Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters swarmed the streets surrounding Rockefeller Center on Wednesday, clashing with NYPD police and chanting “laughter to the sea,” long seen as an anti-Semitic slogan, in a effort for derail the annual lighting of the trees in support of Gaza.
Waving Palestinian flags and signs calling for “an end to the genocide,” protesters gathered along Sixth Avenue alongside hordes of tourists waiting in line to watch the iconic ceremony.
Unable to reach the New York Christmas tree, the huge crowd swarmed around the tree outside the News Corp building, which houses The Post and Fox News, and it has already been the target of pro-Palestinian protesters at least on two occasions.
“Free Palestine free!” the protesters chanted.
One group of demonstrators was seen climbing atop the pillar bearing the building’s address, and another carrying a massive sign with a swastika, comparing the Israel Defense Forces to Nazi Germany.
NYPD officers continually pushed back the crowds, who pushed back and called the cops “f-king Nazis.”
Protesters tried to tear down barricades police set up to keep them separated from the crowd in hopes of getting closer to the tradition of the Big Apple festivities.
The NYPD ordered a high security presence before the planned protestwarning that “heightened vigilance” is necessary during this year’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center.
Pro-Palestinian organizers announced their plans to disrupt the festivities earlier this week, noting that the world-renowned celebration also falls on the UN-recognized International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Additional NYPD units were called in, law enforcement sources told The Post, adding that officers were being attacked.
“They should have shut it down. They lost control of the street. They pushed me, punched me, kicked me. It’s bullshit,” said a police officer caught up in the fight.
Another called it “complete chaos.”
Several protesters were arrested, although it is unclear if they were charged.
Thousands of tourists forced to share the space with the tumultuous demonstration routinely mocked the demonstrators for standing in the way of wholesome tradition.
Jamie Fry, 42, who flew in from the UK to watch the tree-lighting spectacle, said the protest was “very upsetting”.
“I had planned my holidays around this event, being a big fan of Christmas. Now I’m walled off by a bunch of terrorist-loving a-holes calling for intifada,” Fry told The Post.
“Their sympathy strategy is disruption, but all they’ll get out of me is a load of shit.”
Opal Burnett, 33, of St. Louis, Missouri, echoed Fry’s frustration, calling the disruption an embarrassment.
“It’s super, super annoying. Just unbearable. To see these people in such large numbers, it makes me ashamed to be an American because people are watching this from abroad. Kudos to the police for keeping these people under control and to show restraint, because they face a lot of verbal abuse,” he said.
Other tree watchers, while dismayed, said the boisterous protest would not ruin the holiday tradition.
“Politics has no place at an event like this, but that’s exactly why they’re doing it: to disrupt the status quo, to ruin the things we love and take comfort in,” said Lillian Gonzalez, 40, of the Bronx.
“The Christmas tree carries a message of peace, not conflict. That is why we have gathered here today, not to protest but to welcome the festivities. None of this mob activity is going to take that away from us.”
The unusually boisterous protest dissipated just an hour into the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony they had sought to disrupt, instead transitioning to a march through Manhattan to Times Square where they shouted, “Turn off the l”.
Despite the crowd, the 91st annual ceremony went off without a hitch.
Kelly Clarkson hosted and performed at the two-hour extravaganza, kicking off the show with a rendition of her 2013 song “Underneath the Tree.”
KeKe Palmer, Barry Manilow and David Foster and his wife Katharine McPhee were just some of the big names who showed up at the star-studded event — Cher even showed up to perform her new song, “DJ Play a Christmas Song” from his first Christmas. album
Español de Venezuela 
English 