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Pro-Palestinian Rally in Columbus Circle Escalates: Burning Flags, Shop Shutdowns, and Chilling Warnings Dominate NYC Streets

ByAlki David

Nov 26, 2023

Amidst the bustling city of New York, a pro-Palestinian protest turned ominous, leaving a mark on Columbus Circle this Saturday. What started as a gathering of around 300 demonstrators soon evolved into a chaotic scene, with burning flags, shop closures, and unsettling threats against supporters of Israel.

The protesters, starting at Columbus Circle and making their way to the American Museum of Natural History, carried a fervent message. Chants of “Bombs are dropping while you’re shopping” echoed through The Shops at Columbus Circle, prompting store owners to hurriedly close their doors in response to the escalating tensions.

One particularly distressing incident involved the harassment of a woman carrying a pro-Israel sign, with protesters snatching it away and shouting confrontational messages. The escalation continued as a statue of Abraham Lincoln was adorned with a Palestinian flag and a sticker that read, “Every time the media lies, a neighborhood in Gaza dies.”

As the demonstrators approached the American Museum of Natural History, they were met with barricades and a line of approximately 30 officers preventing access. Demands to open the museum’s doors filled the air, but the standoff persisted. The museum had taken precautions, closing two hours early in anticipation of the protest, according to Nerdeen Kiswani of the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime.

The intensity of these demonstrations has been a recurring theme in various locations across the city since the reported events involving Hamas terrorists on October 7. This latest protest adds to a series of tense moments that have unfolded on the streets of the Big Apple.

By Alki David

Alki David — Publisher, Media Architect, SIN Network Creator - live, direct-to-public communication, media infrastructure, accountability journalism, and independent distribution. Born in Lagos, Nigeria; educated in the United Kingdom and Switzerland; attended the Royal College of Art. Early internet broadcaster — participated in real-time public coverage during the 1997 Mars landing era using experimental online transmission from Beverly Hills. Founder of FilmOn, one of the earliest global internet television networks offering live and on-demand broadcasting outside legacy gatekeepers. Publisher of SHOCKYA — reporting since 2010 on systemic corruption inside the entertainment business and its expansion into law, finance, and regulation. Creator of the SIN Network (ShockYA Integrated Network), a federated media and civic-information infrastructure spanning investigative journalism, live TV, documentary, and court-record reporting. Lived and worked for over 40 years inside global media hubs including Malibu, Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong and Gstaad. Early encounter with Julian Assange during the first Hologram USA operations proved a formative turning point — exposing the realities of lawfare, information suppression, and concentrated media power. Principal complainant and driving force behind what court filings describe as the largest consolidated media–legal accountability action on record, now before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Relocated to Antigua & Barbuda and entered sustained legal, civic, and informational confrontation over media power, safeguarding, and accountability at Commonwealth scale.