They were laughing and cheering the savage and horrific murders of Israelis.
A group of protesters who bill themselves as “Pro-Palestinian” are actually pro-Hamas supporters, say critics, who point to the inflammatory statements and signs that emerge from the demonstrations.
“I am shocked to see here people on the streets of New York calling for the murder of innocent civilians in Israel, supporting a genocidal, Islamist organization like Hamas,” said Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan.
“There are people who want to see death to Israel, death to America. It makes me very sad to see these people here in New York.”
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A pro-Israel supporter, left, argues with people marching in support of the people of Palestine on Oct. 8, 2023, in New York City. (Adam Gray / Getty Images)
Erdan can hear the chants against his nation from his office, and he can hear pro-Israel supporters, on the street in front of Israel’s U.N. mission, separated from each other by police on different sides of the street.
But it is the echo of the radical Islamic terrorist philosophy, the same that propelled the Nazis to embark on the Holocaust at the price of more than 6 million Jews 70 years ago, that remains the same today.
People protest in solidarity with the Palestinians in New York City on Oct. 8, 2023. (Peter Gerber for Fox News Digital)
“We don’t believe that those who support a genocidal organization like Hamas, and Hamas equals ISIS, and they behave exactly like the Nazis, the death squads of the Nazis … what can I tell them?” he asks.
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Demonstrators attend an “emergency rally for Gaza” outside the Israeli Consulate in New York City on Oct. 9, 2023. Supporters of both Palestine and Israel clashed at the event as Israel remains at war with Hamas. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)
“These people should be treated as [pariahs]. They should be delegitimized. No one should listen to them. Seeing them here, I don’t think that they can be convinced. It’s like talking to some members of Congress who hold antisemitic ideology, Rashida Tlaib or Ilhan Omar. What can I tell them? I mean, they cannot be convinced.”
“We just saw 700 innocent civilians, babies, mothers, grandparents, Holocaust survivors were butchered, butchered by barbaric Hamas operatives. And you are standing here supporting them? What can I tell these people? Really, it makes me cry,” he said. That number has now risen to more than 1,000.
The protesters say they are merely supporting the rights of the Palestinian people, demanding that the U.S. cut off funding for Israel, and they demand an immediate cease-fire. But observers note that their harsh rhetoric that celebrate the terrorist killings, and calling for even more, can be seen as betraying their apparent principles.
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Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan speaks to reporters on Oct. 8, 2023, in New York City. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Getty Images)
The criticism has not deterred Erdan from pressing his nation’s case.
“We are grateful to the American people and to the administration for offering every assistance,” he said, noting that there has been support from some unexpected sources.
“Even at the U.N. right now, I’m being hugged. I am being approached by many of my colleagues, some of them are ambassadors who hardly speak with me. But they now pay their condolences and offer their help.”
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Supporters of Israel are shown in New York City on Oct. 9, 2023. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)
As Erdan spoke in his office, he did so in front of a framed Israeli flag, tattered and torn. The flag flew at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and was recovered from the rubble.
Fox News’ Seth Andrews contributed to this report.
