Ariana Mehmeti and Lex Valluzzi, Staff Writers
On Mar. 14, the trucks that were set to pick up and deliver copies of the New York Times newspaper were greeted with an interesting sight early in the morning. A mob of anti-Israel protestors formed a human chain to block the trucks from picking up newspapers at the Times’ printing facility in Queens. This printing facility not only prints the New York Times newspapers, but several other newspaper outlets such as the New York Post, News Day and USA Today.
The Pro-Palestein protesters blocked the entrances of the printing facility and held posters that read, “Stop The Presses”, “Free Palestein”, and “Consent For Genocide Is Manufactured Here!” This is in reference to the New York Times previous coverage of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war being skewed in Israel’s favor. These protestors were blocking the entry way of the trucks with debris. Those on the ground held a sign that read, “Will you write about this?”
The NYPD arrived at the scene and told protestors they had a choice of leaving freely, or they would be arrested for trespassing on the property. The protest continued roughly all day before ending peacefully. It was stated by the NYPD that no arrests were made at this time.
Shortly after the protests died down, over one hundred more protestors showed up in the lobby of the New York Times building located in Manhattan. Similar to earlier, the crowd brought anti-Israel statements signs with them. The only difference was the signs included the faces of theNew York Times’ CEO Meredith Levien and Publisher A.G. Sulzberger with their eyes crossed out. Protestors blocked the staff’s access to their offices.
Several protesters were put into police vans while others had their wrists tied up in zip ties. The protestors who weren’t arrested were standing outside and chanting that the newspaper’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas was resulting in deaths in Gaza. Not only were they chanting the newspaper’s coverage, but they were also handing out fake copies of the New York Times newspaper. A total of 150 protestors took on the New York Times building and 124 people were taken into custody by the NYPD.
“The Israel-Hamas war is a complex and challenging story, and we receive criticism from each side. We are open to good-faith disagreement but firmly reject any assertion that our coverage displays bias,” said the New York Times in response to the protest.
A group called Writers Against the War on Gaza has taken responsibility for both protests. Their goal has been stated to be “wanting to take the New York Times out of circulation for a day. They are at the forefront of manufacturing consent for the war.”
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