Gaza protester arrested for disrupting Teaneck, New Jersey council meeting

A critic of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip was arrested for allegedly disrupting a council meeting in Teaneck on Tuesday and illegally possessing a stun gun, township police said Wednesday.

Teaneck resident Layla Graham, 32, was arrested at the town hall meeting and also faces charges of trespassing and resisting arrest, police said in a statement Wednesday.

Another Teaneck resident, Amanda Kearney, 23, was also arrested at the meeting after physically attacking officers who tried to remove Graham, police said. Kearney was charged with trespassing and obstruction.

Graham, who frequently protests Israel at council meetings and on social media, interrupted the meeting several times with a siren blaring and ignored the mayor’s calls for her to stop, said Councilwoman Hillary Goldberg. A video of the gathering posted online shows Mayor Michael Pagan and other city officials repeatedly asking two people in the crowd to stop disrupting the proceedings before eventually calling the police.

The police statement said one of the two, an “unidentified adult male,” “yelled at the officers” but eventually left the community building. Graham refused to leave until police “used force to physically escort her out,” the statement said. According to police, she was arrested after first blocking the entrance to the building and then getting back inside.

During her arrest, Graham was searched. In a video provided by former city councilman Keith Kaplan, she can be seen first asking police why she was going through her belongings before telling them she had a “personal weapon” in her bag.

Teaneck police say adults in New Jersey can legally own a stun gun, but bringing the devices into schools and public buildings is illegal.

Graham’s protest at the council meeting included a sign highlighting the deaths of children in Gaza. Their actions come against a backdrop of months of tension in Teaneck, from the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel to the Israeli campaign in Gaza.

An event at Congregation Keter Torah discussing real estate in Israel and West Bank settlements drew hundreds of protesters to the city in March; Two arrests came after police said protesters threw objects and sprayed red paint at pedestrians and vehicles entering the temple. At other demonstrations, Jewish residents protested against what they saw as anti-Israel and anti-Semitic slogans.

More:The Israel-Hamas war is tearing apart Teaneck’s inclusive tradition. Can it be fixed? | Kelly

Meanwhile, a New York man was arrested last week for allegedly threatening a woman who took part in a pro-Palestinian vehicle caravan in April. According to Teaneck police, Ebrahim Yehounatan, 71, of Flushing, New York, allegedly pointed a knife at the woman as the procession passed through town.

Goldberg, the councilwoman, expressed her frustration with the disruption Tuesday night. “We have business to do and a community to govern,” she said, adding that the council discussed a number of issues that evening, including snow plowing, a tree ordinance and keeping chickens in the backyard. “We have to do our job.”

Councilwoman Karen Orgen agreed. “This was a stunt intended to disrupt,” she said. “It took time away from people who want to talk and get their work done. I’m all for First Amendment rights, but there is a right way to do things.” Disrupting our council meeting and endangering our police officers “is not OK,” she added.

A Teaneck police spokesman said Wednesday that it had been “quite a while since we had to make an arrest at a council meeting.”

The stun gun charge against Graham and the obstruction charge against Kearney are both fourth-degree charges, punishable by up to 18 months in prison, the spokesman said.

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