Last Thursday, a group of protesters outside the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills gathered to protest the Israeli real estate exhibition taking place in the shul. About a hundred protesters shouted things like “Bleep the Zionists” or “Zionists get the bleep out of here,” and “There is only one solution: the Intifada revolution.” All part of the usual discourse.
But then they carried it a step further by proclaiming, “Say it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here.”
That drew immediate reaction from Governor Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James and even AOC. Supporting Hamas is going too far. After all, they are a terrorist organization dedicated to the genocide of Jews everywhere.
“These words have no place in New York” was a common theme of the critics. Of course, it took Mayor Mamdani a full 24 hours until he was forced to utter something similar. I guess he needed time to figure out a response. Very concerning.
In truth, I don’t know how this call to support Hamas was any different from that which is screamed at every pro-Palestinian protest. What does “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” imply? The eradication of the State of Israel. Same for “Globalize the Intifada.” Of course, this is all meant to support the aims of Hamas.
But I guess openly claiming support for Hamas is crossing a line, although it’s a line quite indistinct from everything else they’ve been shouting.
The question becomes: Now that they have received universal condemnation, what will be done about it? Will the organizers, Within Our Lifetime (formerly Palestinian Youth Movement or similar groups like Pal Awda), be banned from holding future rallies? Will any of the organizers be held accountable for what took place? Somehow, I tend to doubt it. In which case, all the condemnations were just political grandstanding.
Should we not be demanding that groups like Within Our Lifetime be banned from public gatherings? It would be good to see the ADL or the American Jewish Congress be vocal about it. In fact, it would be good to see the OU and Agudah making such demands.
We also need to take note of the presence of Neturei Karta at the protest while waving the Palestinian flag. Did they also join in the call to support Hamas?
It is about time to see serious rabbanim and organizations take the lead in excommunicating participating members of Neturei Karta. Right now there is silence, giving them the political backing to do what they do.
In Antwerp, Belgium, not too long ago, a leader of Neturei Karta had a baby boy. None of the shuls would allow him to make the bris milah on their premises. Nor did any mohalim want to perform the milah. Ultimately, the bris was done in a backyard with a reluctant mohel doing the actual milah. This is what should be done with Neturei Karta here: total ban from any communication with them, including whichever shuls they daven in, for giving them safe haven.
Say it loud, say it clear: We have no tolerance for Hamas here.
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.
