NEW YORK, NY – Anti-Israel protesters caused chaos in Central Park on Monday, vandalizing a World War I memorial and burning an American flag. The group, consisting of over 1,000 marchers, was prevented by police from reaching the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the annual Met Gala was taking place.
One vandal set fire to the American flag at the 107th Infantry Memorial site, while others defaced the memorial’s base with graffiti reading “Gaza” and plastered stickers of the Palestinian flag on the bronze soldiers. Some protesters climbed on top of the monument and waved Palestinian flags, causing a scene near Fifth Avenue and East 67th Street with no police presence in sight.
Meanwhile, the Civil War Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman bronze statue in Grand Army Plaza was also targeted by vandals that night. The base of the memorial was spray-painted with “Free Gaza” in red letters, and a Palestinian flag was attached to the front.
Earlier in the evening, about two dozen anti-Israel protesters were arrested near Madison Ave and East 83rd Street as they marched from Hunter College towards the Met Gala. The group, part of a “Day of Rage” protest organized by the Palestinian activist group Within Our Lifetime, blocked traffic on Fifth Avenue before being stopped by police at the East 79th Street Transverse in Central Park.
Pro-Israel supporters also made their presence known at Hunter College, engaging in heated exchanges with the anti-Israel protesters. The two opposing sides clashed on campus, with police warning demonstrators about unlawful behavior.
On the same night, nearly 1,000 pro-Israel demonstrators gathered in Riverside Park to show support for Jewish students, coinciding with Yom HaShoah, the day of Holocaust remembrance. Jewish Columbia students spoke out about rising antisemitism on their college campus, emphasizing the importance of never forgetting and preventing future antisemitic acts.
Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, condemned the anti-Israel protests in a speech, comparing the protesters to “modern-day Nazis” and calling out universities for allowing antisemitism to spread. Erdan urged action against this hate speech and violence, emphasizing the significance of the “Never Again” mantra.
Overall, the events in Central Park and across various locations in New York City on Monday highlighted the ongoing tensions and deep-rooted divisions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.