Written by Jack Elbaum
What’s happening: Anti-Israel protestors have become increasingly disruptive and dangerous to the lives of regular people — often shutting down roads and bridges, and even blocking access to an airport.
Consequences? Protestors are consistently arrested at such demonstrations but are not charged with serious crimes, nor risk of serving significant jail time. Left-wing rioters, including at anti-Israel or Black Lives Matter (BLM) rallies, are rarely seriously prosecuted. Between 90 and 95% of charges from BLM protests were dropped, for example.
The details: Protesters recently blocked traffic on the Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Williamsburg bridges, along with the Holland Tunnel in New York. This comes after blocking access to, and attempting to shut down, JFK airport twice during the first week of 2024. In Seattle, they shut down Interstate 5, a major highway in the city.
- More: Protestors have also desecrated monuments such as the George Washington Statue and Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and a military cemetery in Los Angeles, alongside calls for an intifada and to “free Gaza.”
Not peaceful: Shutting down highways and airports prevents people from getting to the jobs they need to provide for their families or flights they need to make. Protestors also put people with medical emergencies in danger, as emergency vehicles are not able to get to their destinations.