The New York Police Department detained 34 demonstrators at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade who were protesting Israel’s killings of civilians in Gaza, the authorities said on Friday.
The parade, which featured protesters waving Palestinian flags and chanting, was briefly stalled when some of the demonstrators, dressed in white jumpsuits splashed in fake blood, sought to glue their hands to the pavement. The action was just one of a series of demonstrations over the Thanksgiving holiday in which protesters across the country demanded a permanent cease-fire.
Four of the protesters face a range of charges, including harassment, obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest. Thirty received summonses for trespassing and disorderly conduct along the parade route.
Activists painted the words “Free Palestine” on the outside of the New York Public Library’s main branch and accompanied the message with handprints in red paint. The police said the investigation into the vandalism, which they defined as criminal mischief, was ongoing.
The protests came amid mounting global scrutiny of Israel’s bombings, which have been carried out in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 people in Israel. More than 10 times as many people have been killed since then in Gaza, according to the region’s health ministry.
Earlier this week, Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary cease-fire, and dozens of hostages were released from Gaza on Friday in exchange for the release of dozens more Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
But the lull did little to cool tempers on Thursday in New York, where the interruption of the parade drew jeers from people gathered to see the event’s signature floats and balloons.
Protesters turned out again a day later in several cities for a series of actions aimed at disrupting the shopping holiday of Black Friday.
In New York, large crowds of demonstrators marched from Washington Square Park to Herald Square. The protest was largely peaceful, and a Police Department spokesman said there were no arrests.
