Over 40 Arrested at Gaza Protest Outside Trump Hotel in NY

By Staff, Agencies

More than 40 people were arrested Monday evening outside the Trump International Hotel in New York City during a protest against the war and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The demonstration, organized by IfNotNow, a Jewish-American anti-occupation group, began earlier at Columbus Circle, gathering hundreds under the banner: "Trump: Jews Say No More."

The protest called for an immediate end to the war on Gaza, demanding that the US government pressure "Israel" to allow humanitarian aid into the territory, where health officials continue to report deaths caused by starvation and malnutrition.

"Let’s not mince words, 'Israel’s' blockade of Gaza is a policy of ethnic cleansing by way of forced mass starvation," said Morriah Kaplan, interim executive director of IfNotNow.

"It is an unbearable, unspeakable, unfathomable affront to our shared humanity and those who are carrying it out and are deploying our Jewish symbols, language, and traditions to defend and justify it," she added.

"Which is why I’m heartened to see such a range of Jews and Jewish organizations coming together today to say with one voice that we oppose these atrocities, not in spite of our Judaism, but for many of us, because of it."

Kaplan called on the US government to use its influence to halt the ongoing attacks, adding, "We need the US government to use its considerable leverage to end these horrors," she said.

Additionally, protesters held signs reading "stop ethnic cleansing," "never again is now," "stop starving Gaza," and "not in our name." Speakers included Ruth Messinger, T’ruah CEO Rabbi Jill Jacobs, and Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller.

Lily Greenberg Call, a former special assistant to the chief of staff at the US Department of the Interior, also attended the protest. She had publicly resigned from her position in May 2024 over the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza.

"I was the first, and unfortunately the only Jewish official to publicly resign in protest of the administration’s unconditional support for 'Israel' during the war in Gaza," Greenberg Call told The Guardian. She said she noticed new faces joining the movement. "There is something shifting," she remarked.

"Showing up is really important, and our role as Americans, especially our government and our tax dollars, are funding this. We have an obligation, specifically as American Jews, to stand up against what’s happening in our name."

Moreover, at around 8:00 pm local time, protesters marched to the Trump International Hotel, where they sat in the street chanting and singing. About 15 minutes later, New York Police Department officers began arresting demonstrators for blocking the street.

By 9:00 pm, at least 40 people had been arrested, according to The Guardian. Detainees were taken away in police vans as the remaining crowd dispersed.

In a press release issued after the arrests, IfNotNow described the action as "the broadest tent coalition in the Jewish community against the atrocities in Gaza in the last two years," claiming to represent the majority of US Jews outraged by the actions of the "Israeli" occupation.