New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was silent on Thursday about a planned anti-Israel protest in Queens as nearby schools and a synagogue announced early closures in anticipation of the disruption organized by a radical group.
The group, called Palestinian Assembly for Liberation [PAL]-Awda, wrote on social media that it would protest Thursday evening outside of an event held by CapitIL, a Jerusalem-based real estate agency.
“After CapitIl cancelled its December real estate event following protests from our community, Zionist real estate agencies are hosting an illegal event, explicitly advertising the establishment of an ‘Anglo community’, Ma’ale Adumim, a West Bank settlement deemed illegal under international law. We will not be silent in the face of this blatant land theft and dispossession,” PAL-Awda wrote on its Instagram page.
The group posted the address of the event, taking place at a synagogue in Queens’ heavily Jewish neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills. The synagogue canceled prayer services and two nearby Jewish schools, Yeshiva of Central Queens and PS165, announced early closures. Democratic state Assemblymember Sam Berger, who represents the area, told Jewish Insider that local principals, staff and parents are “very concerned.” The surrounding area has been “completely upended,” he said.
The protest marks the first major test Mamdani will face with the city’s Jewish community since he was inaugurated last week. The planned event comes after the same group led a protest in November outside of Park East Synagogue as it hosted a Nefesh B’Nefesh event providing information on immigration to Israel. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch later called that protest “turmoil,” while Mamdani’s office said the event was promoting “activities in violation of international law,” a statement his spokesperson would later revise.
Mamdani’s spokesperson did not respond to multiple inquiries from JI on Thursday, including one asking whether the mayor’s team had discouraged demonstrators from protesting.
“For our @NYCMayor who has said he ‘will always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors,’ I am calling on [Mamdani] for an immediate condemnation of this demonstration,” Berger wrote on X.
He added, “a safety perimeter is in place, and I am confident in the NYPD’s ability to keep the community safe.”
PAL-Awda had previously planned a protest outside a Nefesh B’ Nefesh event in Manhattan on Wednesday night. Less than an hour before the event began, the group announced that the demonstration was canceled, without providing a reason.
A few hours before Thursday evening’s demonstration was scheduled to begin, the group posted a series of instructions for participants including “mask up” and “bring Palestinian flags and signs.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Tuesday she plans to implement a policy establishing “safety zones” around houses of worship, though that policy will not be enacted in time for Thursday’s demonstration.