Yesterday in New York, a protest rally was held, organized by the Jewish Voice for Peace association, against the genocidal policy of Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke at the United Nations to a chamber that emptied out for the same reasons. Among the roughly 250 participants was Susan Sarandon, an actress who has repeatedly placed activist work before acting in order to build a better world and who yesterday marked her fourth arrest of her life. She was indeed stopped, as in the past Jane Fonda, together with about a hundred participants. Like many others, Sarandon, who will be in October here in Rome to receive the Womandlands Excellence Award 2026 at Alice nella città, wore a t‑shirt bearing the words “Fund people, not bombs” and joined with others in chanting “Let Gaza live” and “The whole world is watching.” A completely peaceful protest that nonetheless prompted police intervention because, as the saying goes in such cases, the protesters seated on the street were blocking traffic. Among the roughly one hundred people arrested and loaded onto a bus, besides Sarandon were the Hacks actress and Camp Miasma Hannah Einbinder and some political activists such as Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic congressional candidate, and New York City Council member Chi Ossé. Among those not stopped by the police were Cinthya Nixon, Elliott Page and comedian actress Sarah Sherman.
The day after the arrests
Indeed, Hannah Einbinder the day after, wrote this:
If the photos of me and my friends being arrested while protesting Netanyahu’s disgraceful visit to New York grab attention for anything, it must be to the devastating genocidal war that Israel is waging against the Palestinian people and the people of southern Lebanon – to the settlers’ attacks, to the demolitions of homes, to the bombing of people as they sleep; to crimes that happen every SINGLE day but receive almost no coverage in international media. The United States government has the power to put an end to all this killing, looting, and land theft, and yet chooses instead to welcome the Gaza butcher with open arms. The fact that the author of all this bloodshed is freely roaming our cities is an accusation directed at both the REPUBLICANS and the DEMOCRATS who allow and protect the architects of genocide like Netanyahu. Don’t confuse the spectacle with the history: genocide is the main headline, and it’s time for it to end.
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