Hundreds of protesters gathered in Midtown on Sept. 24 as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly. The protest led to the arrest of activists, actors and politicians including New York City council members, as reported by Patch.
Among those arrested were Council Members Chi Ossé, Alexa Avilés and Jennifer Gutiérrez, all representing districts in Brooklyn. According to The Guardian, these politicians were three of more than 100 people arrested outside the U.N. building.
The local politicians did not hold back in their responses to both their arrest nor Netanyahu’s presence in New York.
“We won’t be quiet with a war criminal in our city,” Avilés wrote on social media the afternoon of the protest. “NYC is for the people and our people will not be complicit in genocide.”
Similarly, Ossé shared a photo of his arrest on social media. “Free Palestine,” he wrote. “Netanyahu burn in hell.”
Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, New York Senate-elect Aber Kawas, and state legislative candidates Christian Celeste Tate, David Orkin and Illapa Sairitupac were also among those arrested at the protest.
During the protest, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, attendees called for an end to U.S. military support for Israel.
Inside the U.N. conference, dozens of delegates walked out of the hall in protest, while Netanyahu called the walk-out a case of “mind-blowing hypocrisy,” Patch reported.
Following Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of approximately 1,200 people, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza alone has exceeded 73,000.
Protests come after a campaign promise by Mayor Mamdani to arrest Netanyahu in New York City. His promise, however, was followed by an announcement in July that despite exploring legal avenues to execute the International Criminal Court’s warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest, the city does not have the legal authority to do so.
Nonetheless, the mayor’s criticism of the state of Israel and the role of U.S. politics in genocide played an outsized role in his election.
Protests, the election of Mayor Mamdani and local politicians’ refusal to remain neutral are examples of the broader fabric of New York City’s politics: As of last year, sympathy in the city for Palestinians outweighs support for Israel, as reported by The New York Times.
As President Donald Trump approved a $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel this month, New York’s ongoing activism continues to condemn the larger fabric of U.S. policy.
