Thousands of anti-Israel protesters descended on Manhattan to demand a cease-fire in Gaza on Monday, with some even targeting a respected hospital for cancer patients over its alleged “complicity in genocide.”
The protesters shouted “Shame!” at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center while patients received treatment on the Upper East Side before targeting a Starbucks and a McDonald’s restaurant they reportedly accused of making “meals for genocide.”
“Make sure they hear you. They’re in the window,” an organizer said on a bullhorn outside Sloan Kettering, according to footage posted on social media.
Someone in the crowd beat a drum as scores chanted: “MSK shame on you, you support genocide, too.”
The demonstrators took time during the event, advertised as a “Flood Manhattan for Gaza MLK Day march for healthcare,” to berate those at the cancer center, which is also a pediatric hospital.
“What about refusing to acknowledge an attack on Palestinian people, and especially the healthcare system, shows any form of compassion or respect for health?” one speaker said, according to National Review.
“Shame, shame, shame,” other protesters shouted in response.
In a nearby scuffle, one protester was thrown to the pavement by multiple cops near Gracie Mansion as other Palestinian supporters swarmed the scene, according to footage of the arrest posted on social media.
Cops ordered people to back off while protesters demanded their names, the footage shows. Three people, including a 16-year-old boy, were arrested during the protest, cops said. Charges were still pending early Tuesday.
During the march from Union Square to Grace Mansion, protesters also targeted Mt. Sinai Medical Center at 98th Street for “supporting Zionism” and “genocide.”
Police had to block entrances at various buildings on the medical center campus, forcing patients and visitors to use a different door.
“Mount Sinai you can’t hide, you support genocide,” the protesters chanted.
One anti-Israel protester, 18, told The Post the images of Gaza have pulled at her heartstrings and motivated her to call for a cease-fire even though she isn’t Palestinian.
“It’s really been weighing heavy on my heart just seeing it on my timeline,” the resident who grew up in NYC said. “Every single day it’s a different child.”
“I don’t relate to them but it’s heartbreaking to see what’s happening,” she said, noting she doesn’t want US dollars to be sent overseas.
Protesters once again called Israel a “racist state” and “charged” them with “genocide.” A few climbed atop the wall of Central Park at East 103rd Street and 5th Avenue and waved Palestinian flags.
One Jewish resident on the Upper East Side told The Post she was “terrified” after a pair of cops had to escort her and her small dog out of a chanting crowd near East 87th Street.
“I thought I was in Germany in 1939,” said the 74-year-old resident, who declined to give her name.
The woman was referring to the year Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, sparking World War II. Before 1939, his regime began arresting Jews and sending them to concentration camps.
“I’m astounded. I think it’s horrific,” she added.
When news spread that Iran launched a ballistic missile attack near the US Consulate in Iraq, some protesters cheered.
“Today we marched from Union Square to the United Nations and then we walked to Gracie Mansion where our coward mayor hid behind barricades,” the protest leader yelled into the microphone.
The leader also encouraged protesters to recruit family and friends to join the rallies to prove they don’t support genocide.
Pro-Palestinian protests have been a common theme in the city since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, leading the Jewish state to launch a military in Gaza.
I think the American people are getting fed up with these Arab demonstrators.
ReplyDeleteScreaming at a hospital is beyond decency. Time for the police to put a stop to these hoodlums.
what do they have against msk?
ReplyDelete