At times, shouting erupted between the two sides.

Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) officers oversaw the protest, occasionally asking protestors to step out of the way of oncoming traffic.

The protests remained peaceful, aside from a brief disruption caused by a passerby who mistook the dramatization for an actual hold-up. The man ran into the intersection and punched one of the protestors who was dressed as an Israeli soldier.

“They put a gun to the woman’s head—I didn’t know it was staged,” said the man, who did not wish to be identified.

HUPD officers responded immediately, clubs drawn, but the scuffle was quickly resolved once all parties realized the misunderstanding.

—Staff writer Kate L. Rakoczy at rakoczy@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at shoichet@fas.harvard.edu.