Anti-Israel rally at JFK Airport causes New Year’s Day nightmare on one of the busiest travel days of the year

Hateful anti-Israel protesters yelling inflammatory chants snarled traffic and caused chaos as they descended upon John F. Kennedy International Airport Monday – creating a  nightmare on one of the busiest travel days of the year. 

The Belt Parkway — a major thoroughfare used by vehicles to travel to the airport — was temporarily blocked off by police near Exit 20 as they tried to stem the flow of the “Flood JFK For Gaza” protest, which was planned by Within Our Lifetime, a Palestinian-led activist group.

“NYPD, KKK, IDF you’re all the same,” protesters inside an SUV screeched through a megaphone, according to video posted to X.

Other footage posted to social media showed more than a dozen cars waving Palestinian flags and honking car horns on the gridlocked parkway shortly before the planned rally at 2 p.m.

A box truck displayed images of Israeli troops with Palestinian children, claiming “Israel has waged a war on the children in Palestine.”

Seven protesters were issued summonses, sources said, and 60 flights were delayed at JFK on Monday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking service.

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Of the 60 delays, 15 were caused solely by crews arriving at the airport late as the protests impeded traffic to JFK for over two hours, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. There were no flight cancellations. 

Around 100 cars left from Canarsie earlier in an effort to halt travel at JFK – but were denied entry into Terminal 4, where photos showed an armored NYPD vehicle parked in a lane near the terminal’s exit.

“Airport is swarming with law enforcement and organizers were removed from Terminal 4,” Within Our Lifetime posted on X in a Monday afternoon update.

A video reportedly showing balloons floating in the air above JFK circulated online following the protest. 

A law enforcement source confirmed to The Post that balloons were flown over the Queens airport as the protest was ongoing. 

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The FBI is investigating who let the balloons go because they could cause a threat to aviation safety, the source said. 

It’s unclear if balloons were related to the protest. The Port Authority said it had no information on any balloons and Port Authority police made no arrests. 

After being turned away from JFK, the car caravan left the area and headed to LaGuardia Airport, creating more congestion on the Grand Central Parkway, according to an NYPD advisory posted on X shortly after 3 p.m.

But the group met a similar fate as they were also blocked from entering the second airport, according to Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov.

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Traveling by rail wasn’t much better as the shuttle train at Jamaica station had limited access to only employees and people with boarding passes, video shows.

NYPD Chief of Transportation Philip Rivera advised travelers to plan their travel ahead of time and be prepared for delays due to planned protests. The Port Authority noted that travelers should build in additional travel time for typically heavy traffic during the holidays as well. 

Social media users voiced their outrage at the protesters clogging up traffic.

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“Bring bulldozers… clear the road!!!!,” Rick Gavin wrote on X.

“Break out the water cannons. Enough of this crap,” another social media user vented.

X user James Gilmour said that the NYPD should “arrest all of them.”

“Absolutely disgusting behaviour. Arrest all of them. Scum of society,” Gilmour said.

A third X user similarly called for repercussions for the demonstrators.

“Consequence, please & thx. All for protests, but not when it disrupts innocent lives,” the user wrote.

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Sources said no arrests had been made by early Monday evening.

The NYPD did not immediately return requests for comment.

In yet another stop, the group who organized Monday’s rally urged protesters to head to Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. 

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The New Year’s Day disturbance comes just days after police arrested at least 26 protestors that blocked the Van Wyck Expressway, halting access to JFK.

As many as 40 people linked hands together, blocking traffic on the highway and on a service road – which forced travelers to walk to their terminals in the rain with their luggage.

Additional reporting by Katherine Donlevy.