'Radical' pro-Palestinian groups increasingly target houses of worship for protests in alarming trend

The pro-Palestinian movement has recently taken to protesting at houses of worship, sparking outrage and accusations of exemplifying targeted harassment and intimidation, with some critics saying they're trying to scare children. 

In the last two weeks, there were at least three protests staged at houses of worship in the tri-state area. 

After thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Times Square for "Palestinian Land Day," some took their protest to the Easter Vigil service at St. Patrick's cathedral in New York City on Saturday evening.

During the service, chants of "Free, free Palestine" could be heard ringing out. The protesters were quickly taken out of the service moments after, and many in attendance did not acknowledge the outburst. 

Video footage showed "Extinction Rebellion" protesters displaying a banner with the words "Silence = Death" at the front of the church.

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Other protests – also organized by pro-Palestinian groups – have targeted synagogues. One was a Monday event at Congregation Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, New Jersey, honoring a volunteer from ZAKA, an organization that collects body parts of terror victims to provide them with a respectful burial. 

The honoree, Simcha Greiniman, testified about the Oct. 7 atrocities he witnessed at the United Nations.

"We’d walk into a room full of blood and see no sign of shooting or bombing. There, Hamas terrorists didn’t use a gun to kill their victims, they used an axe to chop them into pieces," said Greiniman about what he witnessed. 

Pro-Palestinian organizations claimed ZAKA bolsters "false claims that fuel Gaza genocide." 

"[ZAKA] bur[ies] the little pieces of the Jewish bodies that were targets of this Hamas terrorism," Jason Greenblatt, former White House Envoy to the Middle East, who attended the counterprotest, told Fox News Digital. "I think it's pure intimidation. Pure harassment."

Greenblatt said it was the second event in the Jewish area where outsiders, whom he described as "absolutely sinister," came in "to try to intimidate the town" and "scare our children."

"It shows the nature of what these people really want to do. And it's, by the way, it's not just Jew hatred. A lot of these people are hating on America," he said. 

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"From so much of the footage that I've seen from… the signs [present]… they want to tear down what America stands for, they don't stand for peace," he said. "They have a lot of anti-American sentiment. And that's something that I hope that people pay attention to because it could cause damage way beyond Teaneck. It could cause tremendous damage around the United States. If people don't wake up and pay attention to it and fight against it." 

Greenblatt shared some footage of the event on X, describing it as "A face off between those who love [America] & [Israel], proud Jews, non Jews and proud Americans vs. spreaders of hate & chaos."

On Wednesday, pro-Palestinian groups staged a protest at the Young Israel of Woodmere, which was hosting an Israel real estate event. The synagogue bolstered its own security team with local police to "monitor the situation and maintain order." 

Synagogue leadership told the congregation in an email, "We wanted to reach out to you regarding an anti-Israel protest planned for tomorrow evening during an Israel real estate event taking place at our Shul. The safety and security of our members and the community at large are of utmost importance to us, and we want to assure you that we are taking active steps to ensure a safe environment for everyone involved." 

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"Targeting houses of worship to protest a war is atrocious. It does nothing but create risk of violence, undermines dialogue, and affects innocent individuals," Liora Rez from StopAntisemitism, told Fox News Digtial. "But these factors do nothing to stop the radical 'Free Palestine' movement." 

The pro-Palestinian movement has also staged protests in other religious venues, including a Christmas fundraiser for blind children in December. 

The protesters raised Palestinian flags as they trampled across the stage and screamed about Gaza before they were dragged away by security.

Greenblatt explained that he continues to have hope that peace is possible between Israel and Palestinians, but it would require a shift in leadership and the eradication of the Hamas terrorist group. 

"So the problem is, of course, the leadership, among other problems. And yes, I always maintain hope," he said. "Until Hamas is eliminated… [there] is really very little to talk about and do. But when that happens… I do think that one day maybe there could be good, fruitful, honest, rational, good-faith discussions and maybe something is going to happen down the road."