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NYC Police Head Off Anti-Zionist Protest After Black Residents Urged to ‘Rise Up Against’ Orthodox Jews

Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of WithinOurLifetime (WOL), leading a pro-Hamas demonstration in New York City on August 14, 2024. Photo: Michael Nigro via Reuters Connect

Anti-Israel activists attempted to swarm the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn on Monday night to protest “Zionism,” heightening safety concerns among the New York City borough’s Orthodox Jewish community.

Scores of pro-Palestinian agitators sought to descend upon the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Crown Heights, confronting visibly Jewish individuals, shouting obscenities, and throwing punches at counter-protesters. However, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) deployed officers to prevent the anti-Zionist activists from wreaking havoc.

As police vans and cars patrolled the streets, dozens of officers walked alongside the protesters’ route while streets were blocked by police on bicycles who cut off the path to Crown Heights, home to the headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch, a Hasidic movement within Orthodox Judaism that operates around the world. Anti-Israel activists had called on protesters, especially Black local residents, to “rise up” against Chabad.

Jewish community watch groups, including Crown Heights Shomrim, joined patrols in the area.

Chabad-Lubavitch spokesperson Rabbi Motti Seligson said on social media that the protesters never made it to Crown Heights due to the NYPD deployments.

The raucous demonstrations came after the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters hosted Israel’s controversial national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir — who has called for annexing the West Bank and the emigration of Gaza’s residents — on Thursday night. Ben-Gvir’s visit drew large protests from anti-Israel activists who bellowed chants such as “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a slogan that has been widely used as a call for the destruction of the Jewish state, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Jewish and pro-Israel counter-protesters met the demonstrators in Crown Heights, leading to clashes. In one incident, a mob of the counter-protesters chased and harassed a woman who they mistook for a participant in the anti-Ben-Gvir demonstrations.

Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters subsequently issued a statement denouncing the anti-Israel agitators and those who targeted the woman, reportedly a neighborhood resident in her 30s who was simply investigating the scene.

“The violent provocateurs who called for the genocide of Jews in support of terrorists and terrorism — outside a synagogue, in a Jewish neighborhood, where some of the worst antisemitic violence in American history was perpetrated, and where many residents share deep bonds with the victims of Oct. 7 — did so in order to intimidate, provoke, and instill fear,” Seligson said in a statement. “We condemn the crude language and violence of the small breakaway group of young people; such actions are entirely unacceptable and wholly antithetical to the Torah’s values. The fact that a possibly uninvolved bystander got pulled into the melee further underscores the point.”

Following the explosive clashes, a group called the Bronx Palestine Solidarity Committee issued a public statement on Instagram on Sunday urging black New Yorkers to target and harass members of Chabad-Lubavitch. The organization, which is an affiliate group of the anti-Israel group Within Our Lifetime, urged Black people in Brooklyn to target Orthodox Jews in the area.

“Waiting for the sleeping giant that is Carribean Brooklyn, who have long suffered abuse and oppression at the hands of the racist Zionist Chabad Lubavitch to rise up against them,” the group wrote, vowing to “flood the streets of Crown Heights to inform them Zionism is not welcome here.”

The Bronx Palestine Solidarity Committee continued, arguing that Orthodox Jewish landlords have “violently exploited” the Black residents of Brooklyn through collecting exorbitant amounts in rent to supposedly “feed their genocidal land grabs in Palestine.”

“What would happen if Caribbean Brooklyn brought that VYBZ Kartel Barclays energy with ferocity and tore down these f—king monsters!?” the statement continued. “We will flood the streets of Crown Heights to inform them Zionism is not welcome here. Free Palestine. Bring flags and keffiyeh.”

VYBZ Kartel is a highly popular Reggae artist within the Caribbean community. He performed to sold-out crowds at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in April. 

Crown Heights was also the site of infamous 1991 riots, in which Black New Yorkers targeted and attacked Jewish residences and businesses for three days. The riots, which were sparked by a fatal car crash involving a Hasidic Jew and two young black children, were largely motivated by an unfounded belief that Jewish New Yorkers received preferential treatment from city services.

Following the latest clashes near Chabad’s headquarters, Crown Heights Bites Back and other radical groups called for a meeting to plan for future confrontations, decrying protest organizers for not being prepared and calling on supporters to train for “defensive and offensive tactics.”

The group went on to describe Chabad as “Zionist Nazis” and Zionism as an inherently oppressive idea.

The post NYC Police Head Off Anti-Zionist Protest After Black Residents Urged to ‘Rise Up Against’ Orthodox Jews first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Antisemitic Incidents Spiked in UK After Bob Vylan’s ‘Death to the IDF’ Chants at Glastonbury

Police officers block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in protest against Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

There was a recorded rise in antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom the day after the English punk rap duo Bob Vylan called for the death of Israeli soldiers at the Glastonbury Festival in June, according to the Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters.

CST on Wednesday published a new report detailing antisemitic incidents recorded from January to June 2025. The report stated that the highest daily total for such outrages in the first half of 2025 was 26 reported on June 29, 16 of which took place online.

On June 28, Bob Vylan vocalist Pascal Robinson-Foster led thousands in the audience to chant “Death, Death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during the band’s set at the Glastonbury music and arts festival in Somerset, England. The performance was livestreamed by the BBC.

CST said the 26 incidents reported to the charity on June 29 involved “anti-Jewish responses” to events at Glastonbury, and CST’s statement on X that described Bob Vylan’s anti-IDF chants as “utterly chilling” and “an expression of mass hatred.”

The second worst day for “anti-Jewish hatred” in the first half of the year was May 17, when 19 incidents were recorded just a day after Israel announced the expansion of its military operation in the Gaza Strip, according to CST’s new report.

“In all of these incidents, anti-Jewish language, motivation, or targeting was evident alongside the rhetoric linked to Israel or Zionism,” CST said. “Both of these cases [on June 29 and May 17] illustrate how sentiment and rhetoric towards Israel and Zionism influence, shape, and drive contemporary anti-Jewish discourse, online and offline, often around totemic events that grab mainstream public attention.”

Because of their anti-IDF comments, Bob Vylan was dropped by their talent agency, as well as festivals and concerts worldwide. The duo also had their US visas revoked, and police in the UK launched an investigation to see if the band’s anti-IDF comments are a criminal offense.

The BBC apologized for broadcasting Bob Vylan’s “offensive and deplorable behavior” in their Glastonbury performance, during which Robinson-Foster also complained about working for a “f—king Zionist” and chanted “Free, free Palestine.”

According to Wednesday’s report, the CST recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.

Fifty-one percent of all antisemitic incidents in the first half of this year “referenced or were linked to Israel, Palestine, the Hamas terror attack (on Oct. 7, 2023) or the subsequent outbreak of conflict,” CST noted. The group also recorded 73 antisemitic assaults in the first half of the year – with an additional three physical attacks categorized as “extreme violence” – and 572 cases of online antisemitism.

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Members of IDF’s New Ultra-Orthodox Brigade Complete Combat Training

Members of the Hasmonean Brigade during their beret ceremony at the Western Wall on Aug. 6, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

The first set of troops from the Israel Defense Force’s new ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade completed seven months of basic and advanced training on Wednesday morning, when they received their dark blue berets during a ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

“The army and the Torah go together, shoulder to shoulder. One strengthens the other, ” Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth wrote in a post on X, congratulating the troops. “I bless the ‘Hasmonean’ Brigade – the first ultra-Orthodox brigade in the IDF, which completed its training course today and, in an emotional ceremony at the Western Wall, received their beret. Only together will we triumph.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also congratulated the troops, saying that “there is nothing more Jewish than defending the land of Israel.”

Israel’s Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology Gila Gamliel added in a post on X that troops in the Hasmonean Brigade are “paving the way for combining faith with courage.”

“You are a symbol of dedication, mission, and contribution to the nation, and you light the path for all of us toward Israel’s unity,” she added. “Your brigade is proof that one can preserve identity while defending the homeland.”

The beret ceremony on Wednesday morning was attended by Shin Bet director and Maj. Gen. David Zini, who was crucial in the creation of the brigade, and brigade commander Col. Avinoam Emunah. Fifty ultra-Orthodox troops did a “beret march” that started in the hills of Jerusalem and ended at the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem before the start of the ceremony. They blew shofars and sang songs calling for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, according to Israel’s Arutz 7.

Members of the brigade live a Haredi lifestyle both inside and outside the army and are given special accommodations, such as at least an hour of learning Talmud every day. Around 2,700 Haredim, or ultra-Orthodox Jews, have joined the army over the past year, according to Israeli media reports.

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UK’s Royal Ballet and Opera Cancels Israel Production After Staff Members Protest

The Royal Ballet perform in a general rehearsal of “Dark with Excessive Bright” at the Royal Opera House in London, Britain, Feb. 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville

The Royal Ballet and Opera has canceled a performance of Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv scheduled for next year after 182 anti-Israel RBO staff members signed an open letter protesting the planned performance and the organization’s support of Israel.

“We have made the decision that our new production of ‘Tosca’ will not be going to Israel,” RBO Chief Executive Alex Beard said in an internal message to staff, cited by The Guardian. He also reportedly mentioned the open letter signed anonymously by RBO staff members that was sent to him and the board on Friday.

The website of the Israeli Opera no longer includes any references to the RBO, but performances of “Tosca” are still listed for July 2026. The Royal Ballet and Opera is based at the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden and is supported by a cast of more than 3,000 employees, according to its website.

In an open letter published by Artists for Palestine UK on Monday, RBO staff members said they “reject any current or future performances in Israel” and are committed to “withholding our productions from institutions that legitimize and economically support a state engaged in the mass killing of civilians.” They further condemned RBO’s decision to have a production of “Turandot” by Giacomo Puccini at the Israeli Opera this year. “The decision cannot be viewed as neutral. It is a deliberate alignment, materially and symbolically, with a government currently engaged in crimes against humanity,” said staff members – including dancers, singers, musicians, and backstage crew.

They then claimed that the Israeli Opera offers free tickets to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. The RBO “is clearly making a strong political statement by allowing its production and intellectual property to be presented in a space that openly rewards and legitimizes the very forces responsible for the daily killings of civilians in Gaza,” the letter stated.

Staff members demanded that the RBO “withholds our productions from institutions that legitimize and economically support a state engaged in the mass killing of civilians.” They also condemned RBO’s “silence on Israel’s genocidal conduct” and expressed solidarity with a performer who last month raised a Palestinian flag during the curtain call of “Il trovatore” at the Royal Opera House. The staff members said the performer displayed “courage and moral clarity on our very stage.”

Video footage from the incident showed RBO’s Director of Opera Oliver Mears trying to seize the flag from the performer in front of a live, applauding audience. The open letter said Mears’ actions “sent a clear message that any visible solidarity with Palestine would be met with hostility, while the organization remains silent on the ongoing genocide.” They called for Mears “to be held accountable for his public display of aggression,” and demanded that the RBO “publicly acknowledge the genocide in Gaza” and “end its silence” regarding Israel’s actions.

“History will remember the choices we make in times of atrocity. We urge our organization not to be complicit through inaction or false neutrality,” they stated in conclusion.

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