Thousands March, Mourn As New Yorkers Navigate Israel-Hamas Conflict

NEW YORK CITY – Several thousand pro-Palestine protestors marched across Manhattan on Monday, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed, during a day of action that coincided with vigils and other memorials commemorating the Israeli experience of the Oct. 7 attacks.

More than 1,200 people, many of them Israeli civilians, were killed in the large-scale, coordinated assault by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups last year, in the single deadliest day for Israelis since the country’s founding in 1948.

Over 250 people were taken hostage on Oct. 7. Of these, 64 are believed to be alive and in captivity, while 33 are confirmed deceased, their remains still held by Hamas.

Israeli’s response to the attacks has killed a reported 41,000 Palestinians, and fighting between Israel and Hamas continues, with the conflict recently spilling into Lebanon.

The global calamity has been fiercely – and for the most part, peacefully – litigated on New York City’s streets for more than a year.

Central Park

About 5,000 people, including Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, reportedly gathered at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park on Monday night, at an event to remember the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks.

Hosted by the United Jewish Appeal Federation of New York, a large Jewish philanthropic organization, the event featured those who survived the attacks, those had lost loved ones on Oct. 7, and those whose family members remain in captivity in Gaza.

"We wish October 7th was just a regular day on the Jewish calendar, but it's not and it will never be and it's our job as Jews living in America to ensure the world never forgets what happened on October 7th," said Hindy Poupko of the UJA-Federation of New York.

It was a beautiful fall evening, and Patch was in Central Park, which was full of New Yorkers and tourists walking, running, biking, and otherwise going about their normal city rhythms.

The park was unusually barricaded due to safety concerns, with garbage trucks and NYPD cruisers blocking entrances on Central Park West and 59th Street, and Patch saw several would-be memorial attendees turned away while attempting to cross the park on Terrace Drive.

Protests

The sounds of protest echoed across Manhattan throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

At approximately 1:20 p.m., a scheduled protest organized by the Palestinian-led community organization Within Our Lifetime took place at the New York Stock Exchange, police said.

The group subsequently meandered through Lower Manhattan, passing Foley Square, Washington Square Park, and Union Square Park, where another group of pro-Palestine protestors had assembled.

A large group then marched northbound up Park Avenue through Midtown, before turning westbound near 35th Street and 5th Avenue at about 5:30 p.m.

At that time, there were approximately 2,500 participants, according to officials.

Throughout the day, there were a total of seven individuals taken into custody, police said. Two received summonses and five were arrested, according to an NYPD spokesperson.

Columbia University

At approximately 1:50 p.m., about 175 pro-Israel demonstrators and 200 pro-Palestine demonstrators made their voices heard near West 116th and Broadway, police said.

The pro-Palestine group boarded the subway at about 2:45 p.m., police said, exiting downtown at Church Street and Chambers Street, where the group merged with the larger Within Our Lifetime protest.

Union Square Incident

At approximately 3:55 p.m., police responded to a call regarding an assault during a pro-Palestine protest inside Union Square Park not far from 10 Union Square East, according to authorities.

A 54-year-old man told police he had been assaulted, police said. The man, who was carrying an Israeli flag, said that he was surrounded by Palestinian protestors, who attempted to take his flag, according to police.

A scuffle began, and during the struggle, an unidentified man struck the 54-year-old man in the face with a flagpole, police said. An unidentified woman then struck the victim in the face with a tambourine, according to police.

The assailants fled the location on foot, authorities said, and the victim was treated at the scene by emergency responders.

No arrests have been made, and an investigation remains ongoing.