On Thursday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators were recorded as they attacked Jews and New Yorkers in Manhattan. Allegedly harassing and beating pro-Israel demonstrators; shooting fireworks at a crowd of onlookers and buildings and spitting on diners eating in a local restaurant.
Some of the violence looked to be mutual, as fights broke out between both sides, facing off in Times Square. However, the pro-Palestinian demonstrators appeared to instigate and escalate the violence.
Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind documented the violence, as did several citizen journalists who witnessed the violence as it unfolded.
HAPPENING NOW: Palestinian harassment fleet drives by Jews in Manhattan, threatening violence while screaming antisemitic slurs.
See next tweet for proof of the firebomb one of them threw at a Jewish target and their subsequent arrest on the scene.#AntiZionismIsAntisemitism pic.twitter.com/3t5KAIMKtN
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) May 20, 2021
HAPPENING NOW: Palestinian harassment fleet drives by Jews in Manhattan, threatening violence while screaming antisemitic slurs.
See next tweet for proof of the firebomb one of them threw at a Jewish target and their subsequent arrest on the scene.#AntiZionismIsAntisemitism pic.twitter.com/3t5KAIMKtN
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) May 20, 2021
Other sources, Right Scoop noted, filmed the alleged firebomb attack and its aftermath (violence, language warning):
JUST IN – Explosive device was thrown at a crowd in NYC’s Diamond District amid Pro-Palestine and Pro-Israel protests.pic.twitter.com/PT5peG3Q58
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) May 20, 2021
Palestinian mob attacks innocent Jewish man, beating him into critical condition!! pic.twitter.com/1JPeIXfFrw
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) May 21, 2021
Videos of other attacks emerged, including one of a large group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators spitting at restaurant diners, filmed by a correspondent for the conservative news website American Pigeon:
Pro-Palestine "protesters" in NYC threw a water bottle at a diner and his wife (I just missed getting it on video). The man threw the bottle back & the "protesters" spit on him & tried to attack him.👇👇 pic.twitter.com/rkDbu0LSn4
— The American Truth (@17AmericanTruth) May 21, 2021
Some videos appeared to show fights between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. According to reports on social media, police eventually dispersed the all demonstrators, including the more numerous pro-Palestinian demonstarors.
The New York Post reported:
Pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters clashed and fireworks sent people running near Times Square Thursday as tensions in the region spilled into the streets of Manhattan, videos showed.
…
A small explosive was thrown from a pickup truck in the Diamond District on 47th Street, sending worried bystanders running for safety. The pickup truck was part of a convoy of vehicles waving Palestinian flags, sources said.
A 55-year-old woman sustained burn injuries to her lower back.
The Post noted, ironically, that the violence broke out after news of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Hamas emerged. Several people on social media noted the lack of outrage, and the silence from the mainstream media and politicians about the unrest in New York City.
