A pro-Palestinian protest took a chilling turn Saturday when hundreds of protesters filled Columbus Circle, at one point dragging a burning Israeli flag down the street and issuing a chilling warning to those who support Israel: “Your days are numbered.”
“For those who support genocide in the United States, your days are numbered and they are coming to an end,” one organizer shouted into a microphone.
“The US government is Israel’s number one financier of terrorism.”
About 300 protesters started at Columbus Circle around 2 p.m. and marched down the west side to the American Museum of Natural History.
They flooded The Shops on Columbus Circle, chanting, “Bombs fall while you shop,” prompting store owners to quickly rush to close their doors.
Some protesters also harassed a woman holding a pro-Israel sign, snatching it from her, along with a sign held by a nearby man, and yelling at her.
The woman was able to run toward the police, who escorted her a few blocks away.
A group of pro-Palestinian supporters were seen holding the country’s flag, while a man was seen dragging an Israeli flag down the street while it was on fire. Valentina Jaramillo A statue of Abraham Lincoln was also wrapped in a Palestinian flag and his hat had a sticker that said: “Every time the media lies, a neighborhood in Gaza dies.” Valentina Jaramillo
A statue of Abraham Lincoln was also draped in a Palestinian flag and his hat was covered with a sticker that read: “Every time the media lies, a neighborhood in Gaze dies.”
The museum was barricaded when protesters arrived nearly three hours later, and about 30 officers were lined up blocking the entrances.
The protesters demanded that the police move and let them in, shouting: “One, two, three, four, open the museum doors.”
The museum closed two hours early Saturday in anticipation of the protest, said Nerdeen Kiswani of the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, which organized Saturday’s demonstration along with many others in the Big Apple since Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 Israelis. on October 7 and kidnapped more than 200 people.
Protesters defaced a statue of Abraham Lincoln with stickers reading, “Every time the media lies, a neighborhood in Gaza dies” while wrapping it in a Palestinian flag. Valentina Jaramillo Protesters also entered a shopping center on their way to the museum, and store owners quickly fled. close their doors while protesters chanted: “Bombs fall while you shop.” Valentina Jaramillo Some protesters also harassed a woman holding a pro-Israel sign, snatching the signs from her and a man and yelling at them.Valentina Jaramillo
“The museum makes over a million dollars a day, so the fact that they are willing to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars to not be associated with Palestine really shows what cowards they are,” he said.
“All we planned to do was walk in as ordinary New Yorkers, to see the colonial exhibits… it looks bad that you would leave out a group of people just because they support Palestine,” he said, adding: “The board of directors of the The museum has people who are Zionists.”
Protesters also prayed outside the museum.
Protesters headed to the American Museum of National History on the West Side, where they demanded the doors be opened. Valentina Jaramillo “The museum makes over a million dollars a day, so the fact that they are willing to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars to not be associated with Palestine really shows what cowards they are,” said Nerdeen Kiswani. Valentina Jaramillo
Police had threatened to arrest protesters for vandalizing a Starbucks near West 64th Street as they headed to the museum, but no one had been detained by the time the crowd began to leave, the NYPD later said.
Kiswani said protesters were taking a stand after Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul showed support for Israel.
“Israel bombs, the United States pays, how many children did you kill today?” she chanted, to a refrain now common at pro-Palestinian demonstrations: “Joe Biden, you can’t hide, we accuse you of genocide.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn