There is a trend emerging among anti-Israel demonstrators who are apparently trying to exercise their right to protest by inconveniencing as many people as possible.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was disrupted last Thursday by a group of pro-Palestinian protesters who glued their hands to Sixth Avenue in New York City to block the route. On Sunday, traffic was snarled on one of the busiest travel days of the year after protesters blocked the Manhattan Bridge.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by the hosts of The Fifth Column – Kmele Foster, Michael Moynihan, and Matt Welch – to discuss the antics and a possible solution to shut them down ASAP.
Anti-Israel Antics
The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was temporarily halted last week after a group of about 30 anti-Israel protesters ran onto the route along Sixth Avenue. Some carried banners that read “Genocide Then, Genocide Now” and chanted “Viva, Viva Palestine,” while others apparently glued themselves to the pavement.
On Sunday, the Manhattan Bridge was shut down for more than three hours as over 1,000 people from the group Jewish Voice For Peace called for a ceasefire while blocking entrance and exit ramps.
Organizers said interfering with people’s day to day lives was part of the goal. “We are here to say no business as usual in the train stations, in the businesses, in the hall of Congress until the U.S. demands a full cease fire now,” Elena Stein, director of organizing strategy for Jewish Voice For Peace, told reporters.
Welch was one of the many travelers caught in the fray. “I was driving home from a very nice holiday weekend… and suddenly I was stuck in 45 minutes of traffic and not moving,” he said. “And there are these five little snot-nosed kids wearing yellow vests and kind of like dancing around… in front of the entrance that I was supposed to go in.”
He said there was “a phalanx of cops everywhere” that simply stood by and watched. “Five losers can shut down the Manhattan Bridge on the busiest travel day of the year,” he lamented. He said a grand total of three people were ultimately arrested.
These displays come ahead of a proposed “Flood the Tree Lighting” rally for Gaza. On Wednesday, the group Within Our Lifetime allegedly plans to throw the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting into disarray by ‘flooding’ the area with “flags, signs, and keffiyehs” in a show of “solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
The term ‘flood’ is presumed to be a reference to the October 7 Hamas terror attacks and is designed to induce trepidation. “They know what they’re doing,” Welch said. “It’s an advertisement for, ‘Hey, look, if you’re a parent and you live in New York, God, you’re stupid.’ You would normally want to maybe take your kid to the Macy’s Parade or to the tree lighting… [but] maybe if they’re going to do an Al-Aqsa flood at the tree lighting, I’m not going to be so enthusiastic about going.”
Problem Solved?
In an effort to be solutions oriented, Moynihan offered up an idea for how to deal with protesters who seek to be disruptive. “If they are gluing their hands to the ground, why don’t we just go and pepper spray them because they can’t cover their eyes,” he quipped. “Guess what? They are not going to do it again because… every time you tape yourself to something, I’m gonna spray you in the eyes with bear spray.”
He noted that he would be in favor of this dissuasion technique regardless of what the demonstrators were advocating for. “I do want to clarify that if people were gluing themselves to the street to lower taxes, I would still pepper spray them,” he said. “I support lower taxes, but I don’t like people disrupting my life.”
In Megyn’s view, the protests are not compelling. “If you want me to take you seriously, glue something more important to the street, something you really care about,” she concluded. “Go down south in Rio or I’d even take a face. Put your face there.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with The Fifth Column by tuning in to episode 676 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.