Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested trying to block Black Friday sales at NYC Apple Store
Police arrested four protesters who tried to block the entrance to the Midtown Apple Store during a Black Friday sale, police said.
A coalition of about 70 demonstrators, including pro-Palestinian demonstrators, carrying signs reading “Think Before You Buy” and “Israel Kills Children” and waving Palestinian flags, stopped in front of the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, at the corner of E. 59th Street, across from Central Park, where sellers were offering Apple gift cards of up to $250 for every purchase as part of a Black Friday promotion.
More than a dozen police officers were on hand to quickly handcuff demonstrators who refused to leave the scene or who responded to the officers.
Four protesters were handcuffed and arrested. Charges were not immediately filed, an NYPD spokesperson said.
Protesters claimed the tech giant was profiting from cobalt mining in Congo and also criticized Apple’s ties to ICE and President Donald Trump.
Protesters continued south along Fifth Avenue after the arrests, police said.
The Black Friday protest took place not far from the Park East Synagogue on E. 67th Street, where pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged a tumultuous rally on November 19 during which participants shouted “Intifada!” “Death to the IDF!” » and “Resistance! Eliminate another settler!” as members of Nefesh B’Nefesh – an organization that assists Jewish immigration to Israel from the United States and Canada – held a program inside.
Pro-Israel supporters and Jewish leaders called the protest anti-Semitic, and Governor Hochul called it a “blatant attack on the Jewish community.”
On Saturday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the synagogue and apologized to the congregation, saying her officers should have set up a frozen zone outside the entrance, which would have pushed protesters further away.
