Protesters to Rally in Brooklyn After Pro-Israel Crowd Assaults Woman
The Police Department said it was preparing for new protests in Brooklyn on Monday after a woman was verbally and physically assaulted by hundreds of pro-Israel demonstrators there last week.The police were investigating the attack on the woman, who has not been publicly identified but who provided a statement to The New York Times.She said she had wandered onto the scene of dueling protests on Thursday outside Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was speaking.The appearance by Mr.
Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician who has espoused racist anti-Arab views and fiercely opposed a cease-fire in Gaza, drew a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators and a much larger crowd of pro-Israel counterprotesters, according to videos posted online by those in both camps.In her statement to The Times, the woman said a large crowd of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men kicked her, threw objects at her, threatened to rape her and hurled sexist, racist and anti-Arab abuse at her.Her account is consistent with video footage of the incident that was shared widely online.The protest on Thursday devolved into chaos because of a potent mix of provocative factors: the presence of Mr.
Ben-Gvir, who has been considered a political extremist in Israel for decades; its location on Eastern Parkway outside Chabad headquarters, a cherished site for the Hasidic Jewish community; and the attack on the female bystander.As news of the assault spread, activists posted calls on social media for protests on Monday beginning at Barclays Center, a central transit hub that is roughly two miles from the Chabad headquarters.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify ...