Thousands of rabbis gather and hold prayer service in Queens
CAMBRIA HEIGHTS, Queens (PIX11) -- Thousands of rabbis gathered in Queens Friday morning in prayer for Jewish people across the world.
More than 6,500 rabbis were expected to join together in Cambria Heights for a peaceful prayer service.
The event was held after some pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters clashed in Midtown, Manhattan on Thursday. It was the latest in a series of near-nightly demonstrations since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Thousands marched through Midtown to protest Israel's attacks on Gaza.
A small group of demonstrators led by media workers calling themselves “Writers Bloc” entered the atrium of the New York Times building carrying a banner calling for a cease-fire.
Protesters also smashed the back window of an NYPD cruiser and graffitied it with the words "Free Gaza," "IDF," and "KKK." A smoke bomb was also set off near a group of police officers.
On Tuesday, activists with the group Jewish Voice for Peace briefly took over the Statue of Liberty. The week prior, hundreds of people packed into Grand Central Terminal, shutting down the commuting hub during rush hour while hoisting banners that read “Ceasefire Now.”
More than 10,800 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory, since the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas, which took the lives of at least 1,400 people in Israel.
It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was arrested during the Thursday protests.
This story comprises reporting from The Associated Press.