Hundreds of pro-Palestine demonstrators took to the streets of New York City on Monday, declaring that “Christmas is canceled” in protest of the Israel-Hamas war. The disruptive procession, which carried a bloodstained Nativity scene and chanted slogans accusing Israel of genocide, also violently clashed with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), resulting in a level-three law enforcement mobilization and multiple arrests.
Beginning in Midtown and advancing towards the holiday festivities at Rockefeller Center, an estimated 500 protesters paraded through the streets, chanting “Christmas is canceled here” and “Long live the intifada” (the Arabic word for “uprising”). Signs seen among the crowd read “While ur shopping, bombs are dropping” and “No Joy in Genocide,” which was displayed over a statue of the infant Christ and the Virgin Mary splattered with fake blood.
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As night fell, confrontations with police escalated, resulting in the NYPD issuing a level three mobilization to deploy additional officers. As chants of “NYPD, KKK, IDF they’re all the same” rang out near St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, scuffles between police and protesters broke out. Clashes were also reported near Union Square and Grand Central Station, including one incident in which an officer was punched in the throat.
🚨#BREAKING: NYPD Calls for Level Three Mobilization Amidst Numerous Fights Between Pro-Palestine Protesters and Police at a Large Protest⁰
📌#Manhattan l #NewYorkCurrently, the New York Police Department has requested a Level Three mobilization for a large protest that is… pic.twitter.com/j2ZAUvERF3
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) December 25, 2023
Eventually, the crowd dispersed, leaving the area littered with “Zionism is terrorism” and “Free Palestine” flyers and the nearby buildings defaced with graffiti declaring that “Israel kills babies” and “Netanyahu is a warmonger.”
At least six arrests—four for disorderly conduct, one for menacing, and one for graffiti—were reported, but the total number of individuals arrested in connection with the protest has not been made public.
Since the Oct. 7th Hamas attack on Israel, similar scenes have played out across the United States, with New York being a particular hotbed for large-scale demonstrations. In recent months, protesters have made a point of disrupting holiday festivities, calling attention to their cause by disrupting the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting and gluing themselves to the pavement to block the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
In the nation’s capital, pro-Palestine mobs have also stormed the Capitol rotunda, besieged the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters, and vandalized the gates of the White House.
According to early reports circulated on Tuesday, another pro-Palestine group is planning a demonstration at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC later this week.
Pro-Palestinian protesters are planning to storm a Holocaust Museum. Are we still pretending this is about Israel? pic.twitter.com/pAGuSN6sva
— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) December 26, 2023
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