The Stark Difference Between DC's Pro-Israel Rally and NYC's Pro-Gaza Rally

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The brisk air and longer commute to the designated meeting spot for Tuesday’s “Flood Staten Island for Gaza” event did not deter around 400 people from showing up to protest outside the borough’s hall.

The crowd chanted the usual “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” but also went with slogans that explicitly called for violence: “From New York to Gaza, globalize the Intifada” and “We don’t want no two-state, we want ‘48.”

One speaker warned politicians who support Israel: “We will go to them in restaurants! We will go to them in front of their homes,” adding, “Keep shutting down New York City and the entire world until Palestine is free from the river to the sea!”

A particularly humorous gripe the protesters had was the blue lights in the windows of Staten Island Borough Hall, to show support for Israel, and a speaker called the lights “disgusting,” prompting the crowd to start booing and yelling. When someone else had the microphone, she said, “This building that has freaking blue lights when we have red-fire eyes…We are raging, we are enraged! This is disgusting! I am literally in shock!”

As is tradition with these types of events, once it got dark, that is when the vandalism started. At first, it was mainly placing anti-Israel stickers on the windows of department stores but then it escalated to blocking the buses leaving the Staten Island Ferry terminal. One protester was arrested by NYPD officers, causing the crowd to instantly become hostile. The crowd gave chase and fought with the officers until more NYPD units showed up and vastly outnumbered the remaining agitators.

Even with Staten Island’s more conservative reputation, there was no notable counterprotest from locals.

The rhetoric and actions from the Staten Island rumble are vastly different from the pro-Israel rally in Washington, D.C. It was an actual peaceful event and the only vandalism that I have been able to find had been from the anti-Israel crowd. The U.S. national anthem was sung and there was a general pro-America sentiment. No such thing happened in Staten Island on Tuesday night.

You do not have to be an active supporter of Israel, but it is worth noting one side loves the U.S. and the other hates it and wants to tear it down.