Actors among detainees at New York protest opposing Netanyahu

Actress Susan Sarandon and “Hacks” actor Hannah Einbinder were among people detained by police during an anti-Benjamin Netanyahu protest in New York, according to AFP footage and reporting carried by Channels Television. The demonstration was organised by Jewish Voice for Peace as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu prepared to address the United Nations General Assembly. Protesters staged a sit-in on city streets and held banners calling for an end to US arms supplies to Israel and what they described as genocide.

AFP footage showed New York Police Department officers handcuffing Sarandon at the demonstration. The New York Post reported that Einbinder had also been taken away. The NYPD did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests for comment on the detentions, and the supplied material does not state whether charges were filed.

Inside the General Assembly, dozens of envoys walked out as Netanyahu began his speech. He criticised enemies and allies, including Britain and France, which he said had recently moved to recognise a Palestinian state. Netanyahu also rejected accusations that Israel was colonialist.

Sarandon has previously spoken publicly about Israel’s war in Gaza. At the Venice Film Festival, she said she believed her outspoken views had cost her work, while also saying that public understanding of the situation had changed. The supplied report gives no further details about the protest’s size or the number of people detained.