Several politicians and celebrities, including actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder, were taken into police custody while protesting against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the U.N. in Midtown Manhattan, police said on Friday.
In total, 103 people were taken into custody around 1 p.m. at First Ave. and E. 39th St., according to police. All of them were issued summonses for disorderly conduct and sent home, cops said.
“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 Israel is waging against the people of Palestine and Southern Lebanon — to the settler attacks, the home demolitions, the bombing of people as they sleep,” Einbinder, who is Jewish, posted in an Instagram story afterwards.
“Let us not mistake the spectacle for the story: genocide is the headline, and it is time for it to end.”
Among the politicians arrested were City Council members Chi Osse, Alexa Avilés and Jennifer Gutiérrez, Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher and Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier. Whistleblower Chelsea Manning and activist Linda Sarsour were also taken into custody.
NY-13 Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier is pictured being detained by police after pro-Palestinian protestors block First Ave. at E. 39th St. in protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he speaks at the United Nations Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Actor Elliot Page was also seen blocking traffic but was not taken into custody. City Council members Sandy Nurse and Tiffany Cabán, State Senator Jabari Brisport, Assemblywoman Diana Moreno and congressional candidate and former city comptroller Brad Lander were also present.
A second protest Thursday afternoon organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement saw about 2,000 activists snake their way from the steps of the New York Public Library on Fifth Ave to Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza outside Trump World Tower at First Ave and 47th St.
Chelsea Manning (far right) and pro-Palestinian protestors are pictured after being arrested for blocking First Ave. at E. 39th St. in protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he speaks at the United Nations Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Along the way, protesters chanting “Free Palestine” and “Arrest war criminal Bibi Netanyahu” had skirmishes with Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats and waving Trump banners, but the police broke up several shoving matches that broke out without making arrests.
At Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, a 10-foot-tall papier-mâché “BiBi” Netanyahu dressed in prison stripes was unexpectedly set aflame, with fire creeping up the effigy’s feet before it was put out.
Barry Williams/New York Daily News
Pro-Palestinian protestors, including actress Susan Sarandon (center), block First Ave. at E. 39th St. in protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before he speaks at the United Nations on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said earlier in the week that police anticipated numerous demonstrations against Netanyahu, who has been accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court for his government’s actions against Palestinians in Gaza.
Mamdani, a fierce critic of Netanyahu who has called him a war criminal and previously threatened to arrest him if he set foot in New York City before ultimately backpedaling, did not join in the protests but encouraged New Yorkers to express themselves through peaceful demonstrations.