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NYPD Shuts Down Anti-Israel Protests Outside Chabad Headquarters During Torah Ceremony

A protest targeting the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Photo: Shomrim
Dozens of anti-Israel demonstrators appeared across the street of the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in New York city on Sunday during a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a prominent leader of the global Hasidic movement within Orthodox Judaism.
Showing up at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, the approximately 30 anti-Israel activists waved a Palestinian flag and a black-and-white Puerto Rican flag, indicative of alignment with the Black Lives Matter movement. One black-and-red sign at the protest read, “Having said that Floyd was killed by IDF-trained cops meanwhile ‘Israel’ commits genocide and racial apartheid,” seemingly trying to draw a connection between Israel and the 2020 death of George Floyd while being arrested by police officers in Minneapolis.
At Sunday’s protest, a brown, cardboard sign featured the names of those killed in police shootings including George Floyd, Jordan Neely, Eric Duprey, and Michael Rosado.
According to Yaacov Behrman, a public relations spokesman for Chabad, “Known agitator and antisemite Terrell ‘Relly Rebel’” was present at the protest. “He is being mostly ignored by the community, which is gathered across the street at a synagogue to celebrate the arrival of a new Torah,” Behrman added.
A masked protester held a sign with a black American flag and the phrase “Israel’s bitch” with “Israel” in quote marks to imply the Jewish state’s illegitimacy. Many others present obscured their identities with keffiyehs, hats, sunglasses, and face masks. One sign held by a woman in a black mask proclaimed, “King Leopold Killed 10-15M in Congo but it’s Genocide When It Happens to White People,” an apparent racialized diminishment of the Holocaust.
One photo from the event shows a man wearing a red-and-white head covering and large gray hoodie holding a cardboard sign saying in blue and red letters that “George Floyd Should Be Alive” and “Let Black Men Grow Old.”
Jewish security service Shomrim described the confrontation at the Siyum Sefer Torah ceremony in a post on X.
“A known antisemitic agitator, accompanied by approximately 30 cohorts, staged a brief demonstration across the street from 770,” Shomrim explained. “They remained for about 30 minutes and were largely ignored by the community. Our commanding officer, Captain Perez and his NYPD [New York City Police Department] 71st precinct and the NYPD 77th precinct team, alongside NYPD Brooklyn South, responded swiftly and professionally, doing an outstanding job of escorting them out of Crown Heights and ensuring the safety and security of the neighborhood.”
Police officers soon arrived and formed a line between the demonstrators and the synagogue. Another image of the scene captured seven NYPD vehicles parked in response.
Behrman praised Shomrim “for their strong response” and “the Community Affairs team at City Hall for staying in constant contact.”
“On one side of the street, there was a beautiful Hachnosas Sefer Torah in memory of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, marking one year since his passing,” he added. “On the other side, a small group of antisemites tried to cause trouble — but were completely ignored. Shomrim did an outstanding job managing both sides of the street.”
At the “Rellyrebel” instagram account, an individual identifying as Terrell Harper describes himself as the founder of We the People, a group which says it seeks “building & organizing together through our mutual aid efforts. We take care of us! Centering ALL Black lives! FOR the people-BY the people.”
Harper also writes in his bio that “we pig hunting” with a pig and red X emojis. The user photo features a man with long dreads, a red and white head covering, and a cardboard sign reading “Zionism Out of Brooklyn.”
On April 27, We the People’s Instagram posted an appeal on behalf of Harper requesting “outreach and trial support needed.” The group described “Relly Rebel” as “a dedicated and passionate community organizer and activist who has been protesting and doing mutual aid in NYC since 2020. Since he began this work, the NYPD have put a target on his back, intensifying their tactics against him each year. They sent the US Marshals to his house on a protest warrant, they sent him to Rikers, and now, they are taking him to trial on false charges.”
On Friday, Harper left a Brooklyn court with charges of breaking into a police officer’s house dropped by prosecutors following a review of video footage.
“This vile, cop-hating defendant routinely brags online about harassing police officers. He has made it his mission to prevent us from doing our job to protect the public, and the justice system is helping him do just that. When we say that the system doesn’t have our backs, this is what we’re talking about,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said in response.
Following Harper’s case dismissal, his Instagram posted, “We aren’t done yet, Relly still has one more case in Manhattan that he needs our support for! The next court date for Manhattan is June 9th 2025, 100 centre st, 9:00am, Part C. Flyer coming. That case is on for trial and we need numbers to show the NYPD we still and always will have Relly’s back. Zionists are also threatening to come out to court so be early and pack the court with our support [sic].”
Sunday’s demonstration came less than a month after anti-Israel activists attempted to swarm the Crown Heights neighborhood 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 NYPD deployed officers to prevent the anti-Zionist activists from wreaking havoc.
The post NYPD Shuts Down Anti-Israel Protests Outside Chabad Headquarters During Torah Ceremony first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.