In a significant demonstration in New York City, more than 200 people, primarily of Jewish descent, were arrested after staging a large protest in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. However, protest organizers claim that the number of participants exceeded 300.
The protest, which featured a massive sit-in, was organized by the group Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City. According to the organizers, thousands of their members participated in the demonstration, which effectively took over the main concourse of Grand Central station, a central rail station in the city.
Photographs from the scene depicted long lines of young individuals in handcuffs, wearing black sweatshirts bearing the words “Not In Our Name” and “Cease Fire Now” printed in white.
Protesters displayed banners with messages such as “Palestinians should be free” and “Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living.”
Organizers of the peaceful sit-in have referred to it as “the largest civil disobedience New York City has seen in 20 years.”
Rabbis initiated the event by lighting Shabbat candles and reciting the Jewish prayer for the dead, known as the kaddish. Rabbi May Ye, in a statement released by the organizers, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, “While Shabbat is typically a day of rest, we cannot afford to rest while genocide is unfolding in our names.” The rabbi further emphasized that the intertwined lives of Palestinians and Israelis require justice, equality, and freedom for all as the path to safety.
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza was launched following an incursion by Hamas gunmen across the border on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and the kidnapping of over 220 others, according to Israeli officials. The Hamas-run health ministry reported that Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have resulted in the deaths of 7,326 people, with more than 3,000 of them being children.