Protesters broke into the office of a Muslim city councilor on Sunday, accusing her of helping to fuel a tide of anti-Israel hatred. Thousands of people rallied separately in Central Park to support the hostages.
About 60 people gathered outside the office of Brooklyn City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif, accusing her of a “lack of support for Jewish voters.”
Hanif, who represents Kensington, Boro Park, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope and Cobble Hill, criticized those communities when he posted a tweet condemning Israel days after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. faced anger from its Jewish members.
“The root cause of this war is the illegal, immoral and unjust occupation of the Palestinian people. There can be no peace unless the rights of all peoples in this region are respected,” she wrote on October 13. Ta.
On Sunday, demonstrators stormed Hanif's office after observing a moment of silence for the approximately 1,200 people killed in the October 7 riots and praying for the 101 people still held hostage by the terrorist organization Hamas. Let us take on our new role as co-chairs of the Council's Taskforce to Combat Hate, who “read out a petition calling for concrete action to be taken to support” the front.
“This is a neighborhood that is about 30% Jewish, and six days later [Oct. 7]She blamed those who were murdered and raped for their own rape and murder,” event organizer Danny Aronson told the Post. “A week later, she was arrested for being too violent at a violent pro-Hamas protest. Her tweets make the intifada global.
“I have lived through two intifadas. Intifada buses carrying children explode. And we, the voters, have not shown compassion for the people who live in this area and have not de-escalated tensions. I feel like it's making things even worse.”
Hanif could not be reached for comment.
Across town in Manhattan's Central Park, Edan Alexander, the 20-year-old mother of one of the hostages from New Jersey, joined a crowd of demonstrators in setting up a “fence of hope.” Photos of the hostages still being held were displayed on the fence. Gaza.
“As a mother, the pain of not knowing where your child is is indescribable. Our hearts are broken, but we will never stop fighting for his return. The world knows how urgent this is. We need to understand that,” his mother, Yael Alexander, said at a march organized by the New York Hostage Families Forum.
“It's been a year now and no humanitarian organization has been allowed to meet with them. We need a ceasefire so that peace can begin and we can begin to heal as a country and as a people. We requires action and we need it now,” she said.
Her son had just graduated from Tenafly High School in Bergen County, New Jersey, when he enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces. He was stationed in the 51st Division of the Golani Brigade near the Gaza Strip on October 7 when terrorists swarmed across the border and captured him along with about 240 others.
At least 1,200 people were killed, most of them civilians.
Among the crowd in Central Park was Moshe Ravi, the hostage's brother-in-law and the father of their two young daughters, Omri Milan.
“If you see my smile, know that I am suffering. There are so many jobs, so many meetings, but they still exist,” Ravi said.
“I send you what my sister shouted yesterday: Forgiveness to all the hostages we have abandoned you.”
