Times Square protests erupt amid escalating Israel-Palestine conflict

A pro-Palestinian protest that started in Times Square on Sunday turned into a tense scene after pro-Israel demonstrators turned out in their own counterprotest.

Yet the heavily-policed events stayed peaceful throughout the afternoon, just one day after Hamas fighters breached the border between Gaza and Israel.

The organized assault by Hamas is the most significant in 50 years, and has led to the death of hundreds of people, according to news reports. Hamas has abducted Israeli children and civilians, complicating anticipated Israeli operations into Gaza. But Palestinian sympathizers have pointed to what they say is decades of oppression in the Middle East, as well as recent actions by Israeli settlers who entered and prayed inside a mosque atop Temple Mount, a site considered holy by Jews, Christians and Muslims.

In New York City, which the city estimates is home to more than 1.6 million Jewish people, the Middle East violence was met with a variety of reactions.

Mayor Eric Adams appeared on CBS's ”Face the Nation” earlier Sunday and tried to walk a fine political line. He said that peaceful protests were a protected right, but that he sympathized with the people in Israel.

Gov. Kathy Hochul was more blunt, calling the day’s planned protest “abhorrent and morally repugnant.”

“The people of Israel are facing violent terrorist attacks and civilian kidnappings,” Hochul said in a Saturday statement. “I condemn plans to rally in Times Square tomorrow in support of the perpetrators of these horrific actions.”

The pro-Palestine protest was organized by several pro-Palestinian groups and left-wing political organizations, including the People’s Forum and the city chapter of the Democrat Socialists of America. On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the local DSA described the planned demonstration as occurring “in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to resist 75 years of occupations and apartheid.”

Additional demonstrations are planned Monday outside the Israeli consulate near the United Nations.

Sunday’s protest began at 1 p.m. in a cordoned-off and policed area of Times Square. After an hour of speeches, an ever-growing crowd of hundreds of demonstrators marched to West 43rd Street and Broadway.

Miya Tada, with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said she turned out to help change the thinking around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"People are here to defend Palestine even inside the United States where the dominant narrative is that it's an illegitimate struggle, but we're here to say that it's strong. It's here."

Not too long after, a crowd organized by the Consulate of Israel gathered near Broadway and 42nd Street. The police used metal barriers to separate the two sides.

David Needle, who circled the area while holding fliers depicting photos of the aftermath of the Hamas attack, said he agreed with officials who denounced the demonstration.

“There is no U.N. legal international law that says you can abduct children, you can abduct the elderly,” he said. “This is an unfortunate situation. Israel is a democracy, it has many problems, I’m not here to say it’s the most perfect place in the world.”

This story has been updated throughout with additional details.