'Free Palestine' demonstration held at New York State Capitol

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — On Tuesday, October 8, roughly 25 people held a rally in the underground Concourse connecting the New York State Capitol Building and the Corning Tower in Albany. They said that New York leadership has not done enough to stop genocide in Palestine or divest from Israel.

Protestors marched up and down the Concourse in a slow circle, chanting and handing out literature related to "Boycott Divest Sanction" (BDS). The BDS movement aims to convince individuals and companies to stop buying or investing in products or services from Israel.

They also support an arms embargo. "Even before October 7, 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children in nearly 20 years," reads a flier from the demonstration. According to the Associated Press, "The Palestinian death toll in the war in Gaza is nearing 42,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and militants."

The flier also said that New York State's pension fund includes $267.8 million in Israeli bonds. It lists Disney, McDonalds, Domino's, Amazon, Airbnb, Hyundai, Pizza Hut, Google, Burger King, Starbucks, and HP as companies that do business in Israel and should be boycotted.