NEW YORK (Echosphere) — Nearly 100 protesters were arrested during a demonstration Monday calling on Senate Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to block the sale of thousands of U.S. bombs to Israel.
Led by the antiwar group Jewish Voice for Peace, the crowd of hundreds initially attempted to stage a sit-in inside the Manhattan offices of the two Democratic lawmakers they accused of abetting Israel’s intensifying attacks in Lebanon and the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
After demonstrators were blocked by security from entering the building, they stopped traffic outside, chanting “fund people, not bombs” as they were arrested and loaded onto three buses.
Among the 90 people taken into custody were whistleblower Chelsea Manning, actor Hari Nef and New York City Council Member Alexa Avilés, according to a JVP spokesperson.
The demonstration focused on a set of resolutions introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders that could block the sale of more than $600 million in bombs to Israel.
Similar measures previously introduced by Sanders have failed, but the most recent push garnered support from over half of Senate Democrats amidst widespread hunger and suffering in Gaza. Schumer and Gillibrand were not among them.
Protesters expressed that Israel’s air and ground offensive in southern Lebanon, alongside the broader U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, heightens the necessity for a Senate vote expected later this week. “This is the moment when Schumer and Gillibrand must listen to their constituents,” stated Sonya Meyerson-Knox, communications director with Jewish Voice for Peace. “The majority of Americans and New Yorkers want a resolution to what the Israeli government is doing.”
Inquiries to Schumer and Gillibrand were not immediately returned.
