Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon and Hacks star Hannah Einbinder were among dozens of protesters detained Thursday in New York during a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he visited the United Nations.
NYPD said it took 103 people into custody as it tried to break up a group participating in a sit-in protest on First Avenue, just a few blocks from the UN headquarters, ahead of Netanyahu’s remarks to the UN General Assembly.
Video from the scene showed officers zip-tying Sarandon and Einbinder’s hands and directing them toward an NYPD bus.
Meanwhile, protesters can be heard chanting with many wearing shirts that say, “Fund people not bombs,” and holding signs that say “Stop arming Israel” and “End the genocide.”
Comedian Caleb Hearon, author Glennon Doyle, New York congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, and former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning were also among those detained, according to Jewish Voice for Peace, a human rights organization that advocates for Palestinian rights and held the protest.
Other celebrities seen at the demonstration were actress and political activist Cynthia Nixon, playwright Tony Kushner, photographer Nan Goldin, and poet Eileen Myles. Congressional candidate Brad Lander also participated.
Jewish Voice for Peace said it held the sit-in outside the UN to “call on the world to stop arming Israel and to end the genocide in Gaza.”
A CNN team on the ground saw a heavy police presence with demonstrators remaining peaceful, but blocking traffic.
NYPD officers were seen arriving after 12 p.m. and warned demonstrators to clear the street. Around 30 people remained sitting and standing on the street, the CNN team saw.
After another warning, officers began detaining protesters at around 1 p.m.
During his address Thursday, Netanyahu’s remarks prompted polarized reaction, with a large number of diplomats walking out of the room. The Israeli leader defended Israel’s military actions in Gaza and responded to international criticism, claiming if he hadn’t attacked Iran, “We’d all be dead.”
Two very different speeches as the Israeli and Palestinian leaders speak at UNGA
Two very different speeches as the Israeli and Palestinian leaders speak at UNGA
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Last year, an independent UN inquiry found that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when Hamas carried out deadly attacks on Israel and Israel launched its military campaign. The Israeli government has maintained it is conducting the war in Gaza in self-defense and in accordance with international law, firmly denying accusations of genocide.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Galland and a senior Hamas official, accusing them of war crimes. Netanyahu has dismissed the warrant as “absurd” and “antisemitic.” (The US is not a member of the ICC)
After Netanyahu’s remarks, hundreds of protesters also marched through the streets of New York with some chanting “Free Palestine,” “Gaza,” and “Netanyahu, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide.”
Anti-Netanyahu protesters march through New York
Anti-Netanyahu protesters march through New York
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Sarandon has long-been a prominent supporter of Palestinian rights and has widely condemned Netanyahu and Israel’s war in Gaza. CNN has reached out to Sarandon’s team for comment.
In a story on Instagram, Hannah Einbinder acknowledged her detainment, writing, “If the pictures of my friends and me getting arrested in protest of Netanyahu’s shameful visit to New York draw attention to anything, let it be to the devastating genocidal war is waging against the people of Palestine and Southern Lebanon.”
Hearon also posted to Instagram, where he thanked the protest organizers and said he was out of jail.