New York City police apprehended multiple pro-Gaza demonstrators outside the New York Stock Exchange on Monday following a protest drawing attention to Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza and Lebanon.
Protesters chanted slogans like “Let Gaza live!” and “Up up with liberation, down down with occupation!” and managed to breach a security fence in front of the exchange on Broad Street, downtown Manhattan. After entering the fenced area, they sat down, awaiting police intervention, according to the Associated Press.
Jewish Voice for Peace, which organized the demonstration, stated: “200 Jews are risking arrest in the largest act of civil disobedience in the history of the New York Stock Exchange.”
“Stocks are rising while children are dying. As Israel drops bombs on homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza, Wall Street thrives, and every member of Congress investing in these companies profits daily,” said Jay Saper of Jewish Voice for Peace in a press release.
Footage shared by independent journalist Noah Hurowitz on X (formerly Twitter) showed a large group of protesters swiftly moving toward the stock exchange, gathering at the entrance, and blocking access. According to police, there were potentially up to 200 arrests, though the exact number remained unconfirmed.
An NYPD spokesperson acknowledged multiple arrests but did not provide a final count. A credentialed journalist was also temporarily detained during the protest and released shortly afterward, Hurowitz reported.
The protest took place just over a week after the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, during which Hamas militants crossed into Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200 people, including over 40 Americans, and taking at least 251 hostages, according to NBC News.
In response, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza. The Gaza health ministry reported more than 41,000 deaths, as noted by ABC News.
The conflict has since expanded, raising concerns of further escalation across the region, particularly if Iran intensifies its involvement. Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, began firing rockets at northern Israel on October 8, 2023, in support of Hamas.
Tensions escalated further with Israel’s recent bombings in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut’s southern suburbs, along with deploying ground troops across the border.
“At this very moment, the Israeli military is massacring family after family in North Gaza – with US-made bombs. The Biden Administration wants the public to believe that the US’s $18 billion funding for Israel’s actions is for the sake of ‘Jewish safety,’” stated Elena Stein, director of organizing strategy for Jewish Voice for Peace.
“We’re here to reject being used as the US’s moral cover and to reveal its true motivations: financial profit and regional control. We demand a weapons embargo now,” Stein added.
