From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 6, 2025
‘We don’t want no Zionists here’: Anti-Israel activists protest against New York City hospital
Luke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.
Several hundred anti-Israel protesters demonstrate outside the NYU Langone Health Center in New York City.
They chant: “Say it clear, say it loud, Gaza you make us proud” and “Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want no Zionists here.”
Banners in the crowd include Palestinian, transgender, anarchist and Lebanese flags.
Protesters carry signs that say “Abolish Israel” and “Right of return.”
Some hold flyers with photos of Gaza healthcare workers.
The protesters gather in the frigid cold on the sidewalk across the street from the hospital’s main entrance.
???????????????????????? Currently outside of NYU Tisch Hospital at 550 1st Avenue in Manhattan. Join healthcare workers, medics and New Yorkers as we take to the streets for Gaza and to demand the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and the 450+ healthcare workers who have been abducted by israeli… pic.twitter.com/kMSAtcF8bS
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) January 6, 2025
Around a dozen pro-Israel counterprotesters hold US flags. The two sides trade insults across a metal barricade, with the pro-Palestinian activists hurling expletives and the pro-Israel crowd calling them “terrorists.”
“You don’t matter, you’re irrelevant,” one of the Israel demonstrators says.
“You guys are protesting at a hospital. What the fuck is wrong with you?” a passerby shouts.
Police officers stand between the two groups and hospital officials stand on the sidelines.
“Get your best insults in, just stand three feet apart. You can scream at each other all you want,” a police officer says.
The protest is organized by Within Our Lifetime, a hardline group that echoes Hamas rhetoric and calls for Israel’s destruction.
The Times of Israel Community.