Among the pro-Palestinian zealots who shut down NYC’s streets this week were a slew of privileged, oftentimes wealthy hacks, including one who could be traced back to former President Barack Obama.
As previously reported, on Monday the pro-Palestinian zealots blocked traffic, causing chaos and confusion for commuters across the city.
“The protests Monday were carefully coordinated by at least six anti-Israel groups to cause maximum disruption, with blockades of traffic out of Manhattan on the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges and at the New Jersey-bound lanes of the Holland Tunnel,” the New York Post notes.
NYC driver confronts road-blocking pro-Hamas misfits, becomes instant hero https://t.co/dpLDNlDaOJ via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) January 9, 2024
According to the Post, many of the zealots come from “privileged” backgrounds, attended the country’s best schools, and live in the city’s best neighborhoods.
Take Naay Idriss, a 25-year-old Columbia graduate and NYU graduate student with a history of bad behavior.
She “previously admitted writing ‘f**k’ over the word Israel and ‘free Palestine’ on a discarded Israeli mailbag when she was working in NYU’s Bobst Library mailroom,” the Post notes.
And worse, the day after the Oct. 7th terror attack on Israel by Hamas, she reportedly told a crown of pro-Palestinian zealots in Times Square that the terror attack was “the beginning of our victory.”
Then there’s Ilana Cruger-Zaken, a 36-year-old graduate student at NYU’s Center for Experimental Humanities & Social Engagement, who’s reportedly studying Judeo-Neo-Aramaic dialects of northeastern Kurdistan.
“The married mom celebrated being arrested, posting an image from the Manhattan Bridge protest on Instagram and adding: ‘And we’ll do it again,'” according to the Post.
WATCH Naye Idriss incite an anti-Israel crowd w/ classic Nazi rhetoric: Israel is “a cancer in the Arab region.” Idriss then claims, “Zionism…is in ruins & we are contributing to its fall.” Actually, not. You are just making the lives of NYers miserable. https://t.co/vLfWKpm4e3 pic.twitter.com/aLUhpOJGds
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) January 9, 2024
Next up is NYU law graduate Daniel Kim, a 28-year-old who works for a company, Bronx Defenders, that defends criminals for free, and Yale graduate Lina Cohn, who’s reportedly a filmmaker whose prior work has received attention from The New York Times.
“Another out-of-town Ivy League protester was Trava Tam, 29, of Roswell, Georgia,” the Post notes. “She is a population scientist for property firm Zillow who was a Fulbright Scholar in 2016 and has a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.”
“Another Ivy League graduate issued a desk ticket was Azani Creeks, from Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, who was at the Harvard Divinity School, and now attacks works for anti-Wall Street group the Private Equity Stakeholder Project,” according the Post.
Next up is Pratt Institute gender and sexuality teacher Ann Holder, 66, who in 2020 took part in a “scholars strike” during the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020. Two years later, she reportedly bought a $1.2 million condo in one of NYC’s most prosperous neighborhoods.
Then there’s Sunita Viswanath, who, in addition to having worked for NYC Mayor Eric Adam’s transition team, was also lauded by the Obama White House years ago for being a so-called “champion of change.”
“Viswanath, 55, was arrested with her husband, Stephan Shaw, and said she spent 15 hours in custody before being released — then posted photographs of herself on X at the Brooklyn Bridge protest,” the Post notes.
Was one of the protesters who disrupted business as usual in NYC! Was arrested at the Brooklyn Bridge. Spent 15 hours in jail and just got home.
We won’t stop till there is a #Ceasefire_In_Gaza_Now, an end to the #occupation, and an end to US funding of #genocide. #NotInMyName https://t.co/XTO8xiRzrU— Sunita Viswanath (@SunitaSunitaV) January 9, 2024
She may perhaps be the most privileged of all the zealots. First, she owns an upscale Cobble Hill home. Second, she owns a second home on two acres of land in New Mexico.
When contacted by the Post, she claimed her actions weren’t anti-Semitic and that her husband is Jewish.
“For my husband and so, so many like him, the best way to be Jewish is to stand up for justice and peace and an end to the bombing right now,” she said.
Next up is Eli Coplan, a 31-year-old “artist” who lives in Brooklyn but whose family owns land in California and Colorado.
“His parents also own a nearly $4 million home in La Jolla, California, that comes with a spacious 51,00 square feet,” the Post notes. “They purchased the 1973 home for $1.825 million in the early 2000s through a trust, according to public record. They also have a home worth at least $1.7 million in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.”
Meanwhile, his mother is a former ACLU board member, and his grandparents reportedly hosted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at their home in 1968.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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