Hundreds of U.S. Jewish activists peacefully occupied New York’s Statue of Liberty on Monday to demand a cease-fire by Israel and an finish to the “genocidal bombardment” of civilians in Gaza.
Dressed in black T-shirts emblazoned with the slogans “Jews demand cease-fire now” or “Not in our name,” the protestors unfurled banners studying “The whole world is watching” and “Palestinians should be free” on the base of New York’s iconic landmark.
The large copper statue sits on Liberty Island on the entrance to New York Harbor.
“The famous words of our Jewish ancestor Emma Lazarus etched into this very monument compel us to take action supporting the Palestinians of Gaza yearning to breathe free,” Jay Saper of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the gathering’s organizer, stated in an announcement, referring to the Nineteenth-century activist who helped Jewish refugees fleeing to New York from Europe.
The assertion quotes Lazarus’s poem “New Colossus,” which is engraved on the statue’s base as an ode to U.S. immigrants.
Participants from the Institute for Middle East Understanding demanded “an end to Israel’s genocidal bombardment of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
“As long as the people of Gaza are screaming, we need to yell louder, no matter who attempts to silence us,” stated photographer Nan Goldin, standing alongside a number of native elected officers, some with sturdy roots within the political left.
New York City, a famed melting pot of migrants, has been rocked for the previous month by pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
The metropolis is dwelling to some 2 million Jews and lots of of 1000’s of Muslims and has thus far prevented any violence associated to the battle, though tensions are palpable in sure spots akin to college campuses.
But opinions are usually not monolithic in both group.
A liberal phase of American Jewish youth – Jews vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party – has unleashed harsh criticism of Israel, which it accuses of perpetrating “genocide” on Palestinians in Gaza.
They additionally denounce President Joe Biden’s navy and diplomatic assist for Israel, which has engaged in a month-long bombardment of the Palestinian territory for the reason that Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.
The loss of life toll in Gaza surpassed 10,000 individuals Monday, in accordance with the Health Ministry.
On Saturday, tens of 1000’s of demonstrators, some introduced by JVP, gathered in Washington to name for an instantaneous cease-fire within the Gaza Strip, and to denounce U.S. coverage of assist for Israel.
In late October, 1000’s of protesters, many gathered by JVP, occupied the large Grand Central station in Manhattan with the identical calls for.
Separately, 1000’s of pro-Palestinian protesters, together with some from U.S. Jewish organizations, shut down the Brooklyn Bridge, main from Manhattan to the multicultural and trendy borough throughout the East River.
Source: www.dailysabah.com