More than 40 arrested at protest against Gaza war at Trump hotel in New York

[groundloop]

Source: The Guardian

More than 40 people protesting the war and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza were arrested outside the Trump International hotel in New York City on Monday evening.

The protest, organized by IfNotNow, a Jewish-American anti-occupation group, had begun earlier in the evening at Columbus Circle. Hundreds gathered under the banner “Trump: Jews Say No More” to demand an end to the war in Gaza and that the Trump administration pressure Israel to allow greater humanitarian aid to enter into territory, as health officials there continue to report deaths from starvation and malnutrition.

“Let’s not mince words, the Israeli government’s blockade of Gaza is a policy of ethnic cleansing by way of forced mass starvation,” said Morriah Kaplan, IfNotNow’s interim executive director, during her speech to the crowd. “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, 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.”

“We need the US government to use its considerable leverage to end these horrors,” she added.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/04/gaza-protest-trump-hotel-new-york

[littlemissmartypants]

1. ❤️

[SunSeeker]

2. Glad to see they're protesting Trump. nt

[yardwork]

4. Note that this is a Jewish organization.

[SunSeeker]

7. Note that Jews are not a monolith. nt

[yardwork]

9. Exactly.

But I couldn't help but notice that this Jewish-American organization is protesting the right person - Trump.

It's an interesting contrast to the many pro-Palestinian groups who appear to exclusively protest Democrats and random Jewish people.

This group got it right. Naturally, they were arrested.

[al bupp]

6. "Let's not mince words,"...

"the Israeli government’s blockade of Gaza is a policy of ethnic cleansing by way of forced mass starvation,” said Morriah Kaplan, IfNotNow’s interim executive director (emphasis mine).

[SunSeeker]

8. They didn't use the G word.

Note that Gaza was ethnically cleansed of Jews in 2005. The Jewish Gazans even had to dig up and take their ancestors' Jewish graves with them.

[al bupp]

11. So, you're justifying this ethnic cleansing?

Wow. I wonder how you would feel if it was Palestinians who had the tanks, bombers and US dollars to level half of, say, Judea while systematically starving the survivors.

[SunSeeker]

12. No. Ethnic cleansing implies removing all but one ethnicity. There is nobody left there but Palestinians.

The bombing and starving would stop tomorrow if Hamas would just surrender and disarm, as the Arab League is telling them to do.

[yardwork]

10. This is just one example of Jewish-Americans protesting Israel's actions.

This refutes the antisemitic lie that all Jewish people are in agreement with Netanyahu. That lie is promoting antisemitic attacks on Jewish people.

[ultralite001]

3. More power to them...

TIA

[yardwork]

5. Good for them.

[riversedge]

13. I am so glad to see the protests and hope that those involved with take care of themselves.

[Oopsie Daisy]

14. Better to protest Trump than Nancy Pelosi's office (or some such... harassing Democrats.)

[betsuni]

15. I'm glad protesting Nancy Pelosi's office on one's first day as an elected Democrat in Congress

to prove one's anti-establishment outsider purity never took off as a tradition.

[Oopsie Daisy]

16. I chuckle (roll my eyes) at the protests of "DO SOMETHING! DO THIS THING WE WANT YOU TO DO!"

And the reply is (often and amusingly) "Well, we're actually already doing the thing you want us to do!" --- But the most aggravating ones are when the protestors are making demands that cannot be legally or procedurally accomplished, especially without a majority or even a super-majority... or even a constitutional amendment. And, you're right, fortunately that didn't become a tradition, but there are enough naive folks who lack a full understanding of what's actually doable and rather than focusing on those things, the pie-in-the-sky impossible demands end up preventing the possible from happening. People want what they want and they want it now, without regard to the best way to get from here-to-there, or without regard to the actual steps needed to make things happen in meaningful and sustainable ways. As per usual, the "perfect" becomes the enemy of the possible... and a path to better, and a road to perfection is never cleared for others to follow.