Several Arrested Amid Pro-Palestine Protest Near NYC Christmas Tree Lighting
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A pro-Palestine protest of at least 500 people near the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in New York City on Wednesday resulted in several arrests.
The Details: Protesters reportedly clashed with police as they tried to interrupt the event. The group then protested outside the nearby News Corp building, which houses outlets including Fox News (Right bias) and the Wall Street Journal (Center bias).
How the Media Covered It: Some news outlets downplayed the protest's impact on the tree lighting. ABC7 New York (Center bias) said it "went off without a hitch," and the Associated Press (Lean Left bias) reported that "the lighting ceremony wasn’t disrupted." Others framed it differently. Deadline (Center bias) said many who wished to see the Christmas tree lighting "were turned away in the chaos." Right-rated sources focused on one protester's swastika sign, and how some protesters chanted "From the river to the sea;" New York Post (Lean Right bias) said the phrase is "seen as an antisemitic slogan." Most left-rated sources didn't mention the chant or swastika sign.
Why the Difference? People on the right are generally less sympathetic to pro-Palestine protests than people on the left. Read more about ideological divisions on Israel and Palestine.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Pro-Palestinian protesters, one carrying swastika, swarm Midtown in bid to derail Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters swarmed the streets surrounding Rockefeller Center on Wednesday, clashing with NYPD cops and chanting “River to the sea,” long seen as an antisemitic slogan, in an effort to support Gaza by derailing the annual tree lighting.
Waving Palestinian flags and signs calling for the “end to genocide,” the ralliers gathered along Sixth Avenue alongside hordes of tourists waiting in line to see the iconic ceremony.
Unable to get to the NYC Christmas tree, the enormous crowd instead swarmed around the tree outside the News Corp building, which houses The Post...
From the Left
Iconic Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center illuminated in midst of pro-Palestinian protest
The iconic Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center was lit by more than 50,000 multicolored lights Wednesday night as crowds massed in New York City for the holiday tradition.
The massive tree — a 12 ton, 80-foot-tall Norway spruce from upstate New York — was illuminated in Rockefeller Center by about five miles (8 kilometers) of LED string lights and topped with a 900-pound star covered in 3 million gleaming crystals. Mayor Eric Adams took part in the lighting before a cheering throng and a chorus sang “Joy to the World.”...
From the Center
7 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested during Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting
The lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree went off without a hitch Wednesday night, despite a handful of arrests made during a pro-Palestinian demonstration nearby.
After rallying for at least an hour outside the News Corp building at 47th and 6th streets, a crowd of at least 500 pro-Palestinian demonstrators unfurled a large Palestine flag and briefly tried to push its way north towards the tree, where a line of police and barricades were waiting.
Stopped in its tracks, the group then reversed course, resulting a crush of people,...
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