Old video misrepresented to show Orthodox Jews protesting in support of Palestine

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, protests and demonstrations have taken place across the world in response to the conflict. The New York Times reported on October 22, 2023, that a peaceful protest was held in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, home to a significant Palestinian population, calling for Israel to end hostilities in Gaza.

France 24 reported that New York is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, and while many Jews in New York supported the Israeli government's response to the attacks, others seemed "unsettled by the military campaign in the Gaza Strip."

What is the claim?

Social media users have shared a video claiming it shows Orthodox Jews protesting against Israel and in support of Palestinians in New York in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The video shows thousands of people in black attire and hats protesting and reciting prayers by referring to sheets in their hands. An X user captioned the video, "NEW YORK: thousands of orthodox Jews came out against #israel saying free #Palaestine and #Zionist Doest represent Jews." Another X user shared the YouTube link to the video and said, "#NEW_YORK : thousands of #orthodox #Jews came out against #israel saying..." Archive links to the posts can be found here and here.

What are the facts?

A reverse image search using keyframes from the viral video took us to multiple news reports from 2014 which state that the video shows Orthodox Jews protesting against Israel's military draft. 

A YouTube video uploaded on Mar 10, 2014, which contains the now-viral footage. (Source: YouTube)

We also found a longer version of the viral video on YouTube. A user posted the video on March 10, 2014, and captioned it “50,000 Jews United In Prayer For The Abolishment Of The Israeli Military Draft.” The segment seen in the viral video is visible from 2:10 to 3:42 timestamp of this YouTube video.

To confirm that the video was from this event, we compared shots from the viral video with images from news reports from the 2014 protest.

Yahoo News, republished an Associated Press (AP) report on the protests on March 10, 2014, that we could also locate on the AP website. The Yahoo report included several AP photos which we compared to frames from the viral video. The image was captioned, "Thousands of Orthodox Jews gather in New York, Sunday, March 9, 2014, on Water Street in lower Manhattan, to pray and protest against the Israeli government's proposal to pass a law that would draft strictly religious citizens into its army."

The curve of the barricades seen on the road full of dark-clothed people seen in one AP image was also seen in a frame from the viral video at the 0:01 timestamp. Similarly, a green cherry picker and surrounding buildings visible in one image are also visible in the viral video frame at the 0:50 timestamp. These comparisons confirmed that both the viral video and the photos show the same protest from 2014.

Comparison of video frames to Associated Press images (Source:AP News(L)/ X(R)/ Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

The New York Times published a report on March 9, 2014, headlined "Orthodox New York City Jews Protest Proposed Israeli Draft." In the report, they posted an image showing the protest captioned, "Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered in Lower Manhattan on Sunday to protest Israel's proposal to expand its draft to include strictly religious citizens in its military." The report added that protesters, blasting Hebrew prayers over loudspeakers, were cordoned off by tight security.

The image in the report could be matched with the 0:03 timestamp of the viral video. The hoarding, street lights, and buildings were found to be same, thus further confirming that the viral video is from this protest event. 

Comparison of video frames to the New York Times(Source:New York Times(A)/ X(B)/ Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

Local news website Crown Heights also shared images on March 9, 2014. At the 0:24 timestamp in the viral video, medics also visible in the viral video can be seen.

Comparison of video frames to the Crown Heights(Source:Crown Heights(A)/ X(B)/ Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

Why did they protest in 2014?

The New York Times reported in 2014 that Ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered in Lower Manhattan to protest Israel's proposal to include strictly religious citizens in its military draft. "The ultra-Orthodox insist their young men serve the nation through prayer and study, thus preserving Jewish learning and heritage, and by maintaining a pious way of life that has kept Jewish culture alive through centuries of persecution," reported the Associated Press. 

The verdict

A video from 2014 showing Jews protesting against a proposed Israeli military draft was shared with the false claim as a recent demonstration held in support of Palestinians in New York amid the Israel-Hamas war. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.