Antisemitism and Public Protest

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly condemned demonstrators who chanted "we support Hamas" while waving Palestinian flags during a protest in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Queens, after video of the event went viral on social media. Ocasio‑Cortez called marching into a largely Jewish area with that chant "disgusting and antisemitic," while Hochul labeled Hamas a terrorist group that calls for genocide of Jews and said such rhetoric is "disgusting" and "dangerous" and has no place in New York. Mamdani, who previously ducked condemning Hamas in a Fox interview last October, stated that chants in support of a terrorist organization "have no place in our city" and pledged to safeguard both houses of worship and the constitutional right to protest. New York Attorney General Letitia James also weighed in, writing that "Hamas is a terrorist organization. We do not support terrorists. Period." The episode underscores how Israel–Hamas protests in U.S. cities are colliding with concerns about rising antisemitism, free‑speech boundaries and public safety in Jewish neighborhoods.