(JTA) — A demonstration outside Park East Synagogue two weeks ago, during which protesters shouted chants like “Death to the IDF” and “Globalize the Intifada,” has spurred major Jewish groups and lawmakers into action.

A coalition of Jewish groups are organizing a solidarity gathering on Manhattan’s Upper East Side Thursday night, outside the same synagogue where pro-Palestinian groups protested an event promoting immigration to Israel — a scene that NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch later referred to as “turmoil.”

The rally “will bring our community together in that same sacred space to celebrate and defend our community’s values and support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish homeland,” according to a press release from UJA-Federation of New York.

UJA is partnering on the rally with Park East Synagogue itself, as well as the Jewish Community Relations Council, the New York Board of Rabbis, and local branches of the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee.

They’ve also listed dozens of Jewish organizations, schools and congregations as partners. Schools and synagogues around the city were sharing information with families about how to commute to the rally.

The gathering will feature live performances, community leaders and elected officials, according to UJA’s release, though it did not specify who would be present.

The rally is set to take place on the heels of newly introduced legislation, brought forward on Wednesday by a pair of Jewish lawmakers — Assembly member Micah Lasher and State Sen. Sam Sutton — that proposes banning protests within 25 feet of houses of worship.

“New York must always be a place where people can both exercise free speech and express their religious identity without fear or intimidation, and that balance broke down outside Park East Synagogue,” said Micah Lasher, who is running for Congress in New York’s 12th district, which includes Park East.

The bill was co-sponsored by fellow Jewish lawmakers Nily Rozic, a Democratic Assembly member, and Sen. Liz Krueger, who endorsed mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the general election.

Many Jewish groups were disappointed with the initial response to the incident by Mamdani’s spokesperson, who said that while Mamdani would “discourage the language used” at the protest, “these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.” The second clause was a reference to complaints that the synagogue event’s organizers facilitate immigration to the West Bank, which most countries consider illegally occupied by Israel under international law.

Critics said Mamdani’s statement drew an unfair comparison between menacing protesters and a synagogue exercising its commitment to Jewish communities in what the ADL referred to as their “ancestral homeland,” and that the protest made no distinction between immigration to Israel and the West Bank.

Rabbi Marc Schneier, who has been a harsh critic of Mamdani and is the son of Park East’s senior rabbi, said on WABC that he’s had multiple phone calls with the mayor-elect about legislation like the bill proposed by Lasher and Sutton.

Schneier said Mamdani was receptive to the idea during their discussions, and a Mamdani spokesperson told The New York Times that the mayor-elect “expressed his interest in hearing more details about the Schneier pitch.”

Jewish leaders say they are looking to Thursday as an opportunity to counter the rhetoric used outside Park East.

Chaim Steinmetz, a critic of Mamdani and the senior rabbi of a different Orthodox synagogue on the Upper East Side, shared a post about Thursday’s rally, calling it an opportunity to “stand up as proud Jews.”

“And now, with a new city administration about to take office, it is more important than ever that we bring our pride into the streets,” he wrote.

The post NYC synagogue protest leads to a new bill, and a rally by Jewish groups outside Park East shul appeared first on The Forward.

An anti-Israel demonstration outside a prominent Los Angeles synagogue led to two arrests Wednesday, drawing condemnation from the city’s mayor who decried the protesters’ behavior as antisemitic.

Multiple local pro-Palestinian groups promoted the protest outside Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a Reform synagogue, which was hosting a program on the intersection of artificial intelligence and public safety that featured speakers from Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems, the Israeli police and the local Jewish federation. The event was organized by the Israeli Consulate General of Los Angeles.

Videos from the scene uploaded to social media showed around 20 protesters, many clad in masks and keffiyehs, gathering outside the entrance to the Audrey Irmas Pavilion, a neighboring event space owned by the synagogue, and engaging in heated arguments with people on their way into the event.

The protesters hung a large banner that said “Elbit out of Los Angeles” and “Genociders not welcome,” and distributed flyers that said Elbit was responsible for weapons and technology that Israel uses against Palestinian civilians and that ICE uses in the U.S.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said officers arrested one person for battery and another for vandalism.

Rabbi Joel Nickerson, the synagogue’s head rabbi, called the incident “a disturbing outbreak of hate” in a statement.

“These individuals targeted the Jewish community and chose to disrupt a community event on synagogue property that was focused on advancing public safety in Koreatown,” he said, adding, “No one should be targeted in the City of Los Angeles on account of their faith.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that protesters were calling attendees antisemitic names and had damaged property inside the synagogue. She said additional LAPD officers had been deployed to patrol near areas of worship.

“This behavior is abhorrent and has no place in Los Angeles,” Bass said. “I spoke with Rabbi Nickerson to ensure he and his congregation know that the City of Los Angeles stands with them and fully condemns these attacks.”

It was unclear how many protesters gained access to the building or how they were able to. The damaged property appeared to include a broken vase, according to video from the scene posted to social media.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles said in a statement that the protest was “antisemitism and hate disguised as dissent.”

“We are outraged and condemn this antisemitic behavior in the strongest of terms,” it said.

The protest appeared to be coordinated by multiple groups, among them Koreatown for Palestine, a local chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement and the far-left group People’s City Council Los Angeles. They urged their social media followers to call in their concerns prior to the event to the synagogue and to the Audrey Irmas Pavilion, and to arrive early Wednesday to picket outside the latter.

“We KNOW that these technologies are created on the targeting and killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and will do the same to vulnerable communities in Ktown,” the Palestinian Youth Movement chapter wrote Tuesday on Instagram.

Titled “Innovating Safety, Empowering Communities,” Wednesday’s symposium was billed as an event that would strengthen bonds between Jews, Israelis, Koreans and Korean Americans. The Korean American Federation of Los Angeles’ emblem appears on a flyer for the event.

The program included appearances from Gal Ben Ish, the Israel Police Attache to North America, and Goni Saar from Elbit Systems. Saar’s LinkedIn profile says he is a strategic business development manager for the firm; a program for the event said he presented on “public safety AI tools.”

Saar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Also speaking were the head of the Jewish federation’s Community Security Initiative, and Sheva Cho, a Korean singer who moved to Israel in 2012.

Elbit is one of the oldest and largest defense companies in Israel, employing some 18,000 people, and it developed the drones IDF has used heavily in its wars following the Oct. 7 attacks. An Elbit Hermes 450 drone reportedly struck the World Central Kitchen aid convoy in April 2024, killing seven aid workers.

According to the Elbit website, artificial intelligence tools have played a major role in Israel’s war in Gaza.

“From unmanned aerial systems and drones to electronic warfare, intelligence gathering, robotics and more, AI played an important role,” an article on the website reads. “Elbit is leading some of these directions like autonomous vehicles, different platforms and weapons that are targeted and analyzed constantly with AI, drones, AI on a strategic level to analyze different signals that can show how the enemy is working (including in civilian areas).”

People’s City Council Los Angeles did not return a request for comment, but pushed back against the assertion that the protest was antisemitic in posts Wednesday night on X.

“The ‘private event’ in question was put on by the Consulate General of Israel,” the organization wrote in a response to Bass’ post. “It featured Goni Saar from Elbit Systems and the Israel Police Attache to North America, Gal Ben Ish. It took place at Audrey Irmas Pavilion, an events venue, not Wilshire Boulevard Temple.”

Wilshire Boulevard Temple is one of the oldest synagogues on the West Coast, dating its construction to the 1920s; the congregation itself was founded in the 19th century. But the Audrey Irmas Pavilion is a recent addition, opening in 2021. It has since been featured in the Netflix show Nobody Wants This.

The post LA mayor condemns protest outside synagogue event that featured Israeli defense firm appeared first on The Forward.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon addressing the UN Security Council on Sept. 19, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

China slammed Israel on Wednesday for joining a United Nations declaration condemning its human rights record, accusing some nations of “slandering” Beijing on the international stage as bilateral relations between the two countries grow increasingly tense.

Last week, Israel endorsed a US-backed declaration, signed by 15 other countries — including the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan — that expressed “deep and ongoing concerns” over human rights violations in China.

In a rare move, Jerusalem broke with its traditionally cautious approach to China — aimed at preserving diplomatic and economic ties — by signing on to the statement as Beijing continues to strengthen relations with Iran, whose Islamic government openly seeks Israel’s destruction, and expand its influence in the Middle East.

China, a key diplomatic and economic backer of Tehran, has moved to deepen ties with the regime in recent years, signing a 25-year cooperation agreement, holding joint naval drills, and continuing to purchase Iranian oil despite US sanctions.

China is the largest importer of Iranian oil, with nearly 90 percent of Iran’s crude and condensate exports going to Beijing. 

Iran’s growing ties with China come at a time when Tehran faces mounting economic sanctions from Western powers, while Beijing itself is also under US sanctions.

According to some media reports, China may be even helping Iran rebuild its decimated air defenses following the 12-day war with Israel in June.

With this latest UN declaration, the signatory countries denounced China’s repression of ethnic and religious minority groups, citing arbitrary detentions, forced labor, mass surveillance, and restrictions on cultural and religious expression.

According to the statement, minority groups — particularly Uyghurs, other Muslim communities, Christians, Tibetans, and Falun Gong practitioners — face targeted repression, including the separation of children from their families, torture, and the destruction of cultural heritage.

In response, China’s Foreign Ministry accused the signatories of “slandering and smearing” the country and interfering in its internal affairs “in serious violation of international law and basic norms of international relations.”

The UN declaration also voiced “deep concern” over the erosion of civil liberties and the rule of law in Hong Kong, citing arrest warrants and fines for activists abroad, as well as the use of state censorship and surveillance to control information, suppress public debate, and create a “climate of fear” that silences criticism.

Western powers called on China to release all individuals unjustly detained for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms and to fully comply with international law.

Israel’s latest diplomatic move comes amid an already tense relationship with China, strained since the start of the war in Gaza. In September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Beijing, along with Qatar, of funding a “media blockade” against the Jewish state.

At the time, the Chinese embassy in Israel dismissed such accusations, saying they “lack factual basis [and] harm China-Israel relations.”