(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Early this week in Central Park, a World War I memorial became the canvas for anti-Israel protesters who ruined its base with “Gaza” in bold black letters and set an American flag ablaze.
Watch the video of the protest further down this post.
Over a thousand protesters had gathered, initially aiming to join on the Met Gala’s red carpet, but police interventions redirected the throng away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
At least one America-hating vandal torched Old Glory at the site of the 107th Infantry Memorial, the base of which was defaced with graffiti reading “Gaza” in large black letters.
Nearby, bronze soldiers bore the brunt of stickers proclaiming, “Stop the Genocide. End the apartheid. Free Palestine.” Some protesters scaled the monument, wielding or draping Palestinian flags over the statues.
This chaos unfolded seamlessly as police forces were concentrated 15 blocks north, safeguarding the Met Gala from potential disruptions.
Another testament to the night’s disorder was the vandalism of the Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman’s statue at Grand Army Plaza, now adorned with a “Free Gaza” inscription and a Palestinian flag.
Earlier that evening, a large group detained at Madison Ave and East 83rd Street had set off from Hunter College, chanting “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” their path marked by Palestinian flags and keffiyehs masking their faces.
Police halted their march at East 79th Street, which led to a standoff in Central Park. The protesters eventually navigated out of the park, catching a glimpse of the Met Gala, but were stopped just short by a robust police blockade.
In addition, the attempt to reach the museum via East 81st Street met a similar fate, leading to about two dozen arrests and confrontations that included a woman being tackled and a water bottle hurled at officers.
Amidst these tumultuous scenes, a different narrative played out at Hunter College, where pro-Israel supporters confronted those they accused of “supporting terrorism.”
Elena Bakhchi, a 17-year-old, criticized the anti-Israel crowd: “All these people are ignorant, uneducated and blindly following each other. It feels like we’re back in World War two.”
Meanwhile, across town, a rally in Riverside Park brought together nearly a thousand pro-Israel demonstrators on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
At the same event, Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan starkly compared the anti-Israel protests to the actions of “modern-day Nazis” while highlighting the selective outrage in global conflicts.
ANTIFA REBRANDED: Pro Hamas activists DESECRATE World War I Memorial and BURN American flag in NYC on Monday.
🎥 @ScooterCasterNYpic.twitter.com/snZRKjwogX
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 7, 2024
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