On Tuesday evening, a protest outside the Park East Synagogue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan turned alarming for Jewish worshippers trying to enter and exit their house of worship. Counterprotesters and community members reported hearing chants calling for intifada, and witnesses say a Hezbollah flag — the flag of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization — was flown at the demonstration.

"They were threatening lives," said one person who was present. "They were making signs that they were gonna slit our throats."

These are not abstract concerns. In 2025, the Anti-Defamation League documented 860 antisemitic acts in New York City alone — more than half targeting Jewish institutions or schools. Ninety of those incidents were physical assaults, a 10 percent increase from the year before. Swastikas and antisemitic graffiti were found in Forest Hills, Queens, just days before this protest.

Jewish New Yorkers have the right to worship without being subjected to threats, intimidation, or the display of symbols associated with groups that have called for their destruction. Criticism of government policy is protected speech. Threatening language and the display of a terrorist organization's flag at a house of worship is something else entirely.

The Department of Justice has announced it will investigate. That investigation should proceed. Sign this petition to demand full accountability for anyone who made credible threats against Jewish worshippers at Park East Synagogue — and to send a clear message that antisemitic intimidation will not be tolerated in New York City.