A Jewish mother was left stunned after anti-Israel protesters shut down the road near her children’s upstate New York elementary school and shouted at the kids that their parents were “complicit in genocide” and “baby killers.”
Bryce Gruber, of Woodstock, said she had trouble coming up with answers for her kids about the things they heard when dozens of protesters descended on their small town on Tuesday to target the Ametek Rotron defense manufacturing company, which is based down the road from the Woodstock Elementary School.
“They were screaming at the kids and anyone who tried to get across or got near them,” Gruber told The Post Wednesday. “They told my kids that their parents were complicit in genocide, that they’re baby killers.”
Gruber, a mother of five, shared her encounter with the protesters on Instagram, revealing that the elementary school did not allow students outside for recess over the protest.
While Gruber was in disbelief that such a demonstration broke out in her small town of about 6,000 people, what was even more concerning was that her own neighbors came out in support of it.
“They were cheering them on, shouting, ‘We love you,'” Gruber said. “That was the worst part.”
Gruber added that when she confronted the protesters, a local man had been recording her and her 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter, warning them that he would upload their images on a “Zionist Jew watchlist.”
“It was all really disturbing,” Grubber said. “And not a single person has reached out to our Jewish community to say something or check in afterwards.”
The demonstrators, who identified themselves as “Hudson Valley Neighbors,” had chained themselves together and blocked Route 375 to the Ametek building, alleging that the company developed parts of the weapons being supplied to Israel from the US, the Mid Hudson News reported.
The protesters held up a large banner that read, “Ametek Rotron Manufactures Genocide.”
Lily Jones, of Queens, identified herself as a spokesperson for the group and told the local outlet that the war in Gaza has nothing to do with the Oct. 7 massacre that left more than 1,200 people dead.
She also refused to acknowledge Hamas’ known goal of eradicating Israel to establish a Palestinian state.
Despite their name, the group was mostly made up of residents from Ulster County, Hudson Valley One reports.
Town Supervisor Bill McKenna told reporters at the scene that while the demonstrators have a right to protest, they could not block access to private property.
Several protesters were eventually arrested in the afternoon and taken to New York State police headquarters in Hurley for booking, according to Woodstock police.
The Onteora School District said it had stationed a school resource officer at Woodstock Elementary “to ensure that everyone felt safe.”
Ametek Rotron did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
