NYPD commissioner apologizes to Park East synagogue congregants for mishandling of anti-Israel protest

Tisch added that the police plan did not include a secured buffer zone near the steps, creating “chaotic” conditions directly outside the synagogue. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

New York City’s police commissioner offered an unusual public apology to a Manhattan synagogue this weekend, acknowledging that officers failed to keep anti-Israel demonstrators away from the building’s entrance during a heated midweek protest. Jessica Tisch delivered the apology in person to roughly 150 worshipers at Park East Synagogue on Saturday, saying the NYPD did not provide the level of protection needed as crowds converged outside the sanctuary doors.

Tisch told congregants that demonstrations outside houses of worship are protected speech, regardless of how offensive the message may be. But she said officers should have maintained an unobstructed path for people entering and leaving services.

“That is where we fell short, and for that, I apologize to this congregation,” she said during a ten-minute address that prompted a standing ovation, The New York Post reported.

She added that the police plan did not include a secured buffer zone near the steps, creating “chaotic” conditions directly outside the synagogue.

“You deserved an NYPD posture that recognized the sensitivity of this location, the climate we’re living in, and the heightened fear within our community,” she said. “Instead, you had turmoil.”

Her remarks were welcomed by worshipers. Patriots owner Robert Kraft also attended the service and, according to a source, described Tisch as a “woman of valor.”

The protest unfolded Wednesday night as about 200 demonstrators gathered outside an event hosted by Nefesh B’Nefesh, which helps North American Jews immigrate to Israel.

Participants said protesters shouted “Death to the IDF” and other chants urging “the resistance” to “take another settler out.”

Counter-protesters confronted the crowd, calling the masked demonstrators “cowards.”

Police placed metal barricades around the synagogue, but several were positioned close enough to the entrance that attendees moving in and out of the building were exposed to aggressive shouting.

No arrests were reported. The group organizing the protest, Pal-Awda NY/NJ, said it was opposing what it claimed was a program “to illegally occupy stolen Palestinian land.”

Mayor Eric Adams, who directed police leadership to ensure the situation remained under control, was dissatisfied with how the scene unfolded, sources said.