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A messy morning commute in NYC as pro-Palestinian protests shut down East River bridges and Holland Tunnel
(New York Jewish Week) — Commuters faced major delays Monday morning as several pro-Palestinian protests shut down traffic on the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges on the East River as well as the Holland Tunnel under the Hudson River linking New Jersey to Manhattan.
Organizers said that the goal of the coordinated protests was to escalate disruption and send a message to the city about Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. “Particularly with blocking main arteries of transit, the idea is to confront New Yorkers — just for a brief hour or two hours — with the kind of reality of what it’s like to not be able to move, to not be able to freely travel where you’re trying to go,” Nas Issa, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, told the New York Jewish Week.
“Take this inconvenience and imagine what it’s like for the 2.7 million Palestinians in Gaza who have nowhere to go and have no safe place to hide,” added Issa, who said she was on the Williamsburg Bridge Monday morning with a “few hundred” others.
In videos posted to social media, protestors at the different locations can be heard chanting “NYPD, KKK, IDF, they’re all the same”; “Shut it down”; “Free Palestine”; “Palestine will never die” and “From Haiti to Palestine, occupation is a crime” while planting themselves on the pavement and linking themselves together with cement-filled tires.
NOW: Pro-Palestine supporters chant “NYPD KKK, IDF they’re all the same” after lines of protesters arrested and cuffed at Holland Tunnel. pic.twitter.com/VJHhGuDqLN
— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) January 8, 2024
Along with the Palestinian Youth Movement, the actions were organized and attended by members of the New York chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, the New York chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, Palestinian Youth Movement and Writers Against the War on Gaza, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Critical Resistance, Party for Socialism and Liberation and Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition.
The New York Police Department issued a traffic advisory just before 10 a.m. Monday morning. At 11:30, the NYPD tweeted that all the protests had been dispersed.
The protests drew ire from commuting New Yorkers and some government officials.
In a statement posted to X, New York City council member Robert Holden called the protests “terrorism,” deeming it “unacceptable” and describing the protesters as “anarchists.”
“We must allow this terrorism to continue,” he said. “Swift and decisive action is needed. Arrest and prosecute them now!”
“It’s absolutely ridiculous and helping nobody,” East Village resident Mia Kratchman told the New York Daily News while stuck in an Uber outside the Holland Tunnel. “As a person who takes this route every single day, I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”
Several New Yorkers worried about the hindrance the blockade might have caused to emergency vehicles. “There are approximately 70 life-threatening emergencies that EMS responds to in New York City every hour. The Pro-Hamas crowd is proud to harm New Yorkers by shutting down the means for Ambulances to take people to the hospital,” David Greenfield, the CEO of the Met Council on Jewish Poverty and an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law, posted on Twitter. “Arrest. Them. All.”
Greenfield’s remarks were reposted by Yehiel Kalish, the CEO of Hatzalah, the Jewish volunteer ambulance service. “You are correct,” Kalish wrote in response to Greenfield. “Thankfully, agencies like ours are notified about these events immediately, and we are forced to make contingency plans.”
Protestors were not deterred. “At the end of the day, there’s always people who are going to be upset by any disruption,” Issa said. “Historically, if you look at anti-war protest movements, in the moment, they’re not very popular because they’re disruptive.”
“The broader message is trying to keep Palestine at the top of people’s minds,” she added. “Another aspect of it is escalating the disruption and escalating the drain on the New York Police Department’s resources and, in that way, putting pressure on decision makers within the city.”
Over 300 people on the bridges and at the Holland Tunnel were arrested, according to the NYPD Chief of Patrol Chief John Chell. Many will face misdemeanor charges.
Monday’s actions were the latest in string of pro-Palestinian protests in recent weeks, including one that shut down the Belt Parkway leading to JFK Airport on New Year’s Day and as well as rallies that disrupted the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
CBS New York reported that nearly 500 protests have occurred in New York City since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
The post Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
The post Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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