A Monday demonstration in New York City brought roughly 100 protesters into custody as they called on Senate Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to block a U.S. sale of bombs to Israel, Jewish Voice for Peace said. The protest drew hundreds of demonstrators who attempted to stage a sit-in inside the Manhattan offices of the two lawmakers before security kept them out, setting the stage for a street protest and arrests that continued outside.
According to the antiwar group, led by Jewish Voice for Peace, the crowd initially tried to enter the building housing the lawmakers’ offices. After demonstrators were blocked by security from getting inside, they stopped traffic and chanted “fund people, not bombs” while they were arrested and loaded onto three buses, the group said.
The effort also put several prominent names on the scene. Jewish Voice for Peace said that among the 90 people taken into custody were whistleblower Chelsea Manning, actor Hari Nef and New York City Council Member Alexa Avilés.
The protest focused on a package of resolutions introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders that, if adopted, could block the sale of more than $600 million in bombs to Israel. Similar measures Sanders has introduced previously have failed, the Associated Press reported, and the group said the most recent effort had drawn support from more than half of Senate Democrats during the summer—though Schumer and Gillibrand were not among them.
Protesters said developments involving Israel’s air and ground offensive in southern Lebanon, as well as the broader U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, added urgency to the current push. They said Schumer and Gillibrand needed to listen to constituents as the Senate considers a vote expected later this week.
Jewish Voice for Peace communications director Sonya Meyerson-Knox said, “This is the moment when Schumer and Gillibrand must listen to their constituents,” adding that, in her view, “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, according to the Associated Press report.