Manhattan Anti-Israel Protest: The Dam Breaks

The display of moral depravity put on by the so-called anti-Israel demonstrators who descended on an exhibit in downtown Manhattan memorializing the victims of the October 7 attack on the Nova Music Festival is no longer especially remarkable. Their chants celebrating the ritualistic massacre of Jews had become all too familiar.

That orgy of reptilian bloodlust — “Long live October 7th,” read one indicative banner — was akin to demonstrations in which mockups of Joe Biden’s severed head featured prominently. It wasn’t especially distinct from the protests on college campuses, city streets, and subways in which activists sought to purge Jews from their vicinity chanting “Globalize the intifada” and “Death to the Zionist state.” It wasn’t any more menacing than the demonstrations that sought to block emergency traffic on vital roadways, place obstacles in the path of outbound aircraft, or lay violent siege to the Democratic Party’s political headquarters.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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The display of moral depravity put on by the so-called anti-Israel demonstrators who descended on an exhibit in downtown Manhattan memorializing the victims of the October 7 attack on the Nova Music Festival is no longer especially remarkable. Their chants celebrating the ritualistic massacre of Jews had become all too familiar.

That orgy of reptilian bloodlust — “Long live October 7th,” read one indicative banner — was akin to demonstrations in which mockups of Joe Biden’s severed head featured prominently. It wasn’t especially distinct from the protests on college campuses, city streets, and subways in which activists sought to purge Jews from their vicinity chanting “Globalize the intifada” and “Death to the Zionist state.” It wasn’t any more menacing than the demonstrations that sought to block emergency traffic on vital roadways, place obstacles in the path of outbound aircraft, or lay violent siege to the Democratic Party’s political headquarters.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.