New York City street vendors are proudly stating their “near universal” support for the terror group Hamas following its attack on Israel, which killed roughly 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians.
“I am Muslim. I am Egyptian. We support Gaza,” said Ahmed, a Columbus Circle vendor, to a New York Post reporter.
According to the Muslim immigrant, “Hamas no attacks Israel. Hamas defends herself. Hamas is self-defense, to protect Islam.”
He went on to spew hatred against Jewish people.
“Leave our land. No place to Jewish. Israel must leave.”
When the reporter asked if the deadly October 7 attack that killed and injured thousands was a “good thing,” Ahmed responded yes.
“I support Palestine and Hamas army is Palestine and she defend her land. Our land.”
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Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart NewsAs Breitbart News covered in the days following the terror event, roughly 200 hostages were taken by the militant Islamic group as well.
Twenty-five-year-old Mahmahoud El-Ser, a Times Square vendor, told the Post that he is “so so sorry for Gaza and the people of Gaza.”
“Fuck terrorism of Israel. Inshallah one day Gaza is free,” he added.
“Many of the more than two dozen vendors the Post spoke with in Columbus Circle, Bryant Park, Times Square, and Midtown East met questions about the conflict with angry scowls and refused to speak publicly,” the outlet reported.
More vendors shared their antisemitism with the publication, with one saying he would not speak because “the Post writes all that Jew stuff.”
Another Egyptian vendor, Mohamad Youssef, 45, claimed that Israelis brought the attack on themselves.
“Palestinians are defending themselves. Defending their territory, their land. Israelis are attacking them,” he said, adding that Israel is “not a real state.”
“You can’t give weapons to one side and ask the other side not to respond.”
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Joel PollakHe went on to compare Hamas terrorists to Japanese Kamikaze pilots of World War II, saying, “In their land, and in their home, they are heroes.”
Midtown vendor Hamden Elnashar, 49, asked the reporter, “If I come into your apartment, how you feel? What’re you going to do?”
“You’re going to do whatever you have to do . . . to protect yourself.”
“Many” of the vendors that spoke with the reporter also stated they believed in the false reports of Israel bombing a hospital in Gaza, a propaganda lie from Hamas that has been debunked.
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Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart News“It is sickening, but not surprising, to learn that Hamas sympathizers and supporters of the most brutal terror regime live amongst us,” said City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) to the Post.
“Whether you run a falafel stand, or are brainwashed at Harvard University, if you can’t condemn Hamas, you have no business living in our freedom-loving country. And if you’re a non-citizen terrorist supporter, you should really be deported, preferably to Gaza.”
A recent survey from Cygnal revealed the disturbing statistic that about 57 percent of American Muslims believe Hamas “was justified in attacking Israel as part of their struggle for a Palestinian state.”
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect a revised number on the death toll from the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel. The Israeli government estimate of 1,400 was revised to around 1,200, according to Reuters.
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