Political Blowback Follows Anti-Israel Protest Outside Synagogue

Political blowback continues after raucous anti-Israel protesters set themselves up outside the Park East Synagogue on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 19.

The police failure to control the angry anti-Israel protesters and establish a free zone to allow worshipers to enter the synagogue drew a personal apology from NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch three days later. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s initial response to the protest seemed to raise tensions with some Jewish leaders, but he followed it up with a stronger second statement in which he pledged to “always protect our Jewish neighbors” and vowed to protect synagogues and all houses of worship.

Earlier on the day of the protest, Tisch, who is Jewish, had accepted the invitation from Mamdani, who is Muslim, to stay on as the NYPD top cop in the new administration.

While noting that protest is legal, Tisch in a personal appearance at the synagogue on Nov. 22 admitted that cops had failed to secure a free zone for worshipers to protect them from protesters—as has long been the practice at such highly charged demonstrations.

“People have the right to protest, including within sight and sound of a house of worship,” Tisch said in an address to the congregation during its regular Saturday-evening service on Nov. 22. “They have the right to say things that are incredibly painful to hear. I understand that pain, deeply and personally,” Tisch said. “But the right to say those things is protected by the First Amendment, and the NYPD must uphold that right.

“Our other job that night was to ensure that people could easily enter and leave shul,” said Tisch. “That is where we fell short, and for that, I apologize to this congregation,” she said. “Our plan didn’t include a frozen zone at the entrance. As a result, the space right outside your steps was chaotic.” She reportedly received a standing ovation from the 150 congregants in the synagogue that night.

The police failures on Nov. 19 are also the subject of an ongoing internal affairs investigation by the NYPD, accoding to the Daily News.

The synagogue, at 163 E. 67th St., near Third Avenue, is literally steps away from the 19th Precinct on the same block, with an FDNY station between them.

Among the senior officers being questioned are Patrol Borough Manhattan North (PBMN) Chief Ruel Stephenson, his executive officer, Eric Pagan; PMBN Inspector Andrew Natiw; and 19th Precinct Commanding Officer Noreen Lazarus.

Lazarus succeeded Inspector Neil Zuber as C.O. this past September, with Zuber moving over the NYPD Strategic Response Group (SRG), a unit specifically trained in protest response, which Mayor-elect Mamdani has threatened to disband.

This NYPD response is significant, for even with an uneasy ceasefire in place in Gaza, the ideological war between Zionists and anti-Zionists—which is to say, between those who believe the Jewish state of Israel has a right to exist and those who don’t—continues.

The protest on Nov. 19 was organized by a group calling itself Palestinian Assembly for Liberation NY/NJ, and was targeting Park East’s hosting of Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organization that provides immigration assistance to Jews moving to Israel from the United States and Canada.

The protesters claimed this includes “illegal” settlements, a claim denied by others—including Zionist counter-protesters who also appeared outside the synagogue on Nov. 19. Among the Jews reportedly in attendance this night was New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

At first it seemed the story might fizzle out, with only the New York Post and various Jewish-interest news sites covering the protest. The Post account, published the next afternoon, began: “A hateful mob of anti-Israel protesters descended on a prominent New York City synagogue Wednesday night, chanting ‘Globalize the intifada’ and sinisterly urging the ‘resistance’ to ‘take another settler out.’ “

Mayor Eric Adams, who was in Uzbekistan at the time, responded to video of the fracas posted to X by Rabbi Elchanan Poupko by writing: “What happened at @PESynagogue last night was totally unacceptable no matter your faith or background. This type of protest and vile language should concern us all. When you desecrate one house of worship, you desecrate them all. I’ll be visiting Park East Synagogue to stand with our Jewish community when I am back in town.” Adams fulfilled that promise on Nov. 24.

Among the notable details in Poupko’s video is an NYPD Legal officer and numerous Community Affairs officers standing calmly in the street while protesters, some masked, some with kiffeyeh around their necks, chant, scream, and curse behind a metal barricade.

That same day, Council Member Julie Menin—a week away from being acclaimed the next Speaker of the City Council (making her the first Jewish person to be elected to the post)—responded on X to a video of the incident posted by Times of Israel reporter Luke Tress: “What occurred outside @PESynagogue is not acceptable. Congregants must have the right to worship freely and to enter and exit their house of worship without impediment. Protests must have reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.”

Commenting on the same video, Governor Kathy Hochul wrote: “No New Yorker should be intimidated or harassed at their house of worship. What happened last night at @PESynagogue was shameful and a blatant attack on the Jewish community. Hate has no place in New York.”

Mandami, a critic of Israel before he entered politics, also responded that afternoon, via his press secretary Dora Pekec: “The mayor-elect has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so. He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”

Speaking on WABC radio on Sunday, Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro—who was then also the Acting Mayor awaiting Hizzoner’s return from Uzbekistan—said of the protesters, “They said some very vile things . . . like ‘Globalize the Intifada’ and urging resistance to ‘take another settler out’ and . . . ‘We don’t want no two-state solutions. We want the whole thing.’”

On Monday, Nov. 24, the New York Times belatedly weighed in with a story headlined “Mamdani Response to Protest Inflames Tensions With Jewish Leaders.”

A Nov. 26 CNN story on the same topic including a quote from Rabbi Ari Berman, the president of Yeshiva University in Washington Heights. Mamdani’s criticism of Nefesh B’Nefesh, said Berman, was “irresponsible and inflammatory.

“He says his sole focus is New York City, and he’s now weighing in on foreign policy, which is the purview of the United States government,” Berman explained. “The mayor-elect invokes international law a lot when he discriminates against Jews.”

Mamdani seemed to acknowledge the controversy with an additional statement: “As Mayor, I will always protect our Jewish neighbors, and I will use the full force of my office to keep synagogues and all houses of worship safe and free from intimidation and threats.

“We will protect New Yorkers’ First Amendment rights while making clear that nothing can justify language calling for ‘death to’ anyone. It is unacceptable, full stop.”