A pro-Palestinian protest near a Queens synagogue drew condemnation from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after video appeared to show demonstrators chanting support for Hamas, an incident that local officials and Jewish advocates said heightened safety concerns in the area.
On Thursday night, protesters gathered near a synagogue and Jewish institutions in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, where video posted to social media appears to show demonstrators chanting, “Say it loud, say it clear, we support Hamas here.” The protest took place near the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills and the Yeshiva of Central Queens, according to local reporting.
Jewish community advocates and local outlets said the demonstration prompted some nearby Jewish institutions to close early out of safety concerns. CBS News New York reported that demonstrators were kept behind barricades across the street from the yeshiva, and quoted the Anti-Defamation League’s New York/New Jersey regional director criticizing the apparent pro-Hamas chant.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed the chant the following day after being asked about it by a reporter, saying, “That language is wrong. I think that language has no place in New York City.” He later wrote on X that “chants in support of a terrorist organization have no place in our city,” adding that the city would work to protect access to houses of worship while preserving “the constitutional right to protest.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also condemned the chant in a Friday-night post on X, writing that “marching into a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and leading with a chant saying ‘we support Hamas’ is a disgusting and antisemitic thing to do.”
The protest and the ensuing political fallout circulated widely online, with multiple public officials denouncing the demonstrators. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania criticized the protest on X, calling it “menacing and intimidation” and saying the Jewish community “deserves relief and protection.”
The episode unfolded early in Mamdani’s tenure as mayor. On his first day in office, he signed Executive Order No. 1, which revoked New York City mayoral executive orders issued on or after September 26, 2024, while continuing those issued before that date unless later revoked or superseded. Some commentators and advocacy groups have argued that the revocation affected certain Israel- and antisemitism-related policies adopted late in the previous administration, though the executive order itself does not single out specific subject areas.
The incident has fed into broader debates in New York City over protests near houses of worship, public safety, and how elected leaders respond to antisemitism and extremist rhetoric.
