As New Yorkers, we aren’t just viewers of what the International Court of Justice is actively investigating as acts of genocide by Israel in Palestine.
New York City is a site where events ranging from land sales in the occupied West Bank to weapons manufacturing in the Brooklyn Navy Yard are sustaining the violence and colonization of Palestine.
Our city is more connected than people would want to admit, and that is why silence is not an option.
Following the 1967 Six-Day War, many international bodies, including the International Court of Justice and the United Nations, have concluded that aspects of Israel’s occupation and settlement activity in the West Bank violate international law and have condemned Israel’s actions.
Despite this, no concrete action has been taken against the Israeli government for its violations of international law.
At the beginning of May, protests were staged outside the Park East Synagogue on the Upper East Side to protest a real estate event being held there. The Great Israeli Real Estate Event markets land in the occupied West Bank to foreign buyers.
Protests arose against this event because it enables the displacement of Palestinians and normalizes the illegal occupation of the West Bank. A similar demonstration was held at the same location in November of 2025. The protests evolved into clashes between the protesters, pro-Israel counterprotesters, and police.
Organizations like the Jewish Voice for Peace have accused the event organizers of deliberately holding it at a synagogue as a tactic to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
It’s important to note that in late March, the City Council passed buffer zone legislation requiring the NYPD to develop plans to establish security perimeters around houses of worship during protests. This law has been questioned on its constitutionality for its restrictions on protest activity.
Despite this, targeted protests outside illegal land-sale events have continued. While the protests against the illegal sale of occupied West Bank territories have yet to have a clear victory, activists with the Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard (DBNY) campaign have proven that consistent public pressure can force real change.
According to reporting by Hyperallergic, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, originally a naval shipbuilding facility, is an industrial complex that now houses companies supplying the Israeli military. These are the two companies you need to know: Easy Aerial, an autonomous weapons manufacturer that supplies the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and Crye Precision, a tactical gear company with ties to both the IDF and ICE.
Since November 2024, DBNY has been staging weekly protests, combining political education, direct actions, and pickets aimed at disrupting the supply chains that fuel violence against Palestinians. The campaign drew support from many other pro-Palestinian organizations and student groups. Earlier this year, the continuous pressure produced results.
In response to over a year of organizing, the Brooklyn Navy Yard declined to renew Easy Aerial’s lease. This is a partial victory because only one of the two companies was evicted, but it proves that protesting works.
DBNY continues to organize protests calling for the eviction of Crye Precision, which also has contracts with ICE.
The contested real-estate events and drone manufacturing companies within the Brooklyn Navy Yard show how local institutions, thousands of miles from Palestine, are actively sustaining its erasure and displacement.
New Yorkers who oppose what’s happening in Palestine need to realize that our own city is an active site that enables the violence. Our city cannot be a place where occupation is normalized, and that is why we need to act now.
