Pro-Palestinian protesters storm the New York Times building, destroying its facade – as hundreds of high school students and teachers walk out of class in protest of the Gaza bombings
Crowds of pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets of New York City and headed to the New York Times building, where they criticized their reporting on the war in Israel.
On Thursday, demonstrators took over the lobby of the newspaper building, holding aloft Palestinian flags and a sign reading “Ceasefire Now.” They read the names of those killed in Gaza from a newspaper called “The New York Crimes.”
It’s been just over a month since Hamas launched their surprise attack, killing 1,400 Israelis and taking about 240 hostages in the worst attack in the country’s history.
Israel retaliated with an aerial bombardment and a ground offensive, killing more than 10,000 Gazans and leading pro-Palestinian protesters calling for an immediate ceasefire.
In the days since the war between Israel and Hamas began, there have been numerous clashes, some violent, between protesters.
Photos posted on social media show the group destroying the front of the building. Outside, New York Police Department vehicles were spray-painted with “Free Gaza” and “IDF KKK.”
Protesters read the names of those killed in Gaza from a newspaper called ‘The New York Crimes’
Outside the New York Times building, NYPD vehicles were spray-painted with ‘Free Gaza’ and ‘IDF KKK’
The front of The New York Times building was defaced by protesters critical of their reporting on the war
Photos show a nearby Starbucks was defaced with “Free Palestine” graffiti and a smoke bomb was also thrown, law enforcement sources said The New York Post.
About 1,500 pro-Palestinian protesters descended on the Big Apple on Thursday, they said WABC.
Earlier in the day, New York City high school students, parents and teachers participated in a protest calling for a ceasefire.
Organized by groups like Teachers Unite, NYC Educators for Palestine and the Palestinian Youth Movement, students walked out of class and gathered in Bryant Park.
The crowd chanted: “From river to sea, Palestine will be free,” a phrase used to call for a Palestinian takeover of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, which includes Israel.
‘We have called on people to stop working. We have called on people to leave their schools. Many people responded to that call,” said Munir Marwan of the Palestinian Youth Movement CBS New York.
The group is calling for a ceasefire and an end to what they called the Israeli genocide.
After gathering at the New York Public Library in Bryant Park, the group headed to the New York Times building, where they swarmed the lobby.
Protesters chanted that the New York Times had “blood on their hands” and encouraged employees to resign.
The demonstrators returned to the New York Public Library building
Waving Palestinian flags, protesters are calling for an end to what they say is Israel’s genocide
Earlier in the day, hundreds of high school students and teachers in New York City walked out of class in support of Palestine
Protesters sit on the lion statue outside the New York Public Library. New York Schools Chancellor David Banks warned teachers about violating Department of Education rules on political speech
Police eventually managed to clear the building and the demonstrators made their way back to the library building in Bryant Park.
Ahead of the walk, New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks warned teachers about violating Department of Education rules on political speech, reported Chalk stroke.
“If speech and action – even on someone’s personal time – undermines the mission or core functions of NYCPS, we will assess on a case-by-case basis and take appropriate action,” he said in an email.
On Thursday evening, the Israeli consulate in New York held a screening of footage of the October 7 terror attack, amid calls from anti-Israel critics for “proof” that civilians were killed.
The film is compiled from dash cameras, body cameras and cellphones of Hamas fighters, as well as footage from first responders and audio recordings of phone conversations between Hamas fighters and their families.
“Mom, I killed ten Jews with my bare hands. Your son is a hero,” someone exclaimed.
The most grotesque moment was the scene of a delighted Hamas fighter attempting to behead a dead Jewish man with what appeared to be a garden spade or hoe.
‘It’s my first Jew! I want to film it,” he shouted in Arabic.
The burned bodies of small children – charred beyond recognition – were displayed, along with other adult corpses frozen in time by the ash and flames that killed them.
About 1,500 pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets on Thursday, calling for an end to Israeli retaliation against the October 7 Hamas attack.
Hundreds of high school students and teachers from New York walked out and marched to Bryant Park
Thursday’s protest came as the NYPD reported a 135 percent spike in hate crimes against Jewish and Muslim New Yorkers since the war began.
In the month of October there were 101 hate crimes, 69 of which were against Jews, while anti-Semitic crimes have increased by 331 percent since September and 214 percent since October last year.
There have also been eight hate crimes against Muslim New Yorkers — an increase of 700 percent since September and 800 percent since October 2022, when there were zero.
Fighting in the Middle East has intensified in the 34 days since Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack on Israel.
Israel has agreed to impose a four-hour daily humanitarian pause in its attack on Hamas in northern Gaza as part of an effort to get hostages out, the White House announced.
The Health Ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Israel killed more than 10,500 people, including many children, in retaliation.