Hannah Einbinder and Susan Sarandon Detained by Police While Protesting Benjamin Netanyahu’s Speech at the U.N.
Hannah Einbinder and Susan Sarandon were among those detained on Sept. 24 in New York City for protesting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was set to speak at the U.N. General Assembly.
Pictures of the actors being led away from protests in cuffs went viral on social media before Netanyahu began speaking, such as the X post below from the account Land Palestine.
It is not yet confirmed if Einbinder and Sarandon were arrested or simply detained.
Later in his speech, he criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and internet streamer Hasan Piker.
Both actors have been outspoken in their critique of Israeli politics and in their support of Palestine.
Einbinder spoke at Cannes Film Fest about speaking out about Palestine and how it could impact her career.
“The cost of not speaking is higher, you know?” she said. “There is a greater toll in not speaking, and you just gotta have your priorities straight. I am under no impression that my one small career could ever measure up in comparison to even one human life. So, you know, it’s an obligation and I will always do it.”
Sarandon said at Venice Film Fest in September that her career has definitely been impacted by speaking out.
“If the pictures of my friends and me getting arrested in protest of Netanyahu’s shameful visit to New York draw attention to anything, let it be to the devastating genocidal war Israel is waging against people of Palestine and Southern Lebanon-to the settler attacks, the home demolitions, the bombing of people as they sleep; to the crimes that happen every SINGLE day but garner almost no international press coverage,” the actress wrote on her Instagram Story on Thursday. “The US government has the power to bring an end to all of this killing, pillaging, and land theft, yet instead it chooses to welcome the butcher of Gaza with open arms.”
The Hacks actress, Sarandon and Caleb Hearon were among those reportedly taken into custody alongside around 100 protesters before Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly. Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Sherman were also at the protest, with Einbinder being photographed with the Saturday Night Live star.
Einbinder concluded, “The fact that the orchestrator of all this bloodshed is roaming freely in our cities is an indictment of BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS who enable and protect architects of genocide like netanyahu [sic]. Let us not mistake the spectacle for the story: genocide is the headline, and it is time for it to end.” In a second Instagram Story, she shared a link to donate to Pal Humanity.
A spokesperson for the NYC Police Department said that officers responded to “unscheduled demonstration” reports where an intersection was blocked.
The actress-comedian has been a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights. At the end of speech for winning 2025 Emmy for supporting comedy actress, Einbinder said, “I just wanna say, finally, go birds, fuck ICE and free Palestine.”
