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Palestine supporters stormed a Christmas Eve caroling event in New York by trying to drown out the singing, but attendees went ahead anyway.
Sunday’s event in Washington Square Park attracted protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The festive chorus was interrupted by pro-Palestinian chants, as protesters in a huge van with monster wheels circled the perimeter.
The counter event to the annual carol service was organized by the group ‘Within Our Lifetime’.
The group shared stories on Instagram amid the takeover event, with the caption: “No celebration, until liberation.”
Pro-Palestine protesters attempted to disrupt a Christmas carol service in New York’s Washington Square Park.
Protesters surrounded the area with caravans of cars, honking horns and playing loud music.
The annual caroling event around the tree began at 5 p.m.
Protesters quickly surrounded the area with caravans of cars, honking horns, playing loud music and boasting about disrupting service.
But the carolers did not flinch at the interruption and continued singing stubbornly.
“They interrupted, we sang louder,” Ed Cooper, 76, told The New York Post.
‘We weren’t going to let them make this their night. Yes, it was annoying, but for me Christmas is about turning a negative into a positive.
‘I heard those horns and that loud music and I said to myself, this is God’s way of telling me I’m not singing Christmas carols loud enough. I sang until I was hoarse.
Another caroler, Shannon of the West Village, called protesters “idiots” despite being in favor of a ceasefire.
“Carol singers of all races and persuasions are singing Christmas carols together in the spirit of the holidays, and these morons drive around blasting music from huge speakers and honking incessantly as a tactic to… annoy the people.” Always loving bastards of people whose support they are trying to gain? I really don’t understand it,” he told the outlet.
The carolers were unfazed despite the interruption and promised to sing until they were “hoarse.”
The counter-event to the Christmas Eve carol service was organized by the pro-Palestine group “Within Our Lifetime”
“I’m pretty young and apparently a lot of people my age think that killing Christmas for a cause is rude. I find it misguided and counterproductive.
“I don’t think anyone who went out tonight is more likely to go out now for Palestine.”
The event was part of a larger series of demonstrations in the tri-state area.
Among them was the ‘Flood Gaza Roads’ car caravan that took place in New York and New Jersey.
Participants were invited to bring flags, keffiyehs and banners, and “turning the roads into an avalanche of support.”
The protest came amid news that at least 68 people were killed in a deadly Christmas Eve airstrike on a Gaza refugee camp.
The protest unfolded following news that 68 people were killed in a deadly Christmas Eve Israeli airstrike on the Maghazi refugee camp, east of Deir al-Balah, according to Gaza health officials.
Palestinians injured in the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip are taken to the hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Frantic Palestinians were seen carrying the dead, including a baby, and wounded following the attack on the Maghazi refugee camp, east of Deir al-Balah.
Meanwhile, the number of Israeli soldiers killed in combat over the weekend rose to 15 following the death of IDF soldier Sgt. Birhanu Kassie, 22 years old.
The city has been rocked by waves of pro-Israel and pro-Palestine marches since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which killed 1,200 people and led to hundreds being taken hostage.
Palestine supporters are demanding a ceasefire in Israel’s retaliatory attacks that have so far killed more than 20,000 people despite disapproval on the international stage.
“War exacts a very high price from us, but we have no choice but to continue fighting,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.