A large group of demonstrators hostile to Israel assembled outside Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood on Thursday evening.
The protesters, many of whom wore keffiyehs and covered their faces, were rallying against the arrival of Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.
Ben Gvir’s visit to the U.S. includes stops in Florida, New York, and Washington, DC, where he has been engaging with both Jewish communities and political leaders.
Earlier in the day, Ben Gvir visited the main shul at 770 and was scheduled to return later in the evening to address attendees at a Siyum Harambam. In advance of his planned speech, demonstrators supporting the Palestinian cause gathered near the intersection of Eastern Parkway and Kingston Avenue, a central area in the Crown Heights Jewish community.
Protesters waved “Free Palestine” banners, and among them were several anti-Zionist Neturei Karta radicals who support the Palestinian cause.
Footage captured from the scene showed heated arguments between the demonstrators and local Jewish residents, who urged them to relocate away from the shul’s entrance to avoid obstructing access.
The NYPD responded by elevating their alert to a Level 2 mobilization, deploying additional officers and specialized units amid concerns of potential violence. A police helicopter circled above.
Meanwhile, a large number of neighborhood residents gathered to stage a counter-demonstration, blasting upbeat Israeli music over loudspeakers in an attempt to overpower the anti-Israel slogans.
Tensions escalated when several confrontations broke out, leading to the arrest of a few Israeli yeshiva students by police on the scene.
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