Oct
27, 2023
"While Shabbat is typically a day of rest, we cannot afford
to rest while genocide is unfolding in our names," said one rabbi.
As
Israel intensified a war that's already killed more than 7,300 Palestinians and
displaced a majority of Gaza's residents, hundreds of Jewish American
protesters and allies were arrested after taking over New York's Grand Central
Station Friday evening for a sit-in demanding an immediate cease-fire.
Chanting
slogans including "no more weapons, no more war, cease-fire's what we're
fighting for" and "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be
free," human rights defenders took over the station's Grand Concourse,
while others hung banners reading "Never Again for Anyone" and
"Palestinians Should Be Free" from the stairway to the East Balcony.
"While
Shabbat is typically a day of rest, we cannot afford to rest while genocide is
unfolding in our names," said Rabbi May Ye. "The lives of
Palestinians and Israelis are intertwined, and safety can only come from
justice, equality, and freedom for all."
The
demonstration was led by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), with the participation
of IfNotNow and other groups, as well as unaffiliated Jews and allies.
"We
refuse to allow our own pain and trauma to be used to justify attacks against
another people," said Jay Saper of JVP. "We are here to say: Not in
our name."
JVP
said New York state Sens. Jabari Brisport (D-25), Robert Jackson (D-35), and
Julia Salazar (D-18); State Assembly Members Zohran Mamdani (D-36) and Emily
Gallagher (D-50); and New York City Council Members Tiffany Cabán (D-22), Alexa
Avilés (D-38), Sandy Nurse (D-37), and Chi Ossé (D-36) took part in the
protest.
Artist
Indya Moore, a signatory to the Artists4CeaseFire letter, said "I am here
in solidarity with my Jewish siblings in support of Palestinians, and stand in
witness with my ancestors, the Taino, African, and Spanish, colonized and
colonizer—in memory of what happened to them, to raise our collective voice of
dissent and demonstrate en masse that it is morally irrefutable that we need a
cease-fire now and a call to end the genocide of Palestinians."
"As
the Israeli government starves and bombs and invades the people of Gaza in the
dark, the actions we take these next days and weeks will define our
lifetimes," IfNotNow wrote on social media. The Jewish-led group added
that "7,000 Palestinians are already dead and over a million more have
been displaced" while "Israeli leaders continue to openly use
genocidal rhetoric."
"We
desperately need a cease-fire now," the group asserted.
The
protest was the latest in a wave of Jewish-led peace demonstrations across the
U.S. since Israel launched its retaliatory war following Hamas-led attacks on
Israel that killed more than 1,400 Israelis and people from around the world,
with around 200 others kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
On
October 18, hundreds of Jewish-led protesters were arrested at the U.S. Capitol
while demanding members of Congress push Israel for an immediate cease-fire in
Gaza.
Although
18 House Democrats—all of them people of color—support a resolution led by Rep.
Cori Bush (D-Mo.) calling on the Biden administration to push for an immediate
de-escalation and cease-fire, President Joe Biden has thrown his full support
behind Israel, declaring Wednesday that its government "has to do
everything in its power" to defend its citizens.
Biden
has also requested $14 billion in additional U.S. military aid to Israel, which
already receives nearly $4 billion from Washington annually.
Meanwhile,
only 10 House members—eight of them progressive Democrats—voted Thursday
against a bipartisan resolution that expresses unconditional support for the
Israeli government as it perpetrates what Amnesty International said are likely
war crimes and hundreds of international legal experts warned could amount to
genocide.
The
Indypendent reported Friday that Metropolitan Transit Authority police were not
allowing people to enter the station's Metro North entrance, even if they had
tickets.
"No
worries," said one sympathetic commuter, "I'll take the train up to
Harlem."
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