Several New York City elected officials condemned violence between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Midtown Manhattan on Friday, which resulted in more than two dozen arrests and at least two hospitalizations. After days of fighting that killed more than 230 people in Gaza and 12 in Israel, Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire on Thursday afternoon and evening in Times Square and spread to the Diamond District, a small neighborhood south of Rockefeller Center that is home to several Jewish-owned businesses.According to the police, 27 people had been detained in the city by Friday on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly.
Videos taken at the scene and posted on social media showed small groups fighting, with people throwing punches and grabbing Israeli flags from protesters as jeers were exchanged. The police said they didn’t know what sparked some of the individual fights or who started them.One video showed groups of young men travelling through Midtown, many of whom were waving Palestinian flags or wearing traditional Palestinian scarves, pushing and shouting obscenities at older men they referred to as Zionists. A firework was thrown at close range at a group of people, including demonstrators, at one point, according to the police, who said it was unknown who threw it.
Another video depicted a man being beaten by a group of people while lying in the street. Waseem Awawdeh, a 23-year-old Brooklyn man, was charged with multiple counts in connection with the beating on Friday afternoon, including assault as a hate crime, aggravated harassment as a hate crime, and criminal possession of a weapon. It was unclear if Mr. Awawdeh had retained legal counsel.Police said they were also looking for five or six more people who were involved in the attack. Joseph Borgen, a 29-year-old Jewish man, was punched, kicked, pepper sprayed, and beaten with crutches. According to police, he was taken to Bellevue Hospital and released early Friday morning.
In an interview, Mr. Borgen said, “I don’t know how the people who targeted me had so much hatred in their hearts.” He said he was still tired and dizzy, but he was thankful his face and torso injuries were not more severe. “I am very grateful that I am as well as I am.”
The assault was condemned by Mayor Bill de Blasio. On Twitter, he said, “Anti-Semitism has no place in our city.” “Violence against others because of who they are has no justification. There are none. We will hold the perpetrators of this heinous hate crime accountable.”
Several protests in New York, including one outside the Israeli Consulate near the United Nations and another in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge neighbourhood, attracted thousands of people, including elected officials such as Zohran K. Mamdani, a Democrat in the State Assembly.The protests were largely peaceful, and organisers claimed that some of them were among the largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations in New York in recent memory.
