Protesters flock to anti-Israel NYC politician’s office as thousands hold vigil for hostages in Central Park: ‘Support us’
Protesters descended on a socialist city councilwoman’s office Sunday saying she is helping to fuel an anti-Israel tide of hate — as thousands separately rallied in Central Park in support of the hostages.
About 60 people gathered for a vigil outside the office of Brooklyn council member Shahana Hanif, who they accused of having a “lack of support for Jewish constituents.”
Hanif, who represents Kensington, Boro Park, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, and Cobble Hill, faced outrage from Jewish members of those communities just days after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack when she posted tweets blaming Israel for the attack.
“The root cause of this war is the illegal, immoral, and unjust occupation of the Palestinian people,” she wrote Oct. 13. “There will be no peace unless the rights of all people in this region are respected.”
After holding a moment of silence for the roughly 1,200 people killed during the Oct. 7 and a prayer for the 101 still held hostage by the terror group Hamas, demonstrators outside her office Sunday read a petition calling on Hanif to “take concrete actions to support us in your new role as co-chair of the council’s Task Force to Combat Hate.
“This is a district that is about 30% Jewish, and six days after [Oct. 7], she blamed the murdered and raped for their own rape and murder,” event organizer Danny Aronson told The Post. “A week later, she was arrested for being too violent at a violent pro-Hamas protest. Her tweets globalize the Intifada.
“I’ve lived through two intifadas. Intifadas’ buses blowing up with kids inside. And we as constituents have felt, not only is she not de-escalating, showing compassion towards the people that live in this neighborhood, but she is making it worse.”
Hanif was not immediately able to be reached for comment.
Across town in Central Park in Manhattan, the mother of 20-year-old hostage and New Jersey native Edan Alexander joined a crowd of demonstrators in erecting a “fence of hope,” which was adorned with photos of the hostages who still remain captive in Gaza.
“As a mother, I can’t describe the pain of not knowing where your child is. Our hearts are broken, but we will never stop fighting for his return. The world must understand how urgent this is,” his mother, Yael Alexander, said at the march organized by the New York Hostages and Families Forum.
“It’s been a year, and no humanitarian organization has been allowed to see them. We need a cease-fire for peace to begin and to start to heal as a nation and as people. We need action and we need it now,” she said.
Her son had only recently graduated from Tenafly High School in Bergen County, NJ, when he joined the Israeli Defense Force. He was stationed with the Golani Brigade 51st Division near the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, when the terrorists swarmed over the border and took him captive among about 240 others.
At least 1,200 were also murdered, most of them civilians.
Among the crowd in Central Park was also Moshe Lavi, the brother-in-law of hostage and father of two young daughters Omri Miran.
“When you see me smile, know that I’m in pain. So many work, so many meetings, but they are still there,” Lavi said.
“I’m sending what my sister shouted yesterday: forgiveness for all the hostages that we have abandoned you.”
