Long-time New Yorker Michael Rapaport has voiced sharp criticism toward Governor Kathy Hochul for her hesitation to implement a statewide mask ban following a recent anti-Israel demonstration at a historic synagogue in Manhattan. The protest saw a group of keffiyeh-wearing demonstrators engaging in heated altercations with law enforcement officers.
Rapaport, who is reportedly contemplating a mayoral run for New York City, publicly denounced the skirmishes that erupted on Tuesday night near the Park East Synagogue. In a post on X, he referred to the incidents as the “HALLOWEEN SPRING FLING.”
He posted a video showing protesters using keffiyehs to obscure their faces while dismantling police barricades.
“Right now in NYC, people dressed in Halloween terror costumes are outside of… you guessed it, a synagogue in NYC,” Rapaport commented.
“[Hochul] you’ve had 3 years to put in place a mask mandate & see if this stops the nonsense, yet you did nothing. RESIGN in SHAME,” he exclaimed.
Approximately 100 demonstrators gathered at the Park East Synagogue during an event focused on real estate developments in Israel and the West Bank.
The exterior was sealed off by police barricades, but some agitators used the fences as battering rams against police, according to shocking footage.
Many used keffiyehs, a traditional Middle Eastern scarf, as makeshift masks while others waves Palestinian flags.
Popular chants echoed by the mob included “Israel should not exist,” “Palestine will never die,” and “Stop the sale of stolen land.”
The chaos was staged by anti-Israel activist group Pal-Awda NY/NJ.
No arrests were made, even as the demonstration spilled into another anti-Israel protest at Hunter College teeming with 200 more rabble-rousers.
Earlier Wednesday, Hochul said she will “will continue doing everything in my power to protect Jewish New Yorkers” in an X post not related to the protest.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also condemned the expressions of “hatred of Jewish New Yorkers” on Wednesday, but didn’t walk back his support for the protesters.
“I’ve also been clear about the fact that when we have a real estate expo that is promoting the sale of land, settlements that are a violation of international law—that is something I firmly disagree with,” Mamdani said.
Earlier anti-Israel protests that took aim at houses of worship prompted the New York City Council to pass a veto-proof “buffer zone” law that requires the NYPD to install protective barriers around synagogues during demonstrations.
Making the act veto-proof removed Mamdani’s obligation to sign it into law, instead letting it take effect automatically after the April 25 deadline.
