Thousands of anti-Israel protesters took to the streets of Manhattan on Monday as the Democratic Party remains fractured over the Israel-Hamas war.
The protest — organized by two leftist groups, the pro-Palestinian organization “Within Our Lifetime” and “Healthcare Workers for Palestine” — began in Union Square before protesters marched to Washington Square Park, chanting phrases like “Israel, go to hell.” Within Our Lifetime said the March is part of a broader nationwide movement, CBS News reported.
Violence erupted early in the protest when a demonstrator battered a man, who is reportedly a pro-Israel counter-protester, over the head with a tambourine, according to a video from NYC-based video journalist Peter Hambrecht and FreedomNews.TV shared to X by @ScooterCasterNY. Oliya “Scootercaster” is a producer at FreedomNews.TV, per her LinkedIn.
Protesters set off red smoke bombs and flares, according to @ScooterCasterNY, who credits another New York City freelance journalist and FreedomNews.TV for the footage. Others carried Palestinian flags.
As the march wore on, it was reported protesters were in the thousands.
In a post on X ahead of the protest, Within Our Lifetime instructed protesters on how to “circumvent NYPD surveillance operations.” The instructions advised demonstrators to cover their faces “and other identifying traits like tattoos” while also directing them to place their phones in airplane mode or “Faraday bags to prevent location tracking.”
A flier shows that the group is protesting “Western media” and its coverage of the war and pro-Palestinian and anti-protests. The march is also against Big Tech for “providing the technology needed to commit genocide,” another post from the group shows, and the NYPD for what it called “violent suppression” of pro-Palestinian voices.
The march was organized ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’s disastrous CNN interview on Thursday in which she reaffirmed her commitment to Israel and said she would not support withholding arms to Israel. The rhetoric further fractured the Democratic Party, with prominent progressives blasting Harris for sticking by her and President Joe Biden’s policies.
Fox News caught up with one protester who held a sign blasting Harris for failing to achieve a ceasefire since the war began nearly a year ago. When the man who hails from Boston was asked how the administration’s handling of the war is going to “impact the election,” he said he “cannot support the Democrats in this.”
“I mean, I’d hate to see Donald Trump win. I hate to say I know you guys are from Fox, but on the other hand, genocide is worse than anything Donald Trump has done, so I definitely cannot support the Democrats in this,” he said.
“The whole Democratic Party is complicit in genocide, and at this point, I would say, not just say complicit, but responsible for, and basically committing the genocide because it wouldn’t be happening without all the weapons Biden is sending,” he added.
When asked if he was thinking about voting for Harris at one point, he said, “If it wasn’t for the genocide, we’d be totally psyched out about–well, maybe not Kamala–but Tim Walz is pretty decent.”