Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters swarmed the streets surrounding Rockefeller Center Wednesday, clashing with NYPD cops and chanting “river to the sea,” long seen as an antisemitic slogan, in an effort to derail the annual tree lighting in support of Gaza.
Waving Palestinian flags and signs calling for the “end to genocide,” the ralliers gathered along Sixth Avenue alongside hordes of tourists waiting in line to see the iconic ceremony.
Unable to get to the NYC Christmas tree, the enormous crowd instead swarmed around the tree outside the News Corp building, which houses The Post and Fox News, and has already been targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters on at least two occasions.
“Free free Palestine!” the protesters chanted.
One rallier was seen climbing on top of the pillar bearing the building’s address, and another was seen carrying a massive sign bearing a swastika, comparing the Israel Defense Forces to German Nazis.
NYPD officers continuously pushed back the crowds, who shoved back, calling the cops “f–king Nazis.”
The protesters attempted to knock down the barricades cops put up to keep them separate from the throngs hoping to take in the Big Apple holiday tradition.
The NYPD ordered a high-security presence before the planned protest, warning that “elevated vigilance” is necessary during this year’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center.
Pro-Palestinian organizers announced their plans to disrupt the festivities earlier this week, noting that the world-renowned celebration also falls on the UN-recognized International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Additional NYPD units were called, law enforcement sources told The Post, adding that officers were being attacked.
“They should have shut it down. They lost control of the street. I was shoved, punched, kicked. It’s bullsh–t,” one cop caught in the fray said.
Another called it “complete chaos.”
Several protesters were seen being taken into custody, though it’s not clear whether they were charged
Thousands of tourists forced to share the space with the rambunctious demonstration routinely jeered at the protesters for standing in the way of the wholesome tradition.
Jamie Fry, 42, who flew in from the United Kingdom to watch the tree-lighting spectacle said the protest was “very annoying.”
“I had planned my holiday around this event, being a big fan of Christmas. Now I’m walled in by a bunch of terrorist-loving a–holes calling for intifada,” Fry told The Post.
“Their strategy for sympathy is disruption, but all they’ll get out of me is a big f–k you.”
Opal Burnett, 33, of St. Louis, Missouri, echoed Fry’s frustration, calling the interruption an embarrassment.
“It’s super, super annoying. Just excruciating. Seeing these people in such large numbers, it makes me feel embarrassed to be an American because people are watching this happening from abroad. Kudos to the cops for keeping these people under control and for showing restraint, because they deal with a lot of verbal abuse,” she said.
Other tree-viewers, though dismayed, were emphatic that the boisterous protest wouldn’t spoil the holiday tradition.
“Politics has no place at an event like this, but that’s exactly why they do it — to disrupt the status quo, to ruin the things we cherish and take comfort in,” Lillian Gonzalez, 40, of the Bronx said.
“The Christmas tree brings a message of peace, not conflict. That’s why we’re gathered here today, not to protest but to welcome in the holiday season. None of this mob activity is going to take that away from us.”
The unusually rowdy protest dissipated just an hour into the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony they were aiming to disrupt, instead transiting into a march through Manhattan toward Times Square where they shouted, “Shut it down.”
In spite of the rally, the 91st annual ceremony went off without a hitch.
Kelly Clarkson hosted and performed at the two-hour extravaganza, kicking off the show with a rendition of her 2013 song “Underneath the Tree.”
KeKe Palmer, Barry Manilow and David Foster and wife Katharine McPhee were just some of the big names to show out at the star-studded event — Cher even appeared to perform her new song, “DJ Play a Christmas Song” off her very first Christmas album.
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