I wonder how many of the student protestors know what continent Israel is on? Or when they chant "From the River to the Sea" they know which river and which sea? It's in the Hamas founding documents – all Jews must be killed.
To the Editor,
The severity of the anti-Israel and pro-Hamas incidents in major cities has increased. The participating agitators have crossed a line and are clearly not peaceful: Forcing the closure of, and causing damage at, Grand Central Station; attempting to stop the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (where trouble-makers attempted to glue themselves to the parade-route pavement); and defacing the New York Public Library with painted messages and hand-prints scrawled across the building's facade (the defacement of a library, no matter what the reason, is a cowardly philistine act, a literal attack on the freedoms that the knowledge available within can afford). To the casual eye such acts, tentatively labeled as protests, feel like attacks on Americans' freedom to enjoy a parade; a library; or even to get the home-bound train safely. The Museum of Natural History had to close one day recently due to violent aggressors attempting to enter the museum building, making demands to assess the exhibits about colonialism. An Israeli flag was torn away from a woman and dragged down the street, set on fire. Anti-Israel supporters defaced several statues with stickers.
Also alarming was the story of a Jewish teacher in a Jamaica, Queens high school who attended a rally for Israel in October. She simply changed her profile picture on Facebook to exhibit an image from the rally, and subsequently became targeted by hundreds of radicalized students who assembled in the school and rioted, shouting “Free Palestine” and insisting that the “teacher needs to go.” She was cornered by the mob, even though fellow faculty tried to keep students out of her classroom. Luckily the NYPD was called in and they were able to get the teacher into a locked room safely. The NYPD had to then call in their Counter Terrorism Unit to investigate threats against the school.
During a pro-Palestinian rally earlier in November, an elderly Jewish man, Paul Kessler, was killed when anti-Israel protestor smashed him over the face with a megaphone, causing him to fall, striking his head. It was reported that this occurred after Kessler and his attacker had a disagreement during the rally. A particularly disturbing note is that the attacker was a college professor, the incident is now being investigated as a hate crime. The painted motifs and symbols used in the recent vandalism at these rallies might also be investigated as hate crimes. The Christmas Tree lighting at Rockefeller Center saw streets closed down and major security check-points established due to the pro-Hamas crowds. Many of these people were violent, pushing and knocking over metal barricades, one person carrying a large sign with a swastika on it.
Our constitution allows for peaceful assembly and protest. What it doesn’t allow for is vandalism, violence, threats, and terrorism interrupting people from enjoying events or coming and going as they please. Americans' tolerance for aggressive protests is over-extended. When violence is involved, the instigators are not mere protestors, they are aggressors with a goal to disrupt and destroy. They are adult-level bullies, and accordingly, the more that people stand up to them and speak out against them, the less their aggression will dominate the public debate. I’m thankful Governor Hochul has made everyone aware New York is at a heightened terrorist threat-level due to the Israeli Hamas war and has said she will step up extra security in our state.
Some of the innocent Israeli hostages have been released from Hamas. Having just turned four while captive, Abigail Mor Idan is now with her surviving family as of November 26th and will now have to adjust to life without her parents, who were murdered by Hamas. Unfortunately the hostage situation is ongoing with around 150 people still being held. Hamas is now claiming that a young baby they kidnapped with his mother and four year old brother have been killed. I sincerely hope this isn’t the case. Let’s hope and pray the hostages are all released to their families soon, and for the war to stop claiming more lives.
I encourage everyone to enjoy the beautiful Christmas and Hanukkah lights and celebrations of the holiday season. Both these holidays mark a commitment to peace, hope and light in the world even during its darkest hours.
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