The NYPD responded to bomb threats at two Jewish sites on Shabbos as antisemitic hate crimes continue to spike across the Big Apple.

The first incident occurred at Holocaust Memorial Park on West End Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Around 10 a.m., a passerby discovered what appeared to be a grenade among the markers honoring Jews killed during the Holocaust. The NYPD Bomb Squad promptly arrived at the scene and, after investigation, determined the grenade to be inert. There were no injuries or arrests connected to the incident.

In a separate incident less than an hour later, a text to 911 claimed that two backpacks filled with pipe bombs had been left inside Central Synagogue on Lexington Avenue near East 54th Street in Midtown. NYPD officers responded to the alert, thoroughly inspecting the site. However, their search yielded no dangerous materials, and the synagogue was not evacuated.

Separately, an anti-Israel demonstration at Grand Central Terminal in New York City on Friday night turned violent, leading to the arrest of six individuals amid chaotic scenes. The protest, which saw hundreds of participants calling for the elimination of Israel, resulted in various charges being laid against the arrested protesters.

According to police reports, three individuals – two men and a woman – were taken into custody and issued summonses for disorderly conduct. Among those arrested was a teen who faces charges of reckless endangerment.

One of the more serious incidents involved Raymund Garcia, a 34-year-old Queens resident, who was charged with assaulting a police officer, firefighter, and EMT, as well as resisting arrest. Additionally, Al’tariq Calderone-Graves, 28, from Newark, faces charges for obstructing government administration. Both men were apprehended at approximately 9:20 p.m. near the intersection of East 43rd Street and Lexington Avenue.

The 17-year-old, taken into custody at the same location shortly after, was reportedly climbing a light pole and tearing down US flags – but keeping Palestinian flags up – leading to his arrest. The identities of the three individuals who received summonses for disorderly conduct have not been disclosed.

The protest, dubbed “Flood Manhattan for Gaza,” initially gathered at Columbus Circle in the early evening. The demonstrators set an Israeli flag on fire and engaged in verbal confrontations with a group of counter-protesters. The march then proceeded through Manhattan, culminating in an act of vandalism where fake blood was splattered on the New York Times building.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)