Protesters assaulted as illegal Palestinian land sales continue in New York and New Jersey

PAL-Awda NY/NJ called protests against the illegal sales of Palestinian land held on Sept. 15 and 16 in Cedarhurst, New York, and South Hackensack, New Jersey. The following is their statement on the Cedarhurst action. 

This week, both in Cedarhurst, New York, and South Hackensack, New Jersey, illegal sales of stolen Palestinian land were conducted — sales reserved exclusively for vetted Zionists who undergo an extensive and discriminatory registration process. And yet another is scheduled for Tuesday in Pikesville, Maryland.

In a scene reminiscent of attacks on civil rights marches in the South, protestors of the segregated land sale in Cedarhurst were confronted by a mob of violent bigots and brutally attacked by Nassau County police on horses. Officers on horseback trampled over protesters, including women and children, as they forcibly relocated us into a confined “free speech zone,” out of sight and sound of the venue we were protesting. 

The chief executive and police commissioner were present, overseeing this blatant infringement of our rights. A deputy inspector threatened that anyone who “protested” while walking would be arrested. The Nassau County police and government put the greed of racist real estate interests over the rights of the people. 

The cops chose to assault protesters rather than shut down the illegal land sale, which is being held in violation of U.S. civil rights laws, Biden’s executive order on the West Bank of 2/1/24, and 20 some additional state, federal, and international laws. Nassau County police swiftly arrested a protester for wearing a mask, all while ignoring the both domestically and internationally illegal sale happening in their own jurisdiction, right under their noses. Their selective enforcement of the “law” underscores a troubling double standard and their continuous efforts to protect domestic Zionist terrorists, thereby further facilitating Palestinian land theft, occupation, and Gazan genocide in the belly of the beast.