Anti-Israel protest against Ben Gvir outside NY synagogue provokes outrage

Anti-Israel demonstrators in New York have sparked outrage by protesting against Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the world headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.

The far-right Ben Gvir made an unannounced visit to the synagogue late last night during a weeklong tour of the US. The headquarters, at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is located in the heart of the Chabad community and is a revered symbol for the movement.

At the start of the protest, Nerdeen Kiswani, the leading anti-Israel protest organizer in New York, targeted the synagogue and assailed Chabad.

“He’s being hosted at 770 Eastern Parkway by the racist Zionist Lubavitch sect — yes, the same place where tunnels were uncovered,” Kiswani wrote on X. A rogue group of students dug out a space near the synagogue last year, part of an unauthorized attempt to expand the synagogue. The incident gave rise to a wave of antisemitic conspiracies.

Anti-Israel activists in New York often berate “Zionists,” but rarely attack Jewish movements or protest against synagogues.

Kiswani later said that demonstrators “are being attacked by racist Lubavitchers.”

“This is a pogrom,” she said, referring to the historical deadly persecution of Jews in Europe. The charge is sensitive in Crown Heights, where violent riots against Jews in 1991 were widely described as a pogrom.

Videos from the scene showed the two sides shouting at each other, with police in the middle. The NYPD says six people were detained at the “unscheduled demonstration,” and a man from New Jersey was charged with assault, harassment and criminal mischief.

The protest drew outrage.

Yaacov Behrman, a Chabad community leader, said on X that the protesters gathered at “the very heart of this heavily populated Jewish neighborhood — spewing hateful, inflammatory rhetoric at innocent passersby.”

Behrman said the chants included: “We don’t want no Zionists here,” “We don’t want no two states, we want all of it,” and “Resistance is justified.”

BREAKING: Clashes and Confrontations outside of Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn.

770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn.

Pro Palestine protesters gathered outside of Synagogue for an emergency protest against Ben Gvir.

Around 11:15pm a person was stabbed nearby on Kingston… pic.twitter.com/j4nuRHlKPk

— Oliya Scootercaster ???? (@ScooterCasterNY) April 25, 2025

Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York said, “The heinous violence last night outside the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn is horrifying and unacceptable.”

“I am calling for an immediate federal investigation into these dangerous organizations and their funding networks. Jewish Americans must never feel unsafe in their own communities,” she said.

Anti-Israel protesters have rarely held demonstrations in Orthodox neighborhoods in New York. A demonstration in February in Boro Park was also vitriolic and provoked widespread condemnation from city leaders.

Ben Gvir has also drawn protests from Jewish activists and Israeli expats during his visit to the US.