[EN IMAGES] Gaza: In New York, Jewish activists occupy the Statue of Liberty to demand a ceasefire

NEW YORK | A few hundred progressive American Jewish activists peacefully occupied the Statue of Liberty in New York on Monday to demand a ceasefire from Israel and an end to the “genocidal bombardment of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”

Wearing black T-shirts with the slogans “Jews demand a ceasefire now” or “Not in our name,” a few hundred young people unfurled banners at the foot of the building with the words “The whole world is watching” and “Palestinians should be free.” . the base of the New York landmark.

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“The famous words of our Jewish ancestor (19th century American poet) Emma Lazarus, engraved on this monument, compel us to act to support the Palestinians in Gaza who strive for a free life,” said Jay Saper of the organization Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

A statement from the Institute for Middle East Understanding (Imeu) group called for “an end to Israel’s genocidal bombing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”

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“As long as the people of Gaza are screaming, we must scream louder, no matter what attempts to silence us,” shouted the American photographer Nancy Goldin, also in the presence of local elected officials from New York, a section of whom are very firmly on the left.

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The American city, a mythical global city for immigration and multiculturalism, has been rocked by pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations for a month.

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New York, home to about two million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Muslims, has so far been spared from violence, but tensions are palpable, particularly on college campuses like Columbia.

Furthermore, a segment of the very progressive American Jewish youth – Jews who overwhelmingly vote for the Democratic Party – are in revolt against Israel, which they accuse of committing “genocide” against the Palestinians in Gaza. They also condemn President Joe Biden’s military and diplomatic support for the Jewish state.

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Organizations like the JVP gathered tens of thousands of demonstrators in the federal capital Washington on Saturday to demand an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and criticize American support for Israel.

Manhattan’s massive Grand Central train station was also occupied by a huge sit-in by thousands of people with the same demands in late October, and the vast multicultural and fashionable Brooklyn borough saw a surge of thousands of pro-Palestinian activists ten days ago. including American Jewish organizations.