Scores of pro-Palestinian protesters hurled smoke bombs and fought with police as they tried to disrupt a deep-pocketed fundraiser for President Biden on the heels of his poor performance in his first debate with former President Trump, officials said Saturday.
Waving Palestinian flags and holding up signs reading “Joe Biden — retire b—h!” protesters converged on the Hammerstein Ballroom on W. 34th St. near Eighth Ave. in Midtown at about 6:30 p.m. Friday, where dozens of Biden supporters shelled out up to $500,000 a table for the fundraiser.
Cops stopped the protesters about a block away from their destination. As protesters threw smoke bombs, cops clashed with demonstrators, taking 40 into custody, an NYPD spokesman said.
No injuries were reported. Videos posted online of the protest show cops in riot gear and demonstrators, many either wearing surgical masks or keeping their faces obscured with headscarves, shoving each other in the smoke.
The protest was organized by the group Within Our Lifetime, which distributed online fliers recommending that demonstrators “confront genocide Joe” on his support of Israel during the ongoing Hamas war.
Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
NYPD officers intervene in a pro-Palestinian and pro-Lebanese demonstration and arrest several protesters from Within Our Lifetime (WOL) as President Biden visits New York City, on June 28, 2024.
“Genocidal politicians are not welcome in New York City,” the flier read. “Genocide Joe and anyone who supports him or his genocide in Palestine will be met with protest everywhere they go.”
Biden, 81, left the event within two hours and never came face-to-face with the protestors.
On X, Within Our Lifetime declared the protest a success.
“Despite severe repression, police brutality and dozens of arrests, hundreds flooded the streets of Manhattan tonight to stand with Gaza and confront Biden during his visit to NYC,” they wrote.
During the Thursday night debate with Trump, Biden reaffirmed the U.S. support of Israel, which outraged city protesters.
“He came to NYC but was met with nothing but protestors flooding Manhattan for Palestine,” Within Our Lifetime wrote.
Trump blasted Biden’s calls for a ceasefire, calling the President “a very bad Palestinian” who doesn’t want to help Israel “finish the job” against Hamas.
“He doesn’t want to do it. He’s become like a Palestinian – but they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian, he’s a weak one,” Trump said during the debate Thursday in Atlanta.
Critics called Trump’s comments “blatantly racist” toward Palestinians.
“Using Palestinian as a slur shows the depths of racism that exists here,” Ayah Ziyadeh, director of American Muslims for Palestine, told Al Jazeera.
Biden’s visit to New York Friday came as he tried to quiet widespread concern over his poor debate performance — as well as calls for him to drop out of the race against Trump.
During his trip, he attended the LBGTQ community ribbon-cutting for the new Stonewall National Monument’s visitor center. Gov. Hochul, other democratic leaders, and musician Elton John were also in attendance.
The protest against Biden was one of dozens of pro-Palestinian protests to take place in New York since the beginning of the Hamas war on Oct. 7.
In recent weeks, protesters have gone beyond unfurling banners and calling for an end of hostilities. On June 12 about a half-dozen demonstrators splattered red paint outside the home of Brooklyn Museum Executive Director Anne Pasternak and other board members in Brooklyn and Manhattan as they called on the Brooklyn Museum to divest from Israel.
On Wednesday, the NYPD arrested a masked pro-Palestinian protester recorded terrorizing a crowded Manhattan subway train at the Union Square station by screaming “Raise your hand if you’re a Zionist!”
The protester, Anas Saleh, was charged with attempted coercion.
