Pro-Palestinian activists protested the ZAKA first aid and Jewish burial preparation organization at the Teaneck, New Jersey, Bnai Yeshurun synagogue on Monday over the humanitarian group's members sharing what they witnessed during the Hamas-led October 7 Massacre.
The Rabbinical Council of Bergen County and Bergen County Jewish Action Committee said on Monday in response to local authorities being unable to cancel the demonstration that they would hold a counter-protest of speeches, singing, and prayer led by rabbis and community leaders. Both organizations urged community members to conduct themselves properly and not allow themselves to be baited by obscenities and provocations.
BJAC and RCBC said in a joint Sunday statement that the protest was antisemitic for rallying at a Jewish holy site and against a humanitarian organization that provided final dignity for October 7 victims by collecting body parts and preparing victims for religious burial.
The ZAKA event had planned to hear first-hand accounts of the ZAKA workers and their search and rescue operations during the pogrom and for local Jewish community members to show support and gratitude.
"This protest is a violation of all that we hold sacred," RCBC and BJAC said. "First and foremost, it is a desecration of the memory of those who died at the hands of genocidal terrorists...second, it is a brazen attack on every member of the Jewish community, as the twelve hundred kedoshim [holy ones] of October 7th -- men, women, and children -- were killed simply for being Jewish."
RCBC and BJAC said that the demonstration was "yet another attack on our holy spaces of worship," referencing the March 10 protest of an Israeli real estate exposition at the Congregation Keter Torah Synagogue.
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How did Jewish groups respond to the protests?
The Jewish groups had requested that local authorities intervene and prevent the protest, but were informed that this would not be possible. RCBC and BJAC said that they would hold a peaceful counter protest if law enforcement could not prevent the anti-Israel rally from moving forward.
"This will not pass," RCBC and BJAC said. "The Jewish people will never be broken."
The protest is being organized by Within Our Lifetime and American Muslims for Palestine New Jersey.
"While they're being hailed as heroes, ZAKA's false claims and fabricated evidence have fueled the genocide in Gaza. Let's ensure truth prevails and justice is served," WOL said in promotional materials for the rally. The poster asserted that "ZAKA's lies equals genocide."
AMP NJ posted a video on Sunday saying that ZAKA responders' claims of beheaded babies were "Lies, graphic fabrications, and gory disinformation to manipulate public opinion."
The anti-Israel organization claimed that ZAKA had been recruited by the Israeli government to spread "atrocity propaganda."
BJAC noted on Sunday that ZAKA was a humanitarian organization that includes Muslim volunteers to ensure that people can be buried according to Muslim law, and had responded to global tragedies such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, the Paris terror attacks, the Orlando Nightclub Shooting, Hurricane Harvey, and the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting.
Teaneck, which has a heavy concentration of Jewish residents, had become a flashpoint for Pro-Palestinian activism, BJAC said in early March, with multiple rallies and marches targeting the Jewish community since the October 7 Massacre.