New York City mayor investigating pro-Israeli mob attack on women
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday that he has launched an investigation into two physical attacks by a pro-Israeli mob that took place as Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, visited a city neighbourhood last week.
"The NYPD is investigating a series of incidents stemming from clashing protests on Thursday that began when a group of anti-Israel protesters surrounded the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters - a Jewish house of worship - in Brooklyn," Adams wrote on X, referencing the only venue that agreed to host Ben Gvir in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, a New York City borough.
"Initial reports indicate that one female protester was isolated from her group, harassed by counter-protesters, and suffered injuries. In another incident, a second woman was surrounded and subjected to vile threatening by counter-protesters," he wrote.
Adams did not specify that the attacks were from a pro-Israel crowd, and repeatedly called them "counter-protesters".
"While one arrest was made and several summonses issued, we are actively working to identify additional individuals involved in these specific incidents," he added.
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Videos shared online show a female protester having her Palestinian flag snatched away before she is violently shoved to the side. Later videos show her on the ground as she bleeds from the head. Police did not appear to intervene.
Some witnesses posting on social media said she was attacked with a brick.
The woman reportedly took to Instagram, where she identified herself as an anti-Zionist Jew with an Israeli passport, as she displayed the injuries to her face.
“The only thing that gives me some joy is that while all the zios were celebrating and laughing at me im over here thinking yall hit a Jew w. a damn israhelli passport!!! great job," she wrote.
“the only thing that gives me some joy is that while all the zios were celebrating and laughing at me im over here thinking yall hit a Jew w. a damn israhelli passport!!! great job”
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) April 26, 2025
A NY woman shares on Instagram in a post that she is Jewish and has an Israeli passport and was… https://t.co/scYrqVaWdz pic.twitter.com/LzqbpVJQoo
The second female referenced by Adams turned out to be a passerby who lives in the neighbourhood, according to a report in the Associated Press.
She was surrounded by 100 men, all part of the pro-Israel crowd, who threatened to rape her before following her down the street as they chanted, "Death to Arabs," repeatedly, she told the AP.
J Street, a left-leaning pro-Israel think tank, condemned the incident and said the "grotesque behavior is a direct result of the hatred, violence and impunity modeled by leaders like Ben-Gvir".
This mob intimidation of a passerby near an anti-Ben-Gvir protest is repulsive.
— J Street (@jstreetdotorg) April 28, 2025
Such grotesque behavior is a direct result of the hatred, violence and impunity modeled by leaders like Ben-Gvir. Our entire community must condemn this harassment and those who incite such attacks. pic.twitter.com/t32PakfSbD
"I commend the NYPD officers who handled this dangerous situation with professionalism and restraint," the mayor said in his statement on X.
Nerdeen Kiswani, the founder of the pro-Palestine movement, Within Our Lifetime, said the police were part of the problem.
"The NYPD allowed the violence to unfold, even escalating it by siding with the attackers. The assault was not just 'harassment' it was a brutal and coordinated attack against anyone opposing genocide," she said.
"The mayor’s failure to mention Ben Gvir or his role in provoking this violence is exactly why these Zionist mobs are emboldened."
The far-right Israeli national security minister was on the US east coast for a week-long visit which included appearances at Chabad-Lubavitch in New York, Yale University in Connecticut, and US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he said he met with "senior Republicans" who agreed with him that Gaza should be entirely bombed.
No US government official is known to have met with him, and several Jewish establishments refused to host his speaking engagements due to his staunch opposition to a ceasefire and captive-swap deal in Gaza, as well as his far-right, anti-Arab ideology that liberal Zionists consider undemocratic.
Ben Gvir was sidelined and unwelcome by the Biden administration when it also sanctioned several extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. When Trump came into office, he reversed those policies.
New York Congressman Jerry Nadler, a Democrat and vocal pro-Israel lawmaker, denounced Ben Gvir as a "racist, terrorist, Jewish supremacist”.
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