New York City’s Times Square erupted in shades of green, red, white, and black on Friday afternoon, as thousands of people rallied in a passionate show of support for Palestinians.
The protest, titled “All Out For Palestine,” came amid warnings that Israeli forces were preparing to launch an imminent ground invasion on northern Gaza following days of intense bombardments on the densely populated area, likened to an open-air prison, that left over 1,400 dead, including 447 children.
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Israel declared war one week ago, after Hamas stormed through the Gaza fence and massacred over 1,000 people including children and took numerous hostages.
“We’re here to have a peaceful protest,” said Arwa Ledall, 20, an undergrad student at City University of New York (CUNY) studying digital art. “We want the world to know the truth, and Hamas doesn’t necessarily represent Palestine. We are here to support the Palestinian people, not Hamas, and also we’re here to represent because Palestinian people have been heavily oppressed and abused, and colonized for a really long time.” Ledall says her grandmother’s family lives in Gaza.
The rally in Times Square was peaceful, with many protesters wearing black-and-white keffiyehs chanting slogans like “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
A much smaller crowd—around 100-strong–rallied across the street, separated by police and metal barricades, in support of Israel.
Pro-Palestine protesters left Times Square and marched towards the Israeli Consulate, where they held a second rally, a mile away. As protesters passed by the pro-Israeli contingent, both sides heckled one another but were unable to get close.
A second demonstration, “Jews Against the Genocide of Palestianians” took place in Brooklyn on Friday evening, drawing around a thousand people.
The New York Police Department was out in full force on Friday. A former Hamas leader had called on their supporters to mobilize across the world in defense of Palestinians, stirring fears of violence. All on-duty officers were required to perform in uniform on Friday (this reporter overheard officers grumbling about how they were being asked to work on their days off).
Gov. Kathy Hochul said that, although there was no intelligence showing “any active threats in New York,” officials would continue to “exercise elevated vigilance and impose measures to deteriorate any potential violence.” In addition to the full showing of the NYPD, state police were also activated and the National Guard were deployed outside transport hubs.
