Two years after Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist assault — the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust — Manhattan’s streets echoed with a different kind of outrage.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside News Corp’s headquarters — home to The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and The New York Post — chanting the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a phrase widely condemned as antisemitic for implying the eradication of Israel.
Wearing keffiyehs and masks, demonstrators carried signs reading “Long Live the Intifada,” “Israel has the right to go to Hell,” and “Glory to our Martyrs.” Others waved flags featuring rifles and jihadist imagery while shouting, “It is right to resist, Israel does not exist.”
The protest, billed as a show of solidarity with Gaza, quickly devolved into chaos. Protesters blocked traffic, vandalized vehicles — including a Tesla tagged with “Free Palestine” in pink marker — and clashed with bystanders. Some even attempted to storm Columbus Circle before being stopped by security.
On the sidelines, a handful of Jewish counter-protesters tried to make their voices heard, chanting “Release the hostages!”—a somber reminder of those still held captive by Hamas.
What unfolded in Midtown was not a call for peace or justice, but a disturbing display of open antisemitism masquerading as activism. Instead of condemning Hamas’ atrocities, many demonstrators glorified violence, revealing how anti-Israel sentiment in parts of the West has curdled into outright hate.
Two years after the slaughter of more than 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians, the question lingers: when did “solidarity” become a rallying cry for destruction?
