A New York City club is facing backlash for a video to promote a Palestinian fundraiser that contained footage of Hamas attacking Israel.
The End in Brooklyn shared the video on its social media accounts to publicize the Sunday night event it called “Intifada Fundraver.” The clip showed footage from the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, including of Hamas fighters using bulldozers to tear down security fencing and protesters pulling Israeli soldiers from tanks and beating them.
Newsweek could not independently verify the contents of the footage, but outlets such as The Jewish Chronicle have said the soldiers in the video were beaten to death.
During the October 7 assault, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza. As of Monday, more than 4,000 people had died in the conflict, with at least 1,400 people killed in Israel and approximately 2,670 people killed in Gaza, the Associated Press reported.
The End’s online promotion for its “Intifada Fundraver,” which has since been deleted, said proceeds from the event would be donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and the Medical Aid for Palestine.
However, the use of the Hamas footage has been sharply criticized by the Anti-Defamation League of New York/New Jersey as well as by Representative Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat.
“A NYC club known as The End is holding an ‘Intifada Fundraver,’ glorifying the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” Torres wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. “In promoting the event, The End NYC Instagram account features a video of Hamas terrorists bulldozing the Gaza Strip border wall before carrying out the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of Israel.”
Torres added: “There is a deep rot of antisemitism in American culture that cannot be ignored and must be confronted at every turn. No more turning a blind eye.”
Newsweek reached out to The End via the club’s Instagram account for comment.
Meanwhile, The End posted a brief statement on its Instagram account that said “it’s sad to see the nature of this event be twisted by politicians and social media. This is a peaceful fundraiser for the Palestinian children’s relief fund & medical aid for Palestine.
“We are not here to promote violence of any kind. Be respectful, be smart, free Palestine.”
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine also condemned The End’s promotional video on Sunday as “straight up glorification of a massacre” in a message posted on X, which elicited a response from Julia Salazar, a New York state senator in Brooklyn and Queens.
“+ This is in our district, and I personally would love it if people would stop inciting fascists to come out to my district and counter-protest some party at a club that was promoted with very stupid and insensitive messaging,” Salazar wrote.