New York police officers arrest activists, including actress Susan Sarandon, during a demonstration in support of Palestine and Gaza on Sept. 24, 2026. (Credit: Charly Triballeau/AFP)
Actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder were among around 100 people detained by police in New York on Thursday during a protest against Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
AFP footage showed NYPD officers leading away cuffed "Thelma & Louise" star Sarandon at the demo in the city as Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
A spokesperson for the NYPD said officers had responded to reports of an "unscheduled demonstration" where people were blocking an intersection.
"Members of the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau issued... warnings, advising participants that they should leave," the spokesperson said.
"They continued to block the intersection. Multiple individuals who didn't comply were taken into custody," she said, without providing the number of people arrested.
Jewish Voice for Peace said on social media that over 100 people had been arrested.
"Over 400 people held a mass sit-in outside the U.N. demanding an end to the genocide and an end to U.S. military funding to Israel," the organization said on X.
"We refuse to stand by while war criminals are given a platform to speak and while our government spends billions on war."
Inside the General Assembly, dozens of envoys from across the world walked out as Netanyahu began his speech, in which he assailed both enemies and allies that have crossed him in recent months, including Britain and France, which have recently moved to recognize the state of Palestine.
"They accuse Israel, tiny Israel, of colonialism — some colonialism. And who's accusing us? Among them are people in Britain and in France. For God's sakes, they invented the term," he told the assembly.
Sarandon, whose movie hits also include "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," "Dead Man Walking," and "The Witches of Eastwick," is no stranger to protests over Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
The U.S. actress told journalists at the Venice Film Festival this month that she was losing work because of her outspoken views.
"I've still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still. But that's the power structure," she said.
"I think there has been a change in terms of the understanding of the situation and the general public, but there are still very strongly held positions within my industry that are held by Zionists and who have not relaxed their feelings towards me.
"But I found my family, I found my people, and I'm okay," she added.
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