UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Protestors, carrying Israeli flags and signs condemning Mayor Zohran Mamdani, took to the streets on Tuesday night near the mayor's home on the Upper East Side to protest his approach to Zionism.
The protest, organized by a group called End Jew Hatred, began at East 87th Street and York Avenue, near Gracie Mansion, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, drawing a heavy police presence, counter-protestors and barricades. According to the New York Post, more than 300 people attended.
A 42-year-old woman was struck in the neck with a flagpole by an unidentified person, but she refused medical attention on the scene, police said. According to the NYPD, no arrests were made during the protest.
The End Jew Hatred protest comes just days before Fifth Avenue's annual Israel parade, scheduled for May 31, which Mamdani has said he will not attend.
"Zohran Mamdani has publicly engaged with Jewish communities and does not appear to personally hate Jews," a statement from the organizing group clarified.
However, the group says, "His approach to Israel, Zionism, and anti-Israel activism has been deeply flawed and dangerous," adding that anti-Israel activism contributes to "a climate where Jewish New Yorkers feel unsafe."
This is the second Israel-related protest on the Upper East Side this month.
On May 6, pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated against an event selling real estate in Israel and the occupied West Bank at the Park East Synagogue on East 67th Street between Third Avenue and Lexington Avenue.
For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.
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