About 1,000 Jewish and pro-Israel activists gathered outside a synagogue in Teaneck, New Jersey on Monday night to protect the synagogue from a crowd of anti-Israel activists who came to protest an event at the synagogue featuring the ZAKA search and rescue organization.
The counterprotesters had gathered by 6 p.m., ahead of the event's start at 8 p.m. The counterprotest was organized after a previous anti-Israel protest outside a Teaneck synagogue turned violent last month.
Anti-Israel and pro-Israel protesters shouted slogans at each other while local police attempted to keep the peace. The anti-Israel protesters shouted "shame on you" and repeated their claims that Israel is committing "genocide" in its retaliation against the genocidal Hamas terrorist organization. The protest also included chants of "free
A rabbi told the pro-Israel counterprotesters: "This harassment stops here and tonight. The Jewish community of Teaneck will not stand and let our houses of worship be targeted again and again. They will not run us out of town."
A truck was parked in the area with a video screen that displayed messages over an image of an American flag. The messages displayed included "Harassing Jews is not a civil right," "We will not be intimidated. We will not be threatened. We will not be attacked," and "Proud to be an American Jew."
Counterprotesters held signs calling for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas and stating "Hate has no home here." One protester held a sign that read, "Literally just don't attack us. It's easy." Chants of "bring them home" were common.
The anti-Israel protesters carried Palestinian Authority flags, while the pro-Israel counter-demonstrators carried a mix of Israeli and American flags.
The protest was organized by the Within Our Lifetime (WOL) and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) organizations, which accused ZAKA of "lies" and fabricating evidence of Hamas atrocities on October 7 in order to justify Israel's retaliation in Gaza.