|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Pro-Hamas Protesters Arrested After Storming News Corp Headquarters in NYC
Edited by: Fern Sidman
In a bold and disruptive move, sixteen pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on Friday after barging into News Corp’s Manhattan headquarters, which houses The New York Post newsroom. As was reported in the New York Post, the protesters occupied the lobby, chanting “Free Palestine” and expressing their opposition to Israel’s actions. The demonstration unfolded just two days after News Corp was targeted on a map calling for “direct action” to “globalize intifada,” the Post report added.
Pro-Palestine demonstrators occupied the headquarters of News Corp (which includes the studios of Fox News) at a Manhattan direct action. They similarly occupied the lobby of the New York Times recently, accusing the paper of bias. pic.twitter.com/YKmbOAtRET
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 17, 2023
The protesters, affiliated with The People’s Forum, a movement incubator in New York City, gathered outside the Midtown building, waving Palestinian flags and signs. Chants of “occupation no more” and “Israel is a terrorist state” reverberated through the streets as a man directed the crowd using a megaphone, according to the Post.
The demonstration extended into the lobby, where protesters sat on the floor surrounded by a combination of NYPD officers and News Corp security personnel. As was noted by the Post report, some demonstrators held a large red sign reading “Fox News… covers up genocide,” apparently referencing coverage of Israel’s actions in Gaza following the brutal October 7th terror attack by Hamas that left over 1200 Israelis and others dead and thousands injured.
Video footage captured several protesters being restrained and escorted away by authorities. The Post report said that the NYPD confirmed that a total of 16 individuals were arrested, although specific charges were not immediately clear.
The People’s Forum claimed responsibility for the protest in a media release, stating that the disruption was part of a global day of action called ‘Shut It Down for Palestine!’ taking place in numerous cities worldwide, the Post said. The release suggested that hundreds of demonstrators participated in the protest at the News Corp headquarters.
This incident follows closely on the heels of News Corp’s inclusion on a map, published by a vehemently anti-Israel organization known as Within Our Lifetime, which called for “direct action” against various locations, including newsrooms, businesses, and landmarks in New York City, as a response to the war launched by Hamas against Israel, the Post report said. Within Our Lifetime claims to have 122,000 followers on Instagram. The map, since deleted, ignited concerns about the potential for targeted actions against these locations.
The slogan used on the map, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” has been associated with the terror group Hamas.
While the organization did not specify the nature of the proposed action, the implicit suggestion of violence raised concerns, according to the Post report. The map was widely condemned, with a City Hall spokesperson emphasizing that hate has no place in the city.
“We are continually monitoring multiple channels to identify any potential threats to New York City. The NYPD is aware of a social media post urging ‘direct action’ towards several institutions in the city and is deploying resources to protect public safety at these locations.
“But to be clear, threatening businesses and organizations and referring to them as the ‘enemy’ is exactly the kind of hateful rhetoric that seeks to divide New Yorkers, but it won’t work, because we are better than that.”
The Post also reported that Mayor Eric Adams reiterated this sentiment, asserting that the city is actively monitoring potential threats and deploying resources to ensure public safety.
The NYPD is aware of the social media post urging “direct action” and is taking steps to safeguard locations mentioned in the map. .
As was also noted in the Post report, in a separate incident, protesters gathered outside BNY Mellon in Tribeca on Friday, sitting down and chanting slogans. Within Our Lifetime accused the financial institution of claiming commitment to socially responsible investment while allegedly investing over $13 million in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company.
The protest resulted in over a dozen arrests, according to the NYPD, the Post report said. While it is still too early for authorities to confirm the number of arrests related to the News Corp building incident, a total of twenty people were arrested during the demonstration at BNY Mellon.
The incidents highlight the heightened tensions surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict and the potential for such tensions to spill over into protests and calls for action. As security concerns persist, the city remains focused on maintaining public safety and preventing any form of violence or disruption
