Actor Indya Moore and transgender rights activist Cecilia Gentili were among hundreds of people arrested during a New York City rally calling for a ceasefire in Gaza this past weekend. The demonstration, organized by the anti-Zionist organization Jewish Voice for Peace, took place at Grand Central Station in Manhattan this past Friday, in a tribute to ACT UP’s takeover of the transit hub in 1991 to protest the Gulf War.
Thousands of protesters filled the station and spilled out into the streets in midtown Manhattan at 6 p.m., according to ABC 7 New York. Many protesters, including Moore and Gentili, wore black shirts printed with white text reading “NOT IN OUR NAME” and “CEASEFIRE NOW.” The same night of the protest, as the IDF intensified its assault, Gaza lost all phone and internet service; American officials told the New York Times they believed Israel was responsible for the total communications blackout, which lasted 34 hours.
Israel has been bombarding Gaza since October 7, the day that the militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on the country in which over 1,400 were killed and 200 hostages taken, the vast majority of whom have not been returned home.
According to the Associated Press, the Gaza Health Ministry has reported that 8,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict since October 7, most of whom are women and children. Nearly 20,000 have been injured, according to the United Nations. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that its healthcare system has totally collapsed, leaving many injured Palestinians in critical condition. The need for aid is critical because since October 9, the Gaza Strip has been under total siege, with water, food, and medicine blocked from entering. The Guardian reported today that Israel has let in “only a trickle” of aid since the start of the siege.
During Friday’s rally, the New York Police Department (NYPD) arrested 335 protesters, many of whom received summonses for criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, per the New York Times. In an Instagram post on Saturday, Gentili, an activist and advocate with a long history of advocacy for trans people, sex workers, and people living with HIV, described the arrest as “inconsequential compared to what is currently happening in [Gaza] as we speak.”
