The Justice Department‘s civil rights chief is leading an investigation into last week’s pro-Palestinian protest outside a synagogue in New York City, where a Jewish man was prevented from entering the house of worship by a large mob.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon first announced the federal inquiry on Sunday, followed by a separate statement issued Monday morning.
“New York may have failed to protect these congregants, but our [DOJ] most assuredly will not!” she wrote on X, citing a post from conservative commentator Glenn Beck. “Multiple federal civil rights and criminal statutes are implicated in these events. Full investigation underway, with [the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York]! Every house of worship in America is sacred!”
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, for instance, prohibits the obstruction of a person’s access to a place of worship through threats and intimidation.
During the protest late Wednesday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators targeted Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue with anti-Israel messaging and blocked one man from entering the building. Viral footage of the incident showed protesters chanting, “globalize the intifada,” among other antisemitic phrases. It was organized by the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation, an activist group based in New York and New Jersey.
Rep. Ritchie Torres and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both of whom consistently defend Israel, were among the top New York Democrats who condemned the calls for violence against Jews.
“Critiquing the policies of a government is one thing,” Torres said. “Targeting a Jewish institution simply for being Jewish is something else entirely. The targeting of a synagogue is not criticism; it’s extremism. It’s not demonstration; it’s discrimination.”
“No cause justifies terror-glorifying rhetoric or targeting Jewish communities,” Cuomo concurred. “If we don’t call this out clearly and unequivocally it will persist and we cannot stand for it.”
The New York Police Department continues to face backlash for its botched response to the incident. Officers failed to keep the crowd of some 200 people far away from the Orthodox synagogue’s entrance in the Upper East Side neighborhood.
While defending the right to protest, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch issued an apology to the Jewish congregation for failing to keep its members safe.
“People have the right to protest, including within sight and sound of a house of worship,” Tisch said Saturday at the Park East Synagogue. “They have the right to say things that are incredibly painful to hear. I understand that pain, deeply and personally. But the right to say those things is protected by the First Amendment, and the NYPD must uphold that right.”
“Our other job that night was to ensure that people could easily enter and leave,” she added. “That is where we fell short. And for that, I apologize to this congregation.”
Tisch announced last week that she is staying in her post as NYPD commissioner under Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a frequent critic of Israel. The socialist’s anti-Israel views have called into question whether he remains committed to protecting the city’s Jewish communities.
Mamdani’s mayoral transition team denounced the antisemitic behavior seen at last week’s protest, but the mayor-elect also criticized a Jewish nonprofit group’s event at the religious space in promotion of immigration to Israel.
ADAMS-ERA NYPD COMMISSIONER TO STAY IN ROLE UNDER MAMDANI
“The Mayor-elect has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so,” Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec said in a Thursday statement. “He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”
Nefesh B’Nefesh hosted the immigration event to answer questions. Mamdani’s press secretary did not explain why the mayor-elect believed the event constituted international law violations.
