Actor and comedian Michael Rapaport is calling on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to step down following a Tuesday night protest outside Park East Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where police pushed back roughly 100 demonstrators amid competing crowds.
“HALLOWEEN SPRING FLING, Now right now in NYC, lunatics dressed in Halloween terra costumes are outside of…. You guessed it a Synagogue in NYC,” Mr. Rapaport wrote on X, posting a video of the scene. “@GovKathyHochul, you’ve had 3 years to do a mask mandate & see if this stops the bulls—-, you did nothing. RESIGN in SHAME,” he added.
The demonstration was organized by Pal-Awda NY/NJ, which staged a similar protest at the same location last November. The group opposed “The Great Israeli Real Estate Event 2026,” a tour event hosted at the synagogue that organizers said promoted the sale of properties in Israel and the West Bank — land critics argue Israel occupies illegally under international law. Demonstrators gathered nearby chanting “Palestine will never die” and “Stop the sale of stolen land,” while some were also heard shouting “Israel should not exist.”
New York City police officers moved in to keep the anti-Israel protesters separated from pro-Israel counter-demonstrators, who stood nearby waving Israeli and American flags. One officer suffered a leg injury and was hospitalized, the NYPD said. No arrests were made, according to JNS.
The confrontation is not the first time the Upper East Side synagogue has become a flashpoint. The November protest there prompted City Council Speaker Julie Menin to craft legislation directing the NYPD to develop security plans for demonstrations outside houses of worship. The bill passed 44-5 — a veto-proof margin — but Mayor Zohran Mamdani allowed it to become law without his signature after the April 25 deadline passed, according to the New York Post.
Mr. Rapaport, who has been outspoken about New York leadership and has previously targeted Mr. Mamdani as well, also called out the mayor for not immediately condemning the protest. He has pushed for a statewide public mask ban, a measure Ms. Hochul has also backed but has not been able to advance amid opposition from civil liberties advocates.
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