A masked protester held a sign with a black American flag and the phrase “Israel’s bitch,” with “Israel” in quotation marks to imply the Jewish state’s illegitimacy.
By David Swindle, The Algemeiner
Dozens of anti-Israel demonstrators appeared across the street from the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in New York City on Sunday during a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a prominent leader of the global Hasidic movement within Orthodox Judaism.
Showing up at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, the approximately 30 anti-Israel activists waved a Palestinian flag and a black-and-white Puerto Rican flag, indicative of alignment with the Black Lives Matter movement.
One black-and-red sign at the protest read, “Having said that Floyd was killed by IDF-trained cops meanwhile ‘Israel’ commits genocide and racial apartheid,” seemingly trying to draw a connection between Israel and the 2020 death of George Floyd while being arrested by police officers in Minneapolis.
At Sunday’s protest, a brown, cardboard sign featured the names of those killed in police shootings, including George Floyd, Jordan Neely, Eric Duprey, and Michael Rosado.
SHOCKING: Jewish family with child harassed and sexually taunted by mob in Brooklyn
Antisemitic crowd surrounds Chabad HQ on Shabbat while police remove Jews instead of attackers
During Shabbat in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, a mob surrounded the Chabad headquarters and… pic.twitter.com/ZGQZT2wL3o
— Shirion Collective (@ShirionOrg) May 27, 2025
According to Yaacov Behrman, a public relations spokesman for Chabad, “Known agitator and antisemite Terrell ‘Relly Rebel’” was present at the protest.
“He is being mostly ignored by the community, which is gathered across the street at a synagogue to celebrate the arrival of a new Torah,” Behrman added.
A masked protester held a sign with a black American flag and the phrase “Israel’s bitch,” with “Israel” in quotation marks to imply the Jewish state’s illegitimacy.
Many others present obscured their identities with keffiyehs, hats, sunglasses, and face masks.
One sign held by a woman in a black mask proclaimed, “King Leopold Killed 10-15M in Congo but it’s Genocide When It Happens to White People,” an apparent racialized diminishment of the Holocaust.
One photo from the event shows a man wearing a red-and-white head covering and large gray hoodie holding a cardboard sign saying in blue and red letters that “George Floyd Should Be Alive” and “Let Black Men Grow Old.”
Jewish security service Shomrim described the confrontation at the Siyum Sefer Torah ceremony in a post on X.
“A known antisemitic agitator, accompanied by approximately 30 cohorts, staged a brief demonstration across the street from 770,” Shomrim explained.
“They remained for about 30 minutes and were largely ignored by the community. Our commanding officer, Captain Perez and his NYPD [New York City Police Department] 71st precinct and the NYPD 77th precinct team, alongside NYPD Brooklyn South, responded swiftly and professionally, doing an outstanding job of escorting them out of Crown Heights and ensuring the safety and security of the neighborhood.”
Police officers soon arrived and formed a line between the demonstrators and the synagogue. Another image of the scene captured seven NYPD vehicles parked in response.
Behrman praised Shomrim “for their strong response” and “the Community Affairs team at City Hall for staying in constant contact.”
“On one side of the street, there was a beautiful Hachnosas Sefer Torah in memory of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, marking one year since his passing,” he added.
“On the other side, a small group of antisemites tried to cause trouble — but were completely ignored. Shomrim did an outstanding job managing both sides of the street.”
At the “Rellyrebel” instagram account, an individual identifying as Terrell Harper describes himself as the founder of We the People, a group which says it seeks “building & organizing together through our mutual aid efforts. We take care of us! Centering ALL Black lives! FOR the people-BY the people.”
Harper also writes in his bio that “we pig hunting” with a pig and red X emojis. The user photo features a man with long dreads, a red and white head covering, and a cardboard sign reading “Zionism Out of Brooklyn.”
On April 27, We the People’s Instagram posted an appeal on behalf of Harper requesting “outreach and trial support needed.”
The group described “Relly Rebel” as “a dedicated and passionate community organizer and activist who has been protesting and doing mutual aid in NYC since 2020. Since he began this work, the NYPD have put a target on his back, intensifying their tactics against him each year. They sent the US Marshals to his house on a protest warrant, they sent him to Rikers, and now, they are taking him to trial on false charges.”
On Friday, Harper left a Brooklyn court with charges of breaking into a police officer’s house dropped by prosecutors following a review of video footage.
“This vile, cop-hating defendant routinely brags online about harassing police officers. He has made it his mission to prevent us from doing our job to protect the public, and the justice system is helping him do just that. When we say that the system doesn’t have our backs, this is what we’re talking about,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said in response.
Following Harper’s case dismissal, his Instagram posted, “We aren’t done yet, Relly still has one more case in Manhattan that he needs our support for! The next court date for Manhattan is June 9th 2025, 100 centre st, 9:00am, Part C. Flyer coming. That case is on for trial and we need numbers to show the NYPD we still and always will have Relly’s back. Zionists are also threatening to come out to court so be early and pack the court with our support [sic].”
Sunday’s demonstration came less than a month after anti-Israel activists attempted to swarm the Crown Heights neighborhood to protest “Zionism,” heightening safety concerns among the New York City borough’s Orthodox Jewish community.
Scores of pro-Palestinian agitators sought to descend upon the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Crown Heights, confronting visibly Jewish individuals, shouting obscenities, and throwing punches at counter-protesters.
However, the NYPD deployed officers to prevent the anti-Zionist activists from wreaking havoc.
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