Dozens Arrested in New York Protests Over US Arms Sales to Israel

Dozens of demonstrators protesting against US arms sales to Israel and demanding an end to Washington’s military support for Tel Aviv and its conflict with Iran were arrested by New York City police.

Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-war organization that took part in the protest event in New York City, reported that some 90 protesters were arrested on Monday, including whistleblower Chelsea Manning, a former US Army soldier and WikiLeaks source.

However, the New York City Police Department stated that “multiple” arrests were made and declined to give a precise number of those who were taken into custody.

As the US Senate prepares to limit US President Donald Trump’s war powers once more in an effort to stop his unwarranted war of aggression against Iran, footage from the protests showed a crowd assembling close to the offices of US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Democratic colleague, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

While expressing their vehement opposition to the US-Israeli bombings on Iran, Israel’s continuous fatal attacks in south Lebanon, and Israel’s aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip, protesters yelled phrases like “stop the bombs,” “end the killings,” and “free Palestine.”

Additionally, the protesters chanted “let Lebanon live,” “let Iran live,” and “let Gaza live.”

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a massive, unprovoked war of aggression on Iran, killing hundreds of people, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, and other senior military leaders.

Tens of billions of dollars have already been spent on Washington’s expensive war on Iran, which quickly escalated into a regional conflict. It has also raised concerns about the strain on US weapons stockpiles, many of which are also shipped to Israel for use against either Iran or Palestine and Lebanon.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched more than 100 rounds of missile and drone operations against important US and Israeli targets since the start of the forced and illegitimate war on Iran.

As part of Operation True Promise 4, the retaliatory assaults damaged US assets in the Persian Gulf countries to the tune of billions of dollars and drove hundreds of US troops out of the area.

A truce mediated by Pakistan took effect forty days into the conflict, but the American delegation’s exorbitant demands and shifting objectives prevented Washington-Tehran talks in Islamabad from coming to an agreement.

The US claimed to have begun a naval blockade against Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman on Monday, further complicating the situation. The IRGC has previously promised to take strong action in response to the provocative measure.

Thus far, the Trump administration has clamped down on anti-war and anti-Israel demonstrations by attempting to deport international students, threatening to cut off funding for colleges hosting rallies, and mandating the filtering of online comments made by immigrants. There have been legal challenges to the crackdown.

When Israel launched its genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza in 2024, pro-Palestinian demonstrations centered in New York City. Over 75,000 people were killed in the US-backed conflict, which also caused a famine crisis and internally displaced everyone in Gaza.