Dueling rallies held in Brooklyn in support of Palestinians, Israelis
NEW YORK -- Dueling rallies were held in support of Palestinians and Israelis outside Brooklyn College on Thursday.
The demonstrations was off campus, and were not affiliated with the school.
Chopper 2 was over the scene earlier in the day.
People who say they are pro-Palestine and those who say they are pro-Israel faced off outside the gates of the school.
On Monday, City University of New York Chancellor Felix V. Matos said, in part, "We don't condone the activities of any internal organizations that are sponsoring rallies to celebrate or support Hamas' cowardly actions."
A truck with an electronic message from an alumni group drove by.
"This rally is to represent the freedom of Palestine. This is not, I am very clear, not a rally to support Hamas, not at all," one demonstrator said.
"I'm not celebrating Hamas. Let's be very clear on whose responsible for these horrific crimes," another said.
Security has been stepped up on campus in the form of metal barricades and NYPD officers kept the crowd under control and also allowing for other students to pass through.
The school said students who chose not to come to campus Thursday would not be penalized.
Several New York City Council members were also in attendance.
"If you want to talk about alleged occupation in Palestine, we can do that later. But to protest in the middle of a massacre is absolutely horrendous," Councilwoman Inna Vernikov said.
Two men had signs that read, "We feel your pain. Can you feel ours?"
"Our message is we should just all come together and just mourn civilians who were murdered," Yitzchak Friedman said.
