White House calls pro-Palestine protests at site honoring Oct. 7 victims 'horrifying'

The White House is decrying the pro-Palestine protest at New York’s Nova exhibit, which honors the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

“The events at yesterday’s memorial to those murdered at the Nova music festival are outrageous and heartbreaking,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Tuesday.

He described the demonstrations as “horrifying behavior.”

The protests occurred Monday night. A crowd formed around the exhibit, and proceeded to light flares and chant “long live the intifada,” according to CBS.

“Yesterday is not a representation of our city,” New York Democrat Mayor Eric Adams said after Monday's events. 

“Our Constitution and our way of life in our city permits free speech, and part of that free speech that is protected is some of the ugly things we heard. We have also the right to say, 'This is not who we are as a city,' and I'm exercising that right, right now,” he also said.

This continues the pattern of the White House condemning antisemitic speech and protests, as Biden thought that some of May’s protests from college campuses had gone too far and crossed the line of antisemitism.