More than 40 people were arrested on Monday evening during a protest against the war in Gaza outside the Trump International Hotel in New York City. The demonstration was organised by IfNotNow, a Jewish-American anti-occupation group, which called for the White House to pressure Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the territory.
Hundreds gathered at Columbus Circle under the banner “Trump: Jews Say No More” before marching to the hotel. Speakers included Morriah Kaplan, IfNotNow’s interim executive director, who accused the Israeli government of carrying out a policy of “ethnic cleansing by way of forced mass starvation”. She said the US government must use its “considerable leverage” to end the crisis.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander also addressed the crowd, noting the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av and denouncing what he called “destruction caused by the state of Israel”. Former US Department of the Interior aide Lily Greenberg Call, who resigned in protest over the Biden administration’s policy, said American Jews had an obligation to “stand up against what’s happening in our name”.
The protest turned into a sit-in outside the hotel, blocking traffic. Police began making arrests shortly after 8.15pm local time, with at least 40 people taken away in vans. IfNotNow described the action as the “broadest tent coalition in the Jewish community against the atrocities in Gaza” in the past two years.
