Friday, March 29, 2019

Protesters, Supporters Clash over CouncilmanYeger Tweet

BOROUGH PARK, Brooklyn — Protestors from the group Bay Ridge for Social Justice rallied outside Council Member Kalman Yeger’s Borough Park office Thursday protesting his tweet from Wednesday that reads, in part, “Palestine does not exist.”

“Yeger's comments were hateful. They were outrageous. He was dehumanizing Palestinians, which is absolutely unacceptable of any leader - especially a New York City Councilmember,” said Alex Pellitteri, with Bay Ridge for Social Justice.

But the protestors were quickly outnumbered by counter protestors waving Israeli flags and chanting.

Things got loud and there were heated exchanges between both groups, but a strong NYPD presence kept things under control.

Criticism of Yeger’s tweet also came from city leaders including Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

Late Thursday afternoon Councilmember Yeger doubled down and told PIX11 he stands by his statement.

“My point was never about people. My point was about location: a geographic reality, an international legal reality, a fact. There is no state by that name,” said Yeger.

Back in Borough Park, community leaders called for cooler heads to prevail.



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