Pro-Palestine and Pro-Israel Rallies Clash in New York

As the Middle East erupts into a sudden, bloody war after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on Saturday, the rest of the world is dividing along familiar fault lines.

Israel’s intelligence and defense forces were caught off guard at the weekend as Hamas launched its deadly assault by firing rockets into the country, with gunmen infiltrating the nation’s border and militants kidnapping a number of Israelis.

One American military analyst described the Hamas attack as comparable to a “9/11-level event” in terms of its sheer scale. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “We are at war, not an operation, not an escalation, a war.”

Israel launched a series of air strikes, including one which destroyed Palestine Tower, a high-rise apartment building in Gaza over the weekend. And by Monday morning, the death toll had risen further, with at least 700 people killed in Israel and more than 400 killed in Gaza, according to the Associated Press.

Pro-Palestinian protesters face-off with a group of Israel supporters and police during a clash in Times Square in New York City on May 20, 2021. Similar protests took place in the same location on Sunday after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Western countries, such as the U.S. and European nations, are standing with Israel, while other countries, such as Iran and Iraq, have pledged support to the Palestinians. But the divisions have filtered down to sow discord on a smaller scale too, as pro-Palestine and pro-Israel supporters have clashed thousands of miles away from the fighting in New York and other American cities.

Supporters of Israel gathered in Times Square in New York City on Sunday to brandish Israeli flags in solidarity with the country. But they were met on the other side by those who support Palestine, who were brandishing Palestinian flags.

Footage of the demonstration, filmed by news outlet Insider Paper and shared on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, showed the pro-Israel side chanting “Shame on you! Shame on you!” across the street where a pro-Palestine crowd had gathered. New York Police Department officers could be seen keeping the two sides separate from each other.

More than 1,000 Palestine supporters had gathered, according to politics website Politico, chanting: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.” The pro-Palestinian rally was endorsed by the city chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Politico reported, and dwarfed the pro-Israel side in terms of numbers. The demonstration backing Hamas was condemned by Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul, which she described as “abhorrent and morally repugnant.”

Violence flared at another demonstration in Kirkland, Washington, on Sunday according to footage shared on X by news website Visegrad 24. A 35-second clip showed protesters shoving one another, throwing punches and trying to wrestle flags from each other. The caption accompanying the video, which has been viewed more than 1.3million times, reads: “Major clashes between Hamas supporters and a pro-Israel group in Kirkland, Washington.”

There were at least 200 demonstrators on the Palestinian side and about 100 on the Israeli side, according to The Seattle Times. Pro-Palestine rally organizer Bissan Barghouti told the newspaper: “Ultimately, this is our people defending themselves against over 75 years of occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing.”

Pro-Israel supporter Omer Lichtig, a 29-year-old who in 2022 moved from Israel to Redmond, Washington, was on the other side of the demonstration and said: “I understand if you support Palestine and their independence, really, but supporting them after this act of terror is ridiculous.”

Cities that saw demonstrations outside their Israeli consulates included Atlanta, where around 75 Hamas supporters met on Sunday, and Chicago, where hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a Jewish community gathering to support Israel at a synagogue in San Francisco.

On Sunday morning, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his “deep sympathy” for all those missing, wounded, and killed during the “unprecedented and appalling assault by Hamas terrorists.” Biden also confirmed that the U.S. will be sending additional assistance to the Israeli Defense Force as it battles with Hamas.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House by email seeking comment on the clashes in U.S. cities in response to the fighting in the Middle East.