Break the Chain October Mass Meeting: How We Win a People’s Arms Embargo for Palestine at JFK

Break the Chain, an arms embargo campaign initiated by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA), will host its first coalition mass meeting on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at the Fifteenth Street Friends Meeting House in Manhattan. The gathering brings together airport workers, labor union members, community organizations, and city residents to coordinate grassroots organizing against military cargo shipments bound for Israel through John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The program opens with a briefing detailing the campaign and its recent wins. Representatives from partner antiwar organizations, trade unions, and local solidarity coalitions will deliver presentations on coordinated efforts across the city. Organizers will then lead a facilitated networking session designed to cross-match organizational needs, skills, and resources across participating groups. Attendees will be invited to endorse the arms embargo pledge, join workplace organizing circles, and sign up for upcoming worker outreach and flyering shifts at JFK. The afternoon concludes with organizational tabling, pizza, and informal conversation.

The campaign focuses on air cargo logistics, arguing that halting arms flows requires direct worker coordination and public pressure across transit hubs. Speakers include Break the Chain campaign organizers, rank-and-file airport workers, and labor activists.

The meeting runs from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET and is free and open to the public. Organizers welcome both individuals and delegations from civic and labor groups. Attendees are asked to register in advance through the Action Network RSVP page. The Fifteenth Street Friends Meeting House is wheelchair accessible through the primary entrance at 15 Rutherford Place and via the Fifteenth Street side gate. The event is organized in collaboration with the NYC-DSA Labor Working Group and NYC-DSA Anti-War. More information is available on the Break the Chain event page.