Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting draws thousands, including protesters

New Yorkers, tourists and pro-Palestinian protesters descended on Rockefeller Center for the annual Christmas tree lighting. Demonstrators gathered outside a skyscraper on Avenue of the Americas and W. 48th St. As the protest grew, police briefly closed the avenue and made at least seven arrests. Protesters chanted and waved flags with signs reading “Free, free Palestine” and “Call it what it is, genocide.” A festive atmosphere was reported at the tree lighting ceremony itself, featuring an 80-foot Norway Spruce decorated with 50,000 LED lights and a 900-pound Swarovski star.