Pro-Palestinian March Through Newtown Met With Counter-Protest

NEWTOWN, PA — A pro-Palestinian march through Newtown Township and Newtown Borough Wednesday night was met by counter-protesters from the Bucks County Jewish community who showed up in large numbers in support of the State of Israel and against terrorism.

The pro-Palestinian group, numbering about 50, gathered in the parking lot at the Newtown Shopping Center where they rallied and gave a few speeches before taking to the streets of Newtown in a march that took them on a loop through the Newtown business district.

"We're here to speak out against a government that is funding genocide in our name," said Timour Kamran of Philadelphia in addressing the gathering. "We reject the idea that bombing Palestinian people, killing more than 28,000 Palestinians has anything to do with our safety and our security here in the United States. We reject that idea as ridiculous.

"We stand for international solidarity. We're out here in the cold because we stand for peace. We're here for a stop to the violence," he said. "This is not a religious conflict. This is a conflict between occupiers and occupied."

As they marched down Durham Road toward Sycamore Street chanting "Free, Free Palestine," they were met by more than 100 members of the Bucks County Jewish community marching and waving Jewish and American flags and shouting, "Bring them home," a reference to the hostages taken by the Islamic militant group Hamas during an attack on Israel on Oct. 7. The cross-border attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 hostages.

At times, the large number of counter-protesters drowned out the chants from the pro-Palestinian group as the march made its way down Sycamore Street toward Jefferson accompanied by a visible police presence from Newtown Township and Newtown Borough.

A pro-Israel supporter held up a large sign with a message for the community. It read, "Get the terrorists out of Newtown." Another read, "No Pauses. End Hamas Now," referring to calls for a cease-fire and the end of Hamas.

The pro-Palestinian marchers carried their own signs, one reading, "Genocide. Apartheid. Occupation" and another, "End the siege of Gaza. Free Palestine."

Gary Segal from Richboro was among the counter-protesters in the crowd marching for Israel and against Hamas and terrorism.

"This community has spoken loudly tonight. We will stand strong for Israel and will not tolerate terrorism," he said. "Hopefully, they will never come here again," he said.

"I'm glad people showed up," said Mike Yankilevich who helped organize the counter-protest through Facebook. In just a few days, the Facebook page he created to publicize the event had grown to more than 700 likes.

"The people who we were facing tonight came here to intimidate us. I wanted to make sure they knew that we were not going to be intimidated," Yankilevich said. "We love Newtown. This is our home. We love the town. We love the people. We want to make sure our community stays peaceful and quiet."

"I'd like to thank the people of Newtown," added Glen Khrisman. "A lot of people who were not a part of our counter-protest were supporting us by honking and waving. That was helpful. We're not just here for Israel. We're here for America. We're here for the values that they are against."

Newtown Township Police Chief John Hearn goes over the ground rules with one of the leaders of the pro-Palestinian group.

Counter-protesters wave American and Jewish flags as the pro-Palestinian marchers make their way down Eagle Road.