A pro-Palestinian mob got violent Wednesday night for New York City’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Rockefeller Center, and one NYPD officer told the New York Post, “I was shoved, punched, kicked. It’s bulls**t.”
What are the details?
Protesters waved Palestinian flags and did their best “from the river to the sea …” chants, which chant is commonly understood to be a declaration of Israel’s imminent destruction, the paper said. Protesters also chanted, “Israel is a fascist state,” according to video recorded at the protest.
The paper said the protesters couldn’t get near the Christmas tree, so they opted for the Christmas tree outside the News Corp building, which houses the New York Post and Fox News. The Post said the building has been targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters at least twice.
The protestors also chanted, “Free, free Palestine!”
One protester was seen carrying a massive sign showing a swastika and comparing the Israel Defense Forces to Nazis, the Post said.
NYPD officers pushed crowds backward, but the crowds pushed back and called officers “f***ing Nazis,” the paper added.
More from the Post:
Pro-Palestinian organizers announced their plans to disrupt the festivities earlier this week, noting that the world-renowned celebration also falls on the UN-recognized International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Additional NYPD units were called in, law enforcement sources told The Post, adding that officers were being attacked.
“They should have shut it down. They lost control of the street. I was shoved, punched, kicked. It’s bulls**t,” one cop caught in the fray said.
Several protesters were seen being taken into custody, the paper said, adding that it wasn’t clear if they were charged.
Jamie Fry, 42, who flew in from the United Kingdom to watch the tree lighting spectacle, told the Post the protest was “very annoying.”
“I had planned my holiday around this event, being a big fan of Christmas,” Fry told the paper. “Now I’m walled in by a bunch of terrorist-loving a–holes calling for intifada. Their strategy for sympathy is disruption, but all they’ll get out of me is a big ‘F*** you.’”
The rowdy protest thinned out an hour into the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony which the Post said “went off without a hitch.”
Protesters clash with police near the Rockefeller Center tree lightingyoutu.be
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!