I was not aware of any counter protest to their usual anti-Israel lies and propaganda, but it was the last night of Passover. Most likely this night was chosen for that reason. This way their Anti-Zionist/Anti-Semite protest, sing-along (and lecture) could proceed without an informative opposition to expose them. (Or so they thought)
I missed one counter protestor who informed me that he got off the subway at 79th street and jumped into the middle of thir protest for a couple of minutes. He asked them, “Why they were not Boycotting the Arab/ Muslim beheaders, the abusers of women and young girls and homosexuals?” So Sorry I missed him. Wish I had been there to get that on film!
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Found this report from Kate Havard of Weekly Standard : ‘Go to Hell, Anti-Semites!’, one reaction to anti-Israel protesters yesterday at Zabar’s.
(I think this is Kate Havard on the right)
“Yesterday, on the last day of Passover, protesters surrounded the doors of Zabar’s—the iconic Upper West Side grocer famous for its knishes and lox—to demand the store stop selling the carbonated beverage maker SodaStream. The roughly 40 protesters, carrying guitars and signs decrying “Apartheid Soda,” represented a coalition of volunteers from Adalah-NY (meaning “justice” in Arabic), Jewish Voice for Peace, and members of the failed initiative to boycott Israeli products at the Park Slope Co-Op.Some of Zabar’s customers appeared unaffected while others were clearly annoyed at the ruckus. “Go to hell, anti-Semites!” shouted one customer as he left the store, hoisting a SodaStream, an Israeli soda making device made in a factory in Maale Adumin, a suburb of Jerusalem. “You all go to hell!”Alana Krivo-Kaufman, a representative from Jewish Voices for Peace, says protesters deliberately chose to target Zabar’s for a boycott because it has strong ties to the Jewish community. “Zabar’s is a beloved institution by those of us on the Upper West Side. They have a history of being a community influence,” she said.But Pam Sporn, a BDS advocate, tried to deny the protest was anti-Israel. “There’s nothing in the BDS call that’s anti-Semitic,” she said, “There’s no hate speech. There’s no accusations at any individual Jewish person. I’m Jewish.” However, she also said her objection to Israel extended beyond the settlements and to the entire state of Israel. “Personally, I have a problem with any state being for any one religion or one group of people,” she said.“Idiocy,” said Joe Steiner, a customer who said he’s been shopping at Zabar’s for 15 years. “This product is made in the West Bank. If it weren’t for them, those Palestinians would be starving. SodaStream pays them more than Hamas can. It’s good. This is ridiculous.”Erica Gerson wasn’t shopping at Zabar’s today. But she crossed the street to speak out against the protest. “My understanding is that SodaStream is good for Jewish and non-Jewish relations,” she said, “They pay Jews and non-Jews the same wages. They provide employment. And what could be better than working side by side?”The protesters “are either crazy, anti-Semitic, or ill-informed,” she said, “If I didn’t own a SodaStream already I’d go in and buy another one.”
Glad to know that Zabars stood up to them. Mr. Zabar did not bother to meet with the protestors because, he said, “I did not think you were worth it”. And one more Zabar’s quote From Kate Harvard’s article, “We sell food. We don’t do politics”
