The Statue of Liberty is the setting for a war protest between Israel and Hamas
Hundreds of protesters boarded ferries to the Statue of Liberty on Monday, carrying banners calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, which they unfurled from the statue’s pedestal.
The protest, led by the activist group Jewish Voice for Peace, was the latest in a series of protests, vigils and other events that Americans on both sides of the conflict have organized almost daily in cities across the country since the war began. Over the weekend, thousands marched in pro-Palestinian demonstrations in cities ranging from Cincinnati to Provo, Utah, as the death toll in Gaza continued to rise.
In New York, a coalition of Jewish groups planned a vigil Monday evening to commemorate the thirty days since the Hamas attack on October 7 and to call for solidarity with Israel.
The protest at the Statue of Liberty started off inconspicuously. The protesters mingled with tourists walking around Liberty Island until — spurred by a burst of chanting from near the statue’s base — they donned black T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Jews now say ceasefire.” , and started to climb the ascent. pedestal stairs.
The demonstrators, who had now gathered under the feet of the statue, dropped several banners from the edge of the stairs; the signs carried slogans such as ‘Palestinians must be free’ and ‘The world is watching’.
Jay Saper, 32, a spokesman for Jewish Voice for Peace who uses those pronouns, said the group chose the location because it was “inspired by the lineage of many people who have made their calls for justice here on this island.”
Last week, Jewish Voice for Peace organized a large protest at Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, disrupting evening traffic. Organizers said Monday’s protest was intended to “keep up the pressure.”
“We know that today the Israeli government is dropping bombs on Gaza City and has cut off electricity to the rest of Gaza, plunging everyone into darkness,” said Elena Stein, 35, community organizer and director of organizational strategy for Jewish Voice for Peace who lives in Brooklyn. “And so our response to coming to this iconic American location that represents peace and freedom, as Jews and other people of conscience, is to say, ‘Not in our name. Let Gaza live.”
The protesters, who risked arrest by federal law enforcement officers, eventually marched to the Liberty Island Ferry Terminal, where they boarded a ferry back to Battery Park in Manhattan. MX. Saper said no arrests had been made.