Nearly 100 Arrested in NYC Protest Over Bomb Sale to Israel

Nearly 100 protesters were arrested Monday in Manhattan during a demonstration urging U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to support blocking a proposed sale of more than $600 million in bombs to Israel. The action, organized by the antiwar group Jewish Voice for Peace, drew hundreds of participants who gathered outside the senators' offices to protest U.S. military support for Israel's ongoing operations in Gaza, Lebanon and a broader conflict with Iran.

The demonstrators, which included U.S. military veterans, Jewish, Palestinian, Iranian and Lebanese New Yorkers, initially attempted to stage a sit-in inside the building at Third Avenue and East 50th Street. Security personnel prevented entry, prompting the group to move to the street, where they blocked traffic for about an hour. Protesters chanted slogans such as "fund people, not bombs," "stop the bombs," "end the killings" and "free Palestine," while calling for an end to the violence in the region. Police arrived to direct traffic and, after backup units were deployed, began making arrests, loading detainees onto three buses. Some protesters grew emotional as they were carried away by officers.