When freedom of speech crosses the line

Boro Park, Brooklyn is home to over 100,000 Jews, accounting for 45% of the neighborhood’s ethnic composition. So, when you realize that it is, perhaps, the largest concentration of Jews in all of the U.S., an anti-Israel protest march, with Palestinian flags being waved by masked young people, shouting, “Settlers, go back home,” clearly crosses a line of freedom of speech, constituting a frightening threat, meant to intimidate this particular community.

While the large crowds, who showed up, would, undoubtedly, invoke their first-amendment rights to assemble and yell whatever they please, the moment there is the possibility of violence, such rights would not prevail. Because, who among them wouldn’t feel justified to attack someone on the street, as they are chant, “How many kids did you kill today” while beating a drum? After all, doesn’t a child-killer deserve to be beaten up, at the very least?

Organized in response to an event by the Israeli real estate Getter group, which specializes in Jerusalem property sales, the promotion was directed towards Jews who might already begin sensing the very antagonistic atmosphere against them, especially in New York.  So, what better timing for considering the purchase of a home in the Jewish state, established just for times like these?

Because when your neighborhood is invaded by a group called the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation (PAL)-Awda NY/NJ, who come solely to intimidate and scare the residents, the thought of being physically harmed is a very real one!  And that must’ve been a deep concern by the estimated 250 Orthodox men who were said to be observing the protest from a distance.

What is clear, from the accusations shouted by protesters, is that none of them had done any honest investigation in order to back up their claims that “land was being sold in occupied Palestine,” because all the advertised properties were located within the green line – meaning that they were part of internationally recognized Israel. Additionally, the absurd assertion that Israel is stolen land or occupied property simply attests to the ignorance of the history of how Israel gained statehood.

Ironically, these haters demand that Brooklyn’s Jews go back home, but where is home if these keffiyeh-covered activists also contend that Jews living in Israel are occupiers? Their monotonous rhyme of “Settlers, settlers go back home, Palestine is ours alone,” makes no sense, because if they’re not welcomed in Brooklyn or Israel, protesters falsely believe is theirs, or the many host countries which eventually threw them out, then where would they call home?

While Brooklyn Jews, truly are not in their intended homeland, they came to that New York borough as early as 1645 when the first known Jewish settler, Jacob Barsimson immigrated from Central Europe. Boro Park’s Orthodox community got its start in the early 1900s, when many Jews preferred that location to the Lower East side. Most New York Jews were born in Brooklyn, and I also have that distinction.

But whether or not Brooklyn is the home God intended for the Jewish people is not the issue in question. What is, Is whether or not it’s lawful and protected under the first amendment, for hordes of people to swarm into a neighborhood and threaten the residents as they accuse them of murder and call for their immediate evacuation?  

When does someone’s speech spill over into intimidation and terror tactics, which cause great alarm by the nature of their aggressive behavior? In this latest incident, which occurred last Wednesday, pro-Palestine protesters were chanting, ‘Zionists go to hell,’ demanding an ‘intifada revolution.’” In fact, “several were arrested once the situation became violent. One individual was taken into custody after allegedly attempting to ram his vehicle into a group of Jews.” 

Outraged by the situation, N.Y. Congressman Richie Torres, known for his pro-Israel positions, posted the following on X, “It should come as a shock to no one that the pro-Hamas mob targeting Jews and promising to flood Boro Park has descended into violence. Violence is not an unintended consequence but rather a feature of the so-called ‘Free Palestine’ movement which seemingly has no desire to free Palestinians from Hamas.” 

It should come as a shock to no one that the pro-Hamas mob targeting Jews and promising to “flood” Boro Park has descended into violence.

Violence is not a bug but a feature of the so-called “Free Palestine” movement, which has no desire to free Palestinians from Hamas. pic.twitter.com/RLZZEb4GFg

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) February 19, 2025

As passionate as the congressman feels, one can only hope that he introduces legislation to differentiate between protected free speech, which is not permitted to physically harm anyone, and the type of violent protest, conducted by Palestinian sympathizers, whose goal is to be so fearsome and obnoxious to residents, that they will, indeed, begin to consider moving.

For those who don’t know, there are actual limits to free speech, and that includes fighting words, threats and inciting violence. Such a case was tried in 1942 “where the Supreme Court upheld a state law prohibiting one person from insulting or defaming another on a public street. The statutory prohibition involved derisive language which was designed to incite or promote violence.”

All of this applies to what took place in Brooklyn last Wednesday. So, there is really no justification or invoking the rights of free speech, because the highly charged words led to violence and subsequent arrests. Overt threats of bodily harm are, likewise, not protected, and those also occurred at the protest in question.

If the City of New York is unwilling to follow the law, in recognizing that a line was crossed by these protesters, then Boro Park residents should take it upon themselves to get a restraining order, ensuring that no such group be allowed to invade their neighborhood again, because as Torres rightly says, “Violence is not an unintended consequence, but rather a feature of these individuals.”

While Brooklyn’s Jews cannot rely upon their own military to defend them, when outbreaks, such as these, occur, they should be able to feel safe, knowing that the law is on their side and that leaders in their community, such as Congressman Torres’ passionate and sympathetic voice, will take up this issue on their behalf, because the next time, it could result in serious harm or even death.

Yes, America may not be the intended place for Jews, according to the scriptures, but so long as it declares itself to be a bastion of freedom which welcomes and protects people of every language, faith and creed, there is an obligation to preserve its large Jewish population which resides in New York, making sure that clear lines are drawn in order to properly differentiate between free speech and speech which leads to violence and, therefore, not protected by law.