Avila Chevalier, Ossé, Avilés arrested protesting Netanyahu

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani may not be protesting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations on Thursday. But other New York politicians did, with some getting arrested for blocking the road and refusing to move during the demonstration, including Democratic nominee for the 13th congressional district, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and City Council Members Chi Ossé and Alexa Avilés.

More than a dozen elected officials and candidates, including congressional nominee Brad Lander, state Sen. Jabari Brisport, City Council Members Sandy Nurse and Tiffany Cabán and Assembly Member Emily Gallagher were among the roughly 250 protesters who sat in the street at the corner of 1st Avenue and 39th Street in Manhattan. The action organized by pro-Palestinian group Jewish Voice for Peace, just blocks away from the U.N. headquarters, was meant to protest both Netanyahu’s speech at the U.N. and for the United States’ involvement in Israel’s war in Gaza. The group was surrounded by around 100 New York City police officers including members of the Strategic Response Group.

About an hour into the protest, officers moved in and arrested the 80 or so protesters who were left, including Avila Chevalier, Ossé and Avilés, without issue. According to an organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace, other politicians who were arrested included Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, Gallagher, and state legislative candidates Aber Kawas, Christian Celeste Tate, David Orkin and Illapa Sairitupac.

“As the Democratic Nominee for New York’s 13th Congressional District, I refuse to allow a war criminal to roam the streets of our city unchallenged,” Avila Chevalier said in a statement on her arrest shared exclusively with City & State. “I refuse to play host to a man who has overseen the slaughter or injury of more than 64,000 children in Gaza with American taxpayer dollars.” Avila Chevalier, who is virtually guaranteed to win election in her deep blue district in November, has been a vocal pro-Palestinian activist and critic of Israel. She ousted Rep. Adriano Espaillat in June’s Democratic primary. 

The electeds and protestors who joined them rained chants of “It is right to rebel, Netanyahu go to hell” in the direction of the United Nations, where Netanyahu is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. Netanyahu has said he will address Mamdani, his vehement critic, in that speech. In a video posted on Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister falsely accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas and inciting riots against Jewish New Yorkers. In response, the mayor dismissed the allegations and pointed to the International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued to Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

“He is the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians,” Mamdani said. The mayor, however, is not joining protests and has backed off his previous threats to order the New York City Police Department to arrest Netanyahu, saying the city does not have that authority.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 in which 1,200 people were killed and hundreds taken hostage more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli Defense Forces according to the United Nations. 

This story has been updated with additional details of arrests made at Thursday’s protest.