Anti-Israel protesters wave Hezbollah banner, set American flags on fire during NYC unrest
Anti-Israel protesters in Manhattan waved the yellow-and-green banner of Hezbollah and proclaimed their “love” for the Iran-backed terrorist organization – as others set US flags on fire and chanted “death to America” during Monday’s day of unrest.
Videos taken during the downtown protest show at least one masked activist proudly displaying Hezbollah’s flag emblazoned with the image of an assault rifle and the words: “The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon.”
“Why are you supporting this? This is terrorism!” one outraged activist said of the murderous group — which the US says was behind the 1983 suicide bombing of American military barracks in Beirut that killed 241 service members, mostly Marines.
An NYPD officer tried to put some distance between the marchers and counterprotesters.
A man wearing a keffiyeh scarf wrapped around his head and holding a defaced Israeli flag riddled with holes shot back, “Israel is a pariah state.”
The desecration including the burning of American flags is not illegal thanks to a 1989 US Supreme Court ruling Texas v. Johnson that said it should be considered free speech protected by the First Amendment.
A woman in the crowd exclaimed, “We love Hezbollah!” while another protester could be heard yelling that “America is a terrorist state!”
Founded in 1982 in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Hezbollah is a Lebanon-based terrorist organization backed by Iran, which has been involved in numerous attacks, including the bombings of the US Embassy and the US Marine barracks in Beirut two decades ago, according to the National Counterterrorism Center.
Monday’s unrest in the Big Apple was mirrored in other major cities across the country as part of a concerted effort to disrupt economic activity in a bid to sway the Biden administration from providing further military support to Israel.
Anti-Israel protests have heated up again since Iran launched an air assault on Israel on Saturday as part of the Jewish country’s ongoing war with Palestinian Hamas terrorists, who along with Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis are considered Iran “proxies.”
Images of the Hezbollah flag being openly displayed in the Big Apple sparked an outcry on social media.
“First, chants of ‘Death to America’ in Michigan and Illinois. Now, the waving of terrorist group Hezbollah’s flag in New York,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY, wrote on X. “This is Joe Biden’s America.”
Shai Davidai, an assistant professor at Columbia Business School, decried what happened in New York City as “domestic terrorism.
“I’ve seen and shared many disturbing videos over the past six months, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” he wrote on X. “These were the sights today in New York City. Not in Rafah. Not in Kabul. In New York City.”
During the protest, an American flag held by a counterprotester was set on fire and had to be put out by cops, as seen in a video shared on the X account Luis Documents. Moments later, a man was heard screaming, “Death to America!”
The mob later stopped Manhattan-bound traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, crossed the span on foot and proceeded to cause havoc outside Barclay’s Center, Borough Hall and inside City Point Mall.
While rallying outside Borough Hall, protesters burned another American flag while chanting, “Shut it down!”
Police responded to the unrest in full force, detaining 48 people throughout the day, according to the NYPD.
Four suspects, ranging in age from 19 to 29, were arrested on charges including assault, resisting arrest, obstructing a government administration and disorderly conduct.
The rest were issued criminal court summons and let go, police told The Post.
New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said that the NYPD has zero tolerance to mayhem.
“Yet another organized, coordinated attempt to shut down critical infrastructure,” Daughtry wrote on X. “Disrupting the evening rush hour commute while hard-working New Yorkers are trying to get home from work? Completely unacceptable!”
