Common Dreams, JULIA CONLEY, Sep 24, 2026

“I want elected leaders here in this country to catch up to the American people,” said actor and activist Cynthia Nixon, “who understand that what is happening in Gaza and Palestine is a war crime.”

As she waited to be loaded into a police vehicle with several other pro-Palestinian protesters in New York City on Thursday, Democratic US House candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier said she was among hundreds of New Yorkers who had risked arrest “because we can’t allow a war criminal to roam the streets of our city.”

“He needs to be tried in The Hague,” she added, speaking about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose arrival in the city for the United Nations General Assembly sparked the protest outside the UN headquarters.

Other politicians who joined the protest included Brad Lander, Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania, Melat Kiros of Colorado, and Adam Hamawy of New Jersey, while celebrities who have been outspoken supporters of Palestinian rights, including actors Hannah Einbinder, Susan Sarandon, Elliot Page, Cynthia Nixon, and writer Tony Kushner also joined the demonstration led by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

“I’m here because I want to stop US complicity in the genocide that is happening in Gaza and the West Bank,” said Nixon. “I want to stop us funding Israel, I want to block the bombs, and I want elected leaders here in this country to catch up to the American people and people everywhere around the globe who understand that what is happening in Gaza and Palestine is a war crime, it’s unacceptable, and it’s wrong, and history will judge them very harshly.”

Read More: Common Dreams