New York, US:
Hundreds of anti-Israel demonstrators gathered at New York City’s Times Square on New Year’s Day on Wednesday, calling for an “intifada revolution”. Attendees waved Palestinian flags and carried placards that said “Zionism is cancer,” “No war on Iran,” and “End all US aid to Israel.”
Incidentally, the protest happened just hours after a terrorist carried out a deadly car attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans, that killed at least 15 people.
The protest was reportedly organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the People’s Forum. Demonstrators shouted slogans –“There is only one solution: Intifada revolution,” “Resistance is glorious – we will be victorious,” and “Gaza, you make us proud,” according to a report by the New York Post.
⚠️NEW YEARS EVE GAZA PALESTINE PROTEST IN NYC TIMES SQUARE OVERNIGHT.
MORE PLANNED TODAY TO START 2025#HELLO2025 #HAPPYNEWYEAR #CNNNYE pic.twitter.com/QkSEjWRuKd
— Chaos Alerts (@ChaosAlertsOnX) January 1, 2025
In one of the videos of the protest circulating on social media, a female demonstrator wearing a keffiyeh can be heard saying, “We’re sending you back to Europe you white b-ches.”
“Go back to Europe! Go back to Europe,” she shouted at counter-protestors outside the event at the Big Apple.
Anti-Israel protester shouts “H*mas” and “go back to Europe” at pro-Israel counter protesters in Times Square pic.twitter.com/N3JiyzRGcm
— Luke Tress (@luketress) January 1, 2025
Another speaker shouted through a megaphone, “2024 was a year of struggle against the crime of Zionism.”
The came hours after US Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, flying an ISIS flag from his truck, swerved around makeshift barriers and plowed into New Orleans’ crowded French Quarter on New Year’s Day. Police officials said 42-year-old Jabbar may have had the help of others to carry out the attack in which 15 people were killed.
The attack injured about 30 other people, including two police officers wounded by gunfire from Jabbar, who was later shot dead by cops. The attack took place around 3:15 am near the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets, a historic tourist destination known for its music and bars where crowds were celebrating the New Year. Three improvised pipe bombs were found nearby in the tourist-drawing French Quarter, including one in Jabbar’s truck.
US President Joe Biden condemned what he called a “despicable” act and said investigators were looking into whether there might be a link to a Tesla truck fire outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas. So far, there was no evidence linking the two events, Biden said.
“The FBI also reported to me that mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that he’s inspired by ISIS, expressing the desire to kill,” Biden said of the New Orleans suspect.
