Pro-Palestinian Protests Disrupt Cities before Holiday: ‘No Christmas as Usual’

Pro-Palestinian protests erupted in multiple U.S. cities just before Christmas, with demonstrators going so far as to block traffic heading into Chicago’s biggest airport, as some activists suggested the holiday shouldn’t be celebrated on account of Israel’s war in Gaza.

On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators marched down 5th Avenue in New York City, chanting “No Christmas as Usual” as streets filled with holiday shoppers, according to a video circulated by Freedom News on X. The protesters walked by St. Patrick’s Cathedral and other churches.

Protesters carried giant Palestinian flags and cardboard cutouts of President Biden and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with depictions of blood on their hands and dripping down their faces. Banners also demanded the U.S. cut off aid to Israel.

The pro-Palestinian movement contends that Israel’s ground and air counteroffensive against Hamas constitutes “genocide.” Health officials in Gaza claimed Friday that over 20,000 people in the territory have been killed in the conflict, which started after Hamas invaded Israel and perpetrated the most brutal attack against Jews since the Holocaust on October 7. On that day, Hamas murdered 1,200 people and tortured, raped, maimed, and kidnapped many others.

There was also some terrorist-sympathizing sentiment at the New York rally, according to captured footage.

“Zionism is antisemitic,” one attendee at the march said. “Hamas, and long live the resistance.”

Speaking about October 7, the protester said: “One of the greatest days of my life . . . one of the greatest days in the history of decolonization.”

A young female protester wearing a keffiyeh flanking the man said the assault made her feel “proud.” Behind her stood a middle-aged woman carrying a sign that read, “Mamas 4 a Free Palestine.”

On Saturday, a caravan of nearly 100 cars blocked the flow of traffic by O’Hare International Airport on I-190 and Manheim Road in Chicago, according to FOX 32 Chicago. Both sides of the interstate were temporarily closed, and traffic stood at a standstill.

Before that disruption, the caravan, called the US Palestinian Community Network, showed up at lawmakers’ homes before the holidays to lobby for the Palestinian cause. The group first stopped at Democratic congresswoman Jan Schakowsky’s home in Evanston before going to Democratic senator Dick Durbin’s home in Chicago, where they yelled “Long live Palestine!”