Hollywood Figures Among Arrested Protesters at New York Demonstration

Actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder of “Hacks” were among those detained by police in New York on Thursday as officers moved to break up a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

AFP footage showed NYPD officers handcuffing Sarandon, known for her role in “Thelma & Louise,” at the demonstration, which took place as Netanyahu prepared to address the UN General Assembly. The New York Post reported that Einbinder was also marched away from the protest, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace. The NYPD did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment on the detentions.

Protesters carrying banners reading “Stop Arming Israel” and “End the Genocide” staged a sit-in on city streets while Netanyahu delivered a defiant speech inside the UN. Dozens of envoys from around the world walked out of the chamber as he began speaking, during which he criticized both adversaries and allies who he said had crossed him in recent months, including Britain and France, both of which have recently moved to recognize a Palestinian state. Netanyahu told the assembly that Israel was being accused of colonialism, calling the charge absurd given the size of the country and pointedly noting that some of the accusers came from Britain and France.

Sarandon, whose film credits also include “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Dead Man Walking” and “The Witches of Eastwick,” has long been a visible presence at protests over the war in Gaza. Speaking to journalists at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month, she said she has still had movies taken away recently because certain agencies are telling people not to hire her, describing it as simply how the industry’s power structure operates. She said she believes public understanding of the situation has shifted, even as strongly held pro-Israel positions persist within parts of the entertainment industry among people who haven’t softened their feelings toward her, adding that she has found her own community and is at peace with where she stands.

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