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‘Settlers go back home’: Pro-Palestine protesters gather in NYC, try to break into Grand Central Station

November 11, 2023 | | Print Article

Pro-Palestinian protesters tried to storm New York City’s Grand Central Station late Friday but were ultimately unsuccessful.

According to local station WABC, a pro-Palestinian protest began around 5:00 pm at Columbus Circle, which is roughly two miles away from Grand Central Station.

While at Columbus Circle, the protesters reportedly burned an Israeli flag while chanting “genocide Joe,” “settlers go back home,” “Palestine is ours alone,” “we don’t want a Jewish state,” and “it is right to rebel, Israel go to hell.”

“Marchers then made their way to the New York Times building, vandalizing the front with a red tint before heading to Grand Central,” WABC reported.

Once at Grand Central Station, masked protesters tried to kick in the doors:

“[S]ervices at the terminal were extremely limited as a result of the demonstrations,” The Jerusalem Post confirmed.

Pro-Israel observers who came out to counter-protest were not pleased by what they saw and heard.

“They were chanting from the river to the sea and calls for the elimination of Israel and the genocide of the Jews,” one observer told the New York Post.

At one point, several of the protesters reportedly taunted a crying pro-Israel woman.

“Cry b—h, cry!” one masked man yelled at her.

Watch:

“Y’all got no f–king support! F–k you! I’ll f–k you up if I see you!” a Palestinian supporter reportedly yelled to another pro-Israel protester.

Not every pro-Palestinian protester behaved like an a–hole. Take Anna Ahmed, a 40-year-old who told the New York Post that she just wants to see an end to the violence.

“Since ’48, Israel came and occupied Palestine — since that day. And today they’re killing kids and children. Every day they’re bombing hospitals, kids and schools, and houses,” she claimed.

The protesters also reportedly projected messages such as “Palestine will be free,” “cease apartheid,” “cease funding Israel,” and “cease imperialism” onto the Museum of Modern Art.

The protesters later “raged at two different Starbucks stores on 6th Avenue and Madison Avenue, prompting workers to lock the doors at one location,” according to the New York Post.

“Shut it down! Shut it down!” they yelled at Starbucks customers and employees alike.

“You make drinks for genocide! You make drinks for genocide!” they added.

The protest was reportedly organized by a group called Within Our Lifetime.

“[W]e are asking you to FLOOD NYC FOR GAZA, from every borough, neighborhood, community, and struggle. Organize and mobilize in YOUR neighborhood and on YOUR campus in defense of Gaza and against all those who are guilty of the genocide of the Palestinian people. Take to the streets everyday and share your actions with us!” the group wrote in an Instagram post prior to Friday’s protest.

“From across the city and around the world, across communities and national liberation struggles, united in defense of Gaza and all of Palestine, let us send a louder message to all those complicit that the more they try to stifle us, repress us, and push us off the streets, the larger our numbers will be,” they added.

Grand Central Station was eventually reopened to the public around 11:50 pm.

Vivek Saxena
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