The anti-Israel groups American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Within Our Lifetime (WOL) plan to protest outside in Teaneck, N.J., Monday evening. The rally will occur as the synagogue hosts members of the Zaka organization, a volunteer search-and-rescue outfit that has been involved in identifying and properly burying many of the victims of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
In their flyer advertising the protest, AMP and WOL said the aim of the demonstration is to “demand accountability for false claims that fuel Gaza genocide.” On the Instagram post promoting the event, AMP wrote that Zaka is “an organization founded on Zionist ideologies, helped Israel gain public support for their genocide in Gaza. Lies, fake photos, and triggering information was [sic] used to manipulate public opinion.” The post does not explain exactly what the groups believe Zaka has lied about.
The Rabbinical Council of Bergen County and the Bergen County Jewish Action Committee issued a statement Sunday calling the protest “a violation of all that we hold sacred.”
“It has come to our attention that an antisemitic protest has been called for tomorrow night outside of Bnai Yeshurun in response to a shul-sponsored event involving Zaka,” the statement read. “As many of you are aware, Zaka (a Hebrew acronym for Identification of the Victims of Disasters) is an internationally recognized humanitarian organization which was central in providing final dignity, kavod acharon, to those of our brothers and sisters brutally slaughtered on the 7th of October.”
The statement goes on to reference a “hate march against Keter Torah,” a recent protest where thousands of attendees gathered outside Keter Torah Synagogue in Teaneck to accuse Israeli real-estate agents and potential investors of selling “stolen land.” According to NorthJersey.com, police had to escort a pro-Israel counter-protester from the area after he received threats from anti-Israel demonstrators.
WOL is the same organization that planned an “autonomous action” and “global intifada” event in New York City, telling followers to “find a target,” and attempted to shut down the John F. Kennedy International Airport. It has also blocked traffic at the Manhattan entrance to the Holland Tunnel and the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges.
The group was also behind the demonstration outside the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, a hospital that houses a pediatric center as well as a cancer treatment facility.