Lifelong New Yorker Michael Rapaport slammed Gov. Kathy Hochul for dragging her feet on imposing a statewide mask ban in the wake of an anti-Israel protest at a historic Manhattan synagogue, where a swarm of keffiyeh-clad agitators clashed with cops.
Rapaport, who’s reportedly interested in running for mayor of New York City, condemned the Tuesday night clashes near Park East Synagogue that he described as the “HALLOWEEN SPRING FLING” on X.
He also shared a clip of protesters using keffiyehs to conceal their faces as they toppled police barricades.
“Now right now in NYC, lunatics dressed in Halloween terra costumes are outside of…. You guessed it a Synagogue in NYC,” Rapaport wrote.
“[Hochul] you’ve had 3 years to do a mask mandate & see if this stops the bullsh-t, you did nothing. RESIGN in SHAME,” he seethed.
Roughly 100 protesters descended on the Park East Synagogue during an event promoting real estate in Israel and the West Bank.
The exterior was sealed off by police barricades, but some agitators used the fences as battering rams against police, according to shocking footage.
Many used keffiyehs, a traditional Middle Eastern scarf, as makeshift masks while others waves Palestinian flags.
Popular chants echoed by the mob included “Israel should not exist,” “Palestine will never die,” and “Stop the sale of stolen land.”
The chaos was staged by anti-Israel activist group Pal-Awda NY/NJ.
No arrests were made, even as the demonstration spilled into another anti-Israel protest at Hunter College teeming with 200 more rabble-rousers.
Earlier Wednesday, Hochul said she will “will continue doing everything in my power to protect Jewish New Yorkers” in an X post not related to the protest.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also condemned the expressions of “hatred of Jewish New Yorkers” on Wednesday, but didn’t walk back his support for the protesters.
“I’ve also been clear about the fact that when we have a real estate expo that is promoting the sale of land, settlements that are a violation of international law—that is something I firmly disagree with,” Mamdani said.
Earlier anti-Israel protests that took aim at houses of worship prompted the New York City Council to pass a veto-proof “buffer zone” law that requires the NYPD to install protective barriers around synagogues during demonstrations.
Making the act veto-proof removed Mamdani’s obligation to sign it into law, instead letting it take effect automatically after the April 25 deadline.