A group of protesters blocked part of the 405 freeway in Los Angeles during the Tuesday morning commute.
The group appeared on the south side of the highway, near National Boulevard, on the Westside of Los Angeles, around 9 am.
According to California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Mike Naser, the highway was closed at National Boulevard starting at 9:10 a.m. but was completely reopened just over an hour after the protest began.
Motorists were advised to get off at Olympic Boulevard and detour onto Highway 10 as protesters blocked traffic.
Sky5 footage shows CHP officers detaining several protesters, who are part of a coalition of Jewish Americans and allies, according to a press release from the IfNotNowLAwhich calls itself “a movement of anti-apartheid American Jews working to end our community’s support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine.”
Video posted on IfNotNowLA’s Instagram The page at 9:35 a.m. shows CHP officers detaining several people as other protesters chanted and marched along the shoulder.
More video posted on the Citizen app showed a huge traffic backup starting to build.
According to IfNotNowLA, protesters closed the highway in protest of the United States’ support for Israel’s attack on Gaza.
The demonstration takes place on Tisha B’Av, an annual day of fasting in the Jewish religion considered “the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.”
A total of eight arrests were made, the CHP confirmed to KTLA, adding that there were about 40 protesters, most of whom left on foot when police arrived.
IfNotNowLA is part of the larger IfNotNow movement. More information about the group can be found here.
Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
