Protestors Shut Down Near Bryant Park and Library Then March on the New York Times

Pro-Palestinian Students, staff, and Palestinians rallied on the steps outside of the New York Public Library on Nov. 9 chanting “Gaza, Gaza, do not cry,” later marching down the streets of Midtown raising “Free Palestine” signs.

More than a hundred high schools and college campuses were estimated to participate in a city-wide school walk out that culminated at the Public Library and Bryant Park for a rally that attracted an estimated 1,500 people.

It’s the latest local reaction to the violence in the Mid-East that was ignited by the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli settlements by Hamas terrorists who killed an estimated 1,400 people and kidnapped 240 including the elderly and children. The Israel Defense Force began a relentless bombing campaign followed by a ground offensive in northern Gaza seeking to disable Hamas. The Hamas health ministry said over 10,000 people have died, including 4,100 children.

Many gathered outside of Midtown’s New York Public Library yelled, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

That is considered an incendiary phrase by pro-Israelis since it appears to endorses the elimination of the Jewish state.

“For me the phrase means, give land back to Palestine and the Palestinian people,” said Nadia, one of the many people with a sign including that phrase. “I know a big misconception is all the eradication of Jews, but there have always been Jewish people in that area. The river to the sea means, for me, giving everyone the right to live and their fullest lives in that area regardless of religion or race, allowing Palestinians and Jewish people and whoever to live peacefully by each other’s sides.” Nadia did want to give the name of her place of employment.

Out of the series of protests that have taken place around the city in the past weeks, the New York Times called this Nov. 9 rally, one of the “largest actions.” Later on Nov. 9, the Times itself became the target of the crowd of pro-Palestinian protestors.

Some of the organizers were the Palestinian Youth Movement, NYC Educators Palestine, DESIS Rising Up and Moving, CUNY for Palestine, and Teacher Unite.

Sarah, an organizer for Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) attended the rally outside the Public Library. “The PSL fights for all sorts of issues that are facing the working class on a domestic and international scale,” she said. “We see that the working class of Palestine is under siege and experiencing a genocide on the US tax dollar.”

Every year the US government writes Israel a blank check for at least $3.8 billion in military aid that has been used for violence against Palestinians, organizers said. Virtually all NYC politicians have expressed strong support for Israel following the Oct. 7 attack.

According to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, it was estimated that around $300 million of that amount has come from New York alone. NYC is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.

“Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, poverty. All of these things are connected because all of the resources and the wealth of the world is hoarded by a small group of elites and we are here to draw the connections and say its people power that will get us out of this mess.” Sarah said, “We need to end all US aid to Israel and Palestine needs to be completely liberated from Israeli siege.”

The Jewish homeland was established by the UN in 1948 from the British controlled Palestine, which forced the relocation of about 700,000 Palestinians.

“It’s hard to wake up everyday and not see what’s going on,” said a protestor and Broadway stagehand, Sebastian Sanchez. “I don’t think there are two sides to this. It is more so about understanding and having some sort of compassion for those who have been receiving the short end of the stick and have been receiving the short end of the stick. For a long time, people haven’t realized or don’t acknowledge that there’s a little strip there that’s basically an open-air jail. These people have been suffering for decades now. They’ve lost everything.”

Some protestors from the Bryant Park protest moved to Eighth Avenue, The New York Times building where several hundred protestors stormed the lobby to demand a cease fire, meanwhile; outside people vandalized a police car, writing “IDF KKK,” in silver and black spray paint.

In the latest development, Israel has said it will halt its aerial bombardment for a four hour humanitarian pause but has resisted calls for a ceasefire as it presses its ground offensive.