US Police Arrest Pro-Palestinian Protesters outside Senator’s New York Home

Organized by the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the demonstration was presented as a "seder on the street" during the Jewish feast of Passover.

Following speeches from writers, performers, and rabbis, protesters moved to block surrounding streets, leading to arrests by the New York Police Department, as reported by Reuters.

The JVP shared photos on social media showing police arresting demonstrators participating in a sit-down protest, chanting "Palestine will be free from the river to the sea."

According to the JVP, the protesters demanded "the US stop arming and funding the Israeli government as it carries out a genocide in Gaza."

Videos on social media showed protesters being zip-tied by police in riot gear, chanting slogans such as “Ceasefire now” and “Let Gaza live.” They surrounded a banner that read “Jews say stop arming Israel,' 'Stop starving Gaza,” and 'no one is free until everyone is free.”

Protesters even projected a digital banner onto the Brooklyn public library stating 'Stop arming Israel.'

Jewish Voice for Peace Executive Director Stefanie Fox told the New York Times, “Everything in our tradition compels us to bring everything we have to stopping these historic atrocities being done in our names and with our tax dollars.”

Police used MTA buses to transfer protesters to 1 Police Plaza. On college campuses, pro-Palestinian protesters have been camping out, leading to escalating tensions.

At Columbia University, anti-Israel protesters are urging New Yorkers to join them after the university threatened to call the National Guard for not dismantling their encampment by a midnight deadline.

In-person classes at the Ivy League institution have been moved online through the end of the Spring semester.

Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine stated, “Columbia University threatened CUAD negotiators to call both the National Guard and NYPD if we do not acquiesce to their demands.” They added, “We remain steadfast in our convictions and will not be intimidated by the University's disturbing threat of an escalation of violence.”

Protesters, many wearing keffiyeh headscarves and face masks, have led chants including “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 77,000 wounded since Israel declared war in Gaza following an October 7 attack by Palestinian resistance forces in retaliation for decades of Israeli aggression.