Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked busy terminal at New York's JFK Airport on New Year’s Day

Pro-Palestinian protestors descended upon John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Monday for the second time in a week with a convoy of cars sporting Palestinian and Hamas flags and pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian slogans painted on the vehicles.

Videos showed the slow-moving line of cars with slogans of “intifada,” “f*ck Israel,” “long live the resistance [Hamas],” and "Stop the genocide," all part of the pro-Hamas propaganda campaign.

Intifada, derived from the Arabic word for "uprising," marked a tumultuous period in Israel during the early 2000s – specifically, the second intifada. During this time, it saw a series of tragic events, including waves of suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism, resulting in the loss of approximately one thousand Israeli lives.

The attempt to block JFK airport was just the latest in a long series of protests that have been organized across the United States since the Oct. 7 massacre, even before Israel had managed to respond to the carnage.

Last Wednesday, protesters stopped traffic for about 20 minutes on an expressway leading up to JFK airport. On that same day, pro-Hamas demonstrators managed to shut down a major road leading to Los Angeles International Airport.

People who were due to fly from JFK on Monday had been warned by city officials to arrive early because of the demonstrations and because New Year’s Day is traditionally a busy travel day. According to the police, the convoy of cars was scheduled to continue to LaGuardia Airport to disrupt travelers there.

Pro-Palestinian protests have been ongoing in cities and universities across America since the October 7 attack, with Jewish students on U.S. campuses experiencing an explosive rise in antisemitism.

The protests continue to call for a ceasefire, even though in late December, Hamas rejected an Israeli offer for a one-week temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of the 129 or so Israeli hostages – some who have already been killed – who remain captive in Gaza by the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror organizations and their accomplices.

In New York, pro-Palestinian activists have sought to disrupt some of the city’s most famous events, such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the annual tree-lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center.

Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams condemned the tactics of the protest organizers, saying: “I don’t believe that people should be able to just take over our streets and march in our streets. I don’t believe people should be able to take over our bridges. I just don’t believe you can run a city this complex where people can just do whatever they want.”