Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters, including NYC students, march through Manhattan calling for Gaza cease-fire
Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters, including high school and college students, marched through Manhattan Friday during the evening rush hour — leading to several arrests when some in the group refused to clear the street.
The rally started around 3 p.m. at the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue, where demonstrators stood on the steps shouting “Free Palestine,” as others played drums and chanted “From the land to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Some protesters from the School of Visual Arts stood in Bryant Park with huge banners that said “SVA Students against Genocide.” Others, notably a number from Hunter College, held smaller signs that read “CUNY students stand in solidarity.”
Students from Wesleyan University and NYU — as well as Midwood High School and Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn — participated in the protest.
Tensions flared when two men stood opposite the demonstration with an Israeli and American flag. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempted to rip the flags out of the man’s hand and pushed him at point before police intervened.
Around 5 p.m., the crowd, some 300-strong, began to march down Fifth Avenue. Traffic ground to a halt as the protesters poured into the street.
The group stopped outside of the New York Times building, where police guarded the entrance.
“New York Times you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” the ralliers yelled.
Several protesters were taken into custody on Eighth Avenue for disrupting traffic after refusing to clear the street.
Police sources said at least 8 people were arrested by 6:30 p.m. when the group dispersed after reaching Columbus Circle.
The Schools Out for Palestine Walkout and Rally, as it was dubbed, was organized by a coalition of youth-led, educator-led, and parent-led organizations in New York City, including: Palestinian Youth Movement, Teachers Unite, Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM), New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE), NYC Educators for Palestine, and MORE-UFT.
It’s the second demonstration of its kind since November, when thousands of students walked out and called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The organizations said in a joint statement that since then, those who were involved in that walkout “have been the target of unprecedented retaliation by school administrators and DOE Chancellor Banks for speaking out” about Israel’s military response in the Palestinian enclave.
“When will the indoctrination stop? educator Tova Plaut, a member of the New York City Public School Alliance asked in response to Friday’s protests.
“When will educators stop bringing hate into our classrooms? Teachers are misguiding their students by teaching them false information that feeds into Jew hatred.”
Michelle Ahdoot, Director of programming and strategy at End Jew Hatred, said “There is nothing innocuous about the walkouts we’re seeing; they traumatize Jewish students and are nothing less than naked support and propaganda for Hamas.
‘“Our school officials continue to fail to protect Jewish students, and do nothing to impose consequences on Jew-hatred,” she added.
