(Bklyner) A protest against Council Member Kalman Yeger’s “Palestine doesn’t exist” tweet was overtaken Thursday by a raucous counterprotest as the political divide in the Middle East flares up in New York.
At about 6 p.m. on Thursday evening, adults and schoolchildren began gathering on the corner of 16th Avenue and 45th Street. There was a car parked on the road with flags that said “Trump 2020.” In about ten minutes, the street was swarmed with people chanting “Israel” and holding signs that said “Zero tolerance for anti-Semites” with a photo of Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
In a matter of an hour, about 200 people supporting the council member’s comment had gathered on the small block. Some were even perched on the fire-escape until they were told by the NYPD to come down.
