NY Police clashed with pro-Hamas demonstrators in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn on Saturday. Police apprehended protesters as a group estimated at 200 or more people marched carrying Palestinian flags along Brooklyn’s Fifth Avenue near Ovington Avenue, a popular commercial area with a significant Arab-American population. Tensions flared when a sizable police presence attempted to force the marchers onto the sidewalk, resulting in an escalation and violent confrontation erupting between the two sides.
The NYPD is seen slamming this protestor to the ground punching his chest with his hand around their neck. They never once resisted. Their head was also bleeding as they were transported to the police van.
All for walking in the street.
One of the many brutal arrests from… pic.twitter.com/f3sub6HFty
— Peter Hambrecht (@peterhvideo) May 18, 2024
Within Our Lifetime, an activist group led by pro-Hamas “Palestinians” organized the rally.
According to a senior law enforcement official speaking anonymously to the NY Times due to the ongoing nature of the incident, at least 34 individuals were taken into custody during the protest. As of early Sunday morning, the police had not yet publicly released information regarding the specific charges faced by those arrested protesters.
Footage circulated online depicted chaotic scenes of officers grappling with multiple protesters amidst a larger skirmish. In one video making the rounds on social media platforms, a police officer can be seen punching a demonstrator multiple times on the ground in a crosswalk. An NYPD spokesperson stated the department is investigating the video in question.
?BREAKING: NYPD brutally attack and arrest pro-Palestine protesters. At least one journalist has been reportedly detained. pic.twitter.com/axjWuBRr3Y
— Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) May 18, 2024
Another clip shared on Twitter showed two protesters being led away by officers with their hands restrained behind their backs, one individual seemed to have blood trailing down the side of his face. The visuals highlighted the intensity of the clashes that unfolded during the protest event.
NOW: As pro-Palestine protesters reached an intersection, officers rushed in and grabbed people out of the crowd seemingly at random
Officers tackled multiple protesters to the ground and then proceeded to punch them pic.twitter.com/fyPfA8emyM
— katie smith (@probablyreadit) May 18, 2024
A RADICAL ARMY
Within Our Lifetime offers on its website a “rally toolkit” that includes a poster featuring Hamas murderers dancing on top of a burnt IDF tank on October 7, as well as “Chants, Logistics, Outreach, Materials, Assigned Roles, Security Recommendations, Follow Up, Playlist.”
In addition to many chants in Arabic and English (Hey hey, ho ho! / Zionism has got to go; Biden Biden you can’t hide / you’re committing genocide), the toolkit also offers these logistics:
- Create a Facebook event page
- Flyer design
- Create a standard blurb for people to share on social media. Feel free to use our introduction.
- Co-sponsor with allied organizations to bring in more resources and support
- Contact legal observers (legal organizations like the National Lawyers Guild provide legal observing to rallies across the US)
- Write a press release to send to local media the night before or early the day of the rally.
- Organize a press conference with community leaders and organizations to speak about the goals of the rally to the media.
- Have a point media person to coordinate with media for the press conference
- Create a security plan for those who attend the rally to ensure their safety, particularly from Zionist disruptors.
- Be prepared to do jail support in case any protesters are arrested.
And security recommendations
- Scope out your rally location ahead of time and make sure your route is free of obstructions being mindful of street directions, locations of police precincts, etc.
- Develop a security team and have a briefing shortly before the rally to go over the timeline of the day and any security threats
- Move as one, and stay behind front banners to keep the rally cohesive and protected.
- Keep route direction closely guarded, do not tell random people who ask.
- Journalists and photographers should check in with organizers before publishing any material
- Do Not Talk to The Police! Have an assigned police negotiator who is the sole person talking to the police.
- Do not record, post, or talk freely about anything that could get anyone in legal trouble.
Protect Yourself:
- Cover your face if you do not want to be identified.
- Find your local National Lawyer’s Guild chapter and write their phone number down on your arm in case you’re arrested.
- Travel to and leave the action with friends and comrades.
Say what you will, this is a well-organized, disciplined army, and the NYPD finally realized it had to be stopped with the means appropriate for stopping an army.
JEWISH PUSHBACK
A group of wealthy business leaders and billionaires aiming to influence US public opinion on the Gaza conflict privately urged New York City Mayor Eric Adams last month to deploy police to disperse pro-Hamas protests occurring at Columbia University, according to communications obtained by The Washington Post.
On April 26, approximately a week after Mayor Adams had initially sent NYPD officers to Columbia’s campus, he joined a Zoom video call with business executives including Kind Snack founder Daniel Lubetzky, hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, billionaire Len Blavatnik, and real estate investor Joseph Sitt. During this call, some attendees discussed making political donations to Adams as well as how the group could pressure Columbia’s leadership to allow the mayor to send police onto campus to handle protesters, per a chat log summarizing the conversation.
One member of the WhatsApp group chat confirmed donating the legal maximum of $2,100 to Adams that month. The chat log also shows some members offered to pay for private investigators to assist NYPD in managing the protests – an offer that a group member reported Adams accepted. However, a spokeswoman for City Hall stated the NYPD is not using and has not used private investigators for protest oversight.
