Police have arrested at least 30 people, including actors and politicians, as they protested outside United Nations headquarters against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of his speech at the General Assembly.
Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon, Emmy winner Hannah Einbinder, Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and New York City council member Chi Osse were among those arrested on Thursday.
"What's being done to Gaza, the obliteration of an entire society, in our name, with our tax dollars, this is our responsibility to speak out against, and Netanyahu has no right to use the platform of the United Nations to justify these atrocities," said Manijeh Moradian, a 50-year-old university professor of Iranian and Jewish heritage, who took part in the protest.
At the General Assembly, Netanyahu defended Israel's aggression in the region, seeking to counter growing international isolation ahead of elections he could lose, as dozens of delegates streamed out of the General Assembly Hall.
Jewish Voice for Peace, a Jewish activist group that supports Palestinians, organised the rally.
Around 200 people gathered outside the United Nations in identical white T-shirts with printed slogans "Fund people not bombs," "No war" and "Free Palestine."
The group blocked traffic, and police ordered them to leave through loudspeakers. Some people moved to the sidewalks, but the core group of protesters remained seated on the pavement and continued chanting anti-Netanyahu slogans as police officers, who arrived on bicycles, surrounded them.
One by one, officers pulled protesters from the group, tied their hands behind their backs with zip ties and escorted them to police buses. The activists kept chanting "Netanyahu go to hell" outside the buses.
Israel has killed nearly 74,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded more than 175,000 others in its genocide in Gaza since October 2023.
Israeli violations of the ceasefire have killed 1,408 Palestinians and wounded 4,916 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which said Thursday.
