Pro-Palestinian protesters temporarily shut down the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York City by gluing their hands to the pavement Thursday. The event marked one of the most high-profile disruptions by anti-Israel protests since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack.
Protesters supporting the Palestinian cause created the disruption Thursday morning in New York City. The demonstrators arrived wearing white outfits with slogans on them, including “colonialism” and “ethnic cleansing.”
Other protesters carried a banner reading “Genocide then. Genocide Now.” The banner also included smaller insets reading “Free Palestine” and “Land Back.” A photo shows the banner-carrying protesters blocking a McDonald’s float.
The protesters poured red liquid signifying blood on each other and glued their hands to 6th Avenue. The protests forced the New York Police Department (NYPD) to shift balloons and floats from the parade’s ordinary path.
Pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested as they tried to shut down the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They glued themselves to the pavement and shouted “Liberation for Palestine and Climate." Crowd shouts "Boo!" – they’re sick of this! pic.twitter.com/P607J6eCBI
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 23, 2023
The protest followed a number of social media posts that called for “shutting down NYC Thanksgiving Day Parade.” The posts were shared numerous times on TikTok and Instagram.
The Thanksgiving Day protest came after a number of disruptive demonstrations in New York since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Last week hundreds of protesters disrupted travel in Manhattan and called for an “intifada.” Intifada signifies armed conflict by Palestinians against Israel.
“From New York to Gaza, globalize the intifada!” they shouted.
The protests were joined by Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon, who drew significant criticism due to her anti-Israel statements. She joined in the chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which is often interpreted as a call to destroy the Jewish state.
The protesters traveled to a number of locations marked by a pro-Palestinian group as supporting Israel.
The demonstrators brought their activities to the New York Times, Penn Station and other transportation hubs. In front of one train station, the protesters shouted “If Palestine don’t get it, shut it down! Shut it down!”
The protests caused a delay in several trains headed in and out of the city.
