At the United Nations in New York, a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned into a wave of arrests, and one of the people taken into custody was Darializa Avila Chevalier, a socialist-backed congressional candidate from Manhattan. The scene blended campus-style activism, hard-edged anti-Israel politics, and New York City’s familiar protest drama in one very public clash.
Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 13th Congressional District, was reportedly among dozens of demonstrators detained Thursday after protesters blocked a roadway near the United Nations General Assembly. The gathering came just ahead of Netanyahu’s address, and police moved in after repeated orders for the crowd to clear out were ignored.
“Darializa was just arrested while peacefully protesting Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations,” a from the candidate’s social media account said.
“Our government has unlimited funds to arm a genocide against Palestinians but tells us there’s nothing left to feed and house our own people. Stop arming Israel!”
The protest drew a larger mix of activists, elected officials, and well-known left-wing figures, giving the arrest a bigger spotlight than a routine street detention. City and State New York reported that about 250 people showed up near 1st Avenue and 39th Street, while police later began arresting those who stayed seated in the road and refused to move.
Avila Chevalier did not back off after the arrest. In a statement reported by Bloomberg, she said, “Netanyahu belongs at the Hague, not in the streets of New York City, and certainly not addressing the United Nations General Assembly,” a line that captured the blunt, confrontational tone driving the demonstration.
She was not alone in getting cuffed. City Council members Chi Ossé and Alexa Avilés were also reportedly taken into custody, and other outlets said actress Susan Sarandon was among those detained as the protest kept growing and police kept working through the crowd.
Reports said roughly 80 to 100 protesters were arrested after refusing to follow orders. The numbers added a sense of escalation, especially with Netanyahu scheduled to speak at the United Nations and tensions already high around Israel, Gaza, and the broader debate over how New York’s political class is talking about the conflict.
Avila Chevalier has been building a profile far beyond one street protest. The 32-year-old pulled off a major upset in June when she defeated five-term Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the heavily Democratic 13th District, which covers Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.
Her rise has been closely tied to New York’s progressive machine. Zohran Mamdani endorsed her in late May during an appearance on MS NOW, praising her focus on working-class New Yorkers and signaling that he saw her as part of the same affordability-minded political lane.
She is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and received support from the group’s New York City chapter during her campaign. That alignment has helped turn her into a recognizable figure on the left, where activism, election politics, and street protests often overlap without much of a gap between them.
Her background in activism has drawn attention too. Fox News Digital previously reported that she helped lead anti-Israel protests at Columbia University and said she helped launch Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s boycott, divestment and sanctions push, a campaign that later drew scrutiny for social media posts including “Death to America” and a call for the “eradication of Western civilization.”
That history helps explain why her arrest outside the United Nations landed with such force. The protest was not just another noisy rally in Manhattan, but another flashpoint in a broader movement that has been steadily pushing harsher language, more confrontation, and less patience for compromise around Israel and the war overseas.
For New York politicians, the moment also showed how quickly these protests can spill into electoral politics. A candidate who just scored a major primary win is now tied to one of the city’s most visible demonstrations of the year, with her allies, her critics, and the police all playing a part in a scene that felt very New York from start to finish.
