Pro-Palestinian activists carry Hezbollah flag in anti-Israel protest at NYC Park East Synagogue

A protest outside the Park East Synagogue in New York City on Tuesday evening included signs and flags supporting the Iran terror proxies – Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza – while keffiyeh-wearing marchers chanted familiar anti-Israeli slogans, including "There is only one solution, Intifada, revolution” and clashed with police in shoving matches.

The proximate cause of the protest was an Israeli real estate exposition scheduled to be held at the synagogue.

The protest was organized by a group calling itself the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation Al-Awda in NYC and New Jersey (PAL-Awda NY/NJ), which has held repeated demonstrations outside the Park East Synagogue over the years.

The group says it is opposing real estate presentations, which it claims are a front for “selling stolen Palestinian land” to Jewish buyers, and posted on Instagram: “We will not be silent as ethnic cleansing is being actively promoted in our neighborhoods.”

BREAKING: Barricades clashes continue between anti Israel protesters and the NYPD during the march from Park East Synagogue "Land Sale" event. pic.twitter.com/xJZ4ZPWwjh

— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) May 6, 2026

There have been other documented cases of demonstrators hurling verbal and occasionally physical abuse at Jewish people in the synagogue, using antisemitic language and profanity. For example, a widely circulated video from Tuesday evening shows a protester filming herself shouting abuse at a Jewish woman attempting to enter the synagogue, including calling her a “rapist” and other insults.

NYC Mayor Zorhan Mamdani has issued limited condemnations of past demonstrations at the Park East Synagogue, saying after a similar event last November, before taking office, that people should be able to enter places of worship without harassment.

He also said that places of worship “shouldn’t be used to host events that violate international law,” a remark that supporters and critics alike said was an indirect reference to PAL-Awda NY/NJ’s claims and a tacit endorsement of its message, if not its methods.

The greater NYC Metropolitan area has an estimated Jewish population of 1.4 million, the largest concentration of Jewish people in the world outside of Israel.

Despite making up around 13% of New York City’s population, NYPD data indicate that Jewish residents are targeted in roughly 55% of reported hate crimes in the city. This includes 330 violent attacks in 2025 and 143 incidents in the first quarter of 2026.

According to the Jewish Agency, over 20,000 Jewish families from the NY Metropolitan area have taken steps towards making aliyah to Israel (immigrating), joining a larger trend of Jews from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Western European countries, all of which have seen increased levels of antisemitism in recent years.

The Park East Synagogue was built in 1890. Although it is only one of more than 600 synagogues in New York, it is one of the most well-known and has been the site of many high-profile events over the decades that affected the entire Jewish community. In 1980, it was designated a New York City landmark and, in 1983, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.