Mamdani Silent on Anti-Israel Protest in Queens; Protestors Kept Behind Barricade

The Jewish neighborhood in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens found itself, in the words of State Assemblyman Sam Beger, “completely upended” on Thursday as a Jewish school and a shul announced early closures ahead of a planned anti-Israel protest targeting a real estate event.

Queens Jewish Alliance head Sorolle Idels tells Belaaz that the protestors outside of Young Israel of Kew Gardens, who gathered at around 7PM, were being kept at bay by NYPD barricades, allowing attendees at the real estate event to enter and exit freely – a marked shift from a November incident at a synagogue in Manhattan, when mobs chanting death threats prevented people from moving.

The anti-Israel group Palestinian Assembly for Liberation [PAL]-Awda announced plans to demonstrate outside the shul, where a Jerusalem-based real estate agency, was scheduled to host an event Thursday evening. In response to the planned mayhem, the shul canceled tefillos while Yeshiva of Central Queens, located closeby, ended school early.

Jewish community figures were outraged.

“As a community leader, I want to be very clear: this is a lawful, professional event, and people have every right to attend a local shul without fear,” Idels told Belaaz. “Peaceful protest is legitimate, but intimidation and attempts to shut down a legal gathering are not. I have spoken with Shmira, our local NYPD, and our elected officials, and there is shared agreement that safety, order, and the right to gather lawfully must be protected. We are fortunate to have elected leaders who stand with our community and support those fundamental principles.”

Queens Jewish community askan Nechemia Hoch told Belaaz: “It’s unfortunate that hatred has come to our streets, but we are grateful for the cooperation and coordination between Shemirah, local officials and the NYPD which will ensure that our community remains safe.”

Berger, a Democrat who represents the area, told Jewish Insider that local principals, staff and parents are “very concerned.” The surrounding area has been “completely upended,” he said.

Berger clarified on social media that “the NYPD  did not issue any directives to close to schools, synagogues, or local institutions. They notified them of the planned protest, and each entity made its own determination based on the recent history of these agitators targeting this community. A safety perimeter is in place, but our institutions should not have to be put in this position.”

The planned protest marks the first major test Mayor Zohran Mamdani will face with the city’s Jewish community since his inauguration last week. According to Jewish Insider, Mamdani’s spokesperson did not respond to multiple inquiries on Thursday, including one asking whether the mayor’s team had discouraged demonstrators from protesting.

“For our @NYCMayor who has said he ‘will always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors,’ I am calling on [Mamdani] for an immediate condemnation of this demonstration,” Berger wrote on X, adding that “a safety perimeter is in place, and I am confident in the NYPD’s ability to keep the community safe.”

In a letter to Mamdani dated January 8, attorneys Marc Goldfeder, CEO of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, and Ben Schlager, the organization’s Associate Director, placed the mayor’s office “on notice” about the demonstration’s “foreseeable risk of intimidation and public-safety violations directed at Jewish individuals and institutions.”

The letter urged the city to enforce New York Penal Law § 240.20 which prohibits conduct—masked or otherwise—undertaken with intent to cause public alarm or that recklessly creates a risk thereof. “Nothing in the First Amendment requires the City to tolerate masked intimidation, threats, or conduct designed to instill fear,” the attorneys wrote.

Goldfeder also reminded the mayor on social media: “Penal Law §240.20 squarely prohibits disorderly conduct that causes or recklessly risks public alarm—including masked intimidation. These laws must be enforced equally.”

PAL-Awda posted instructions for participants hours before the demonstration, including directives to “mask up” and “bring Palestinian flags and signs,” according to Jewish Insider.

The group wrote on Instagram that it was protesting because “Zionist real estate agencies are hosting an illegal event (sic), explicitly advertising the establishment of an ‘Anglo community'”, in Ma’ale Adumim.

The protest follows a similar demonstration in November, when PAL-Awda led protesters outside Park East Synagogue in Manhattan as it hosted a Nefesh B’Nefesh event providing information on immigration to Israel. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch later called that protest “turmoil,” and apologized for not sufficiently protecting the rights of attendees to move freely, while Mamdani’s office initially said the event was promoting “activities in violation of international law” – a statement his spokesperson would later revise.

PAL-Awda had also planned a protest outside another Nefesh B’Nefesh event in Manhattan on Wednesday night but canceled less than an hour before it was scheduled to begin, without providing a reason.

In response to Thursday’s planned protest, a Zionist group called for a counter-demonstration, posting on social media: “Anti-Zionist terrorists are threatening NYC Jews for exercising the right of Aliyah — a right enshrined in Jewish history and international law. We stand proud. Aliyah is Jewish return.” The group urged supporters to gather at Yeshiva of Central Queens at 6:30 PM with “flags,” “pride,” and “strength.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Tuesday she plans to implement a policy establishing “safety zones” around houses of worship, though that policy will not be enacted in time for Thursday’s demonstration.