Read our feature article on Zohran Mamdani’s election here.
On May 11, hundreds of Palestine solidarity activists protested outside a Brooklyn synagogue hosting the “Great Israeli Real Estate Event”, prompting clashes between the protesters, police, and Zionist counter-protesters.
The demonstration, organized by the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation Al-Awda (Pal-Awda), disrupted the sale of Palestinian land taking place at the event. Protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans including “There is only one solution: intifada, revolution.” They openly denounced US imperialism and Israel and expressed support for Palestinian armed resistance. As police lines tightened around the demonstration, activists attempted to push through barricades, resulting in physical confrontations with officers. Several protesters were arrested. Zionist counter-protesters assisted the NYPD’s efforts in attacking the demonstration.
Pal-Awda has led a series of actions across New York City targeting similar events, including a May 5 protest at Park East Synagogue in Manhattan that also faced heavy NYPD deployment. When asked about that demonstration by media, Mamdani praised the NYPD’s repression of the protesters.
“We in this city believe in the sacrosanct nature of the right to protest, and also are committed to ensuring that any New Yorker can safely enter or exit from a house of worship,” Mamdani said at a press conference. “I do believe that the police ensured that yesterday evening.”
In response to repeated demonstrations targeting land sales, New York State and City officials have advanced legislation prohibiting protests within 25 feet of religious institutions.
On April 24, Mayor Zohran Mamdani approved the law, establishing formal buffer zones that criminalize close-range protest at such sites.
West Bank land sales are illegal under international law, yet they are frequently hosted in synagogues and other religious institutions in an attempt to shield them from disruption under the cover of religious protection.
Mamdani continues to pay lip service to the Palestine solidarity movement by condemning the land sales for violating international law. Materially, he has repeatedly mobilized the NYPD to protect land sale participants and arrest those disrupting them.
Several activists taking part in the anti-land sale protests spoke with The Worker. They expressed anger toward Mamdani and NYC City Council Speaker Julie Menin for their role in repressing the Palestinian Solidarity Movement. They noted that police presence has intensified since the buffer zones went into effect and vowed to continue efforts to disrupt Zionist land sales despite legal restrictions.
In addition to approving the buffer zones, Mamdani has proposed a major expansion of the city’s hate-crime prevention budget, including an additional $26 million for the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (an 866% increase) citing the supposed rise in antisemitic incidents in New York City. The primary source alleging an increase is the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Zionist advocacy organization whose tracking of “antisemitism” is designed to protect Israel and US imperialism. Since the heroic Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the ADL has changed its methodology for counting antisemitic hate incidents, now saying anti-Zionist slogans such as “From the River to the Sea” or “Globalize the Intifada” are antisemitic.
Mamdani’s hate-crime prevention budget proposal includes funding for initiatives to expand hate-crime reporting systems. Since 2025, the government of New York City has officially adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which openly conflates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. The expanded funding proposed by Mamdani is expected by city activists to be used to monitor and target the Palestinian solidarity movement.
Image: Protest against the sale of Palestinian land at a synagogue in Brooklyn, NY. Credit: The Worker.
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