April 29, 2022 . Al Quds Day 2022. Herald Square. NYC
At 3:30, the protest, hosted by the Muslim Congress and the very hard left Workers World Party, assembled slowly.
Not til about 4 pm was the stage set for the chanting to begin.
(Flickr Slide show)
Early on, I was challenged as an alt-right Zionist, to which I responded, “Not alt right but I don’t support wiping Israel off the map. ” To which my inquisitor walked away with a large roll of the eyes.
Then, after some long-winded prayers by a young boy, the speakers began.
Nerdeen Kiswani, their very anti-Semitic leader, spoke with her usual animosity for Israel and all things Zionist. (difficulty filming over the crowd. what mattered were her words)
Nerdeen: “Organized by the Muslim Congress on one of the last days of Ramadan“, she continues, “… protesting for our palestinian Muslim brothers and sisters back home who are continuously denied the right to worship. Denied the right to live freely. .. as Muslims it is our moral obligation; our duty to fight injustice where ever we see it … the suffering and the plight of the palestinian people.”
“AND WE WILL FREE PALESTINE. WITHIN OUR LIFE TIME. From New York to (? ) palestine GLOBALIZE our INTIFADA.“
After the Neturei Karta rabbi spoke, she made the bizarre choice to chant “Judaism, Yes. Zionism, No. The State of Israel MUST GO.”
The Neturei Karta shamefully allow themselves to be used at these protests, espousing their beliefs that there was never to be a State of Israel. Their presence is offensive, since the ‘palestinian‘ lobby uses them as the “Real Jews”.
(Rabbi’s video is excerpted) “On this International al Quds Day, cities around the globe are standing up in public for al Quds. For Jerusalem. For Justice. For Peace.For the legitimate rights of the palestinian people. The Zionists have not been resting. their “occupation” is continuing. Their aggression in full swing, including killing of men, women and children. Killing journalists. Settlement expansion. on going demolitions. The latest aggression on al Aqsa. This is about the whole occupation which we condemn here today. Pro-palestinian activism is not anti-Semitism. For centuries Jews lived in peace and harmony with their Arab neighbors.The State of israel is not a Jewish State. It is a Zionist State. To be against Zionism is no way anti-Semitic. In fact Jewish people and the Jewish religion are against all of this … rabbis and laymen are opposed to Zionist crimes against the palestinian people and the existence of the State of Israel. We pray for the speedy and peaceful dismantlement of the State of Israel.”
I couldn’t see over the crowd at this location, so after the Neturei Karta spoke, I moved on.
Nothing new to be seen or heard.
[Pictures and videos property of Pamela Hall-VSB]
