Protesters stopped near an Israeli flag at Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport and pulled out banners proclaiming a “right to return” and to “divest from genocide” before law enforcement placed many in handcuffs and removed them from the scene.
On Wednesday at approximately 11 a.m., a group of 40 or so anti-Israel demonstrators parked on the Van Wyck Expressway, blocking the road, to voice their opposition to the existence of the Jewish state and its war to end the Hamas terrorist organization that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The group held hands and interfered with traffic, causing those trying to catch flights to walk in the rain with their luggage. The protest went on for about a half-hour before more police arrived on the scene. The 26 people arrested reportedly received tickets to appear in court.
Another airport protest also took place on Wednesday in Los Angeles at the city’s international airport. Anti-Israel demonstrators there marched with a banner that said: “Ceasefire not enough. Land back! Free Palestine.” Members of the group also tried to block streets.
The LAPD wrote on social media that “protestors threw a police officer to the ground, used construction debris, road signs, tree branches and blocks of concrete to obstruct Century BLVD while attacking uninvolved passersby in their vehicles.”
Once law enforcement moved in with riot gear, the crowd dispersed.
Some 36 people were detained at about noon for allegedly participating in an “unlawful assembly” (rioting) and at least one for assaulting a police officer.
