On Monday (26 February), actress and model Hunter Schafer was among 50 protesters arrested while protesting at the Rockefeller Centre, New York, where President Joe Biden was taping his appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
The actress was protesting alongside Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the largest progressive anti-Zionist organisation in the world. JVP was formed in 1996 by Tony Kushner and Noam Chomsky to fight for the liberation of all people from the US to Palestine. Members of the advisory board include prominent figures such as Kushner, Chomsky, Sarah Schulman, Judith Butler, Naomi Klein, and Wallace Shawn.
While wearing a t-shirt that read ‘Ceasefire Now’, Schafer can be seen in videos alongside other protesters chanting: “No more weapons, no more war. Ceasefire is what we’re fighting for,” and “Not in our name.”
A spokesperson for JVP told Vulture that: “Hunter was arrested at the protest, along with 50 other people… We commend her commitment to Palestinian freedom and to a future of justice for everyone.”
30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign. While the Biden administration is advocating for a ceasefire, it will only be a temporary one that would last six weeks at most. JVP has criticised Biden’s foreign policy and has called for his administration to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Schafer was issued a summons for trespassing, according to the New York Post, but has since been released after being spotted in public yesterday.
