A woman was injured on Thursday after protesters threw fireworks in Midtown.
According to police, at 6 p.m. on May 20 a number of vehicles were traveling together westbound on 47th Street near 7th Avenue in the Diamond District. An unknown individual, possibly multiple individuals, from one of the vehicles threw lit fireworks in the vicinity of 37 West 47th Street.
Two videos posted to Twitter show a group of men carrying a Palestine flag and wearing the colors of the flag. One person appears to yell “f***ing Zionist” among other expletives, and in the second video a bang is heard and a flash of light can be seen.
Earlier this afternoon on 47th St (the Diamond District), Palestinians attacking Jews pic.twitter.com/aJaJztdGyx
— Daniel Rubin (@DanielYRubin) May 20, 2021
A 55-year-old woman suffered minor burns to her back as a result of the explosion. She was taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue in stable condition.
No arrests have been made at this time. The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating.
The altercation came after Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease fire. However, pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protesters continued to clash in New York City, leading to several arrests in Times Square recently.
“Elected city leaders have used social media to make inflammatory comments regarding the Middle East conflict. Last night, we saw the disastrous result of these irresponsible actions as Jews were openly attacked in Midtown Manhattan. Yesterday’s events joined a long string of growing antisemitic attacks across the nation,” said Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal in a statement. “New York City is supposed to be a beacon of diversity and acceptance. That’s what makes these recent attacks even more horrifying and saddening. We cannot let this become the norm or let antisemitism go unchecked in our courts or within law enforcement. No one is above the law. Despite Midtown Manhattan being one of the most heavily policed areas in New York City, last night’s violence erupted in a preventable manner. It is unacceptable that tensions were allowed to culminate to that degree. I call on the NYPD to increase enforcement and patrols and to prosecute these incidents as what they are, violent hate crimes. Anything less would be an affront to our legal system and the safety of every New Yorker.”
