AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Demonstrations outside synagogues have turned real estate sales in Israel and in the occupied territories into a political issue in the city. The protesters’ tactics have disturbed some New Yorkers.Listen · 13:09 min Protesters and counterprotesters confronted one another in Midwood, a residential Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Jewish population, earlier this week.Credit...Ryan Murphy for The New York TimesMay 15, 2026Updated 2:45 p.m. ETEvents promoting real estate investment in Israel and the occupied West Bank have been held across the New York area for years. But in recent months, an energized pro-Palestinian movement has drawn public attention to these events through rancorous protests outside synagogues that have hosted them.Supporters of Israel have rallied to defend the events and the synagogues where they are held. At least twice in recent weeks, the dueling groups of demonstrators have hurled slurs and threats, pushed and shoved one another, and wished death and destruction upon their political opponents outside buildings dedicated to the worship of God.The pro-Palestinian demonstrators have succeeded in injecting into the city’s political debate the issue of West Bank settlements, which most of the world considers to be illegal, and local synagogues’ role in promoting them.But the protests have also unnerved many New Yorkers and aggravated the uneasy relationship between Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has vocally opposed the real estate events, and some Jewish residents. They are dismayed by the raucous scenes outside synagogues at a time of rising antisemitism, and want the mayor to speak out more forcefully when protesters cross into menacing territory.The demonstrations have often erupted into heated and sometimes physical confrontations between pro-Palestinian demonstrators, some of whom have expressed support for terrorist groups or chanted in support of intifada, and supporters of Israel, some of whom have used slurs and chanted far-right slogans, including “Bring ICE here!”Each night of protest has seen the conflict in the Middle East spill into the busy streets of Manhattan and the leafy neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens.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 access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT