2024-02-08T06:59:32+00:00
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/ The US authorities arrested about 100 Jewish activists in New York City, after they blocked the road in front of President Joe Biden’s motorcade to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) led the Upper East Side demonstration, where activists sat at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, where Biden was holding a fundraiser nearby.
“As Jewish New Yorkers, we want to make it crystal clear that Biden is not welcome in our city while he continues to fund and arm the Israeli government’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” said Jay Sapper of JVP.
JVP activist Maya Ediri noted that this is Biden’s first visit to New York since October 7, noting that “instead of responding to the majority of his base who are calling for a ceasefire, he is meeting with corporate donors behind closed doors.”
“The Israeli military has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 11,000 children, in four months of bombing and military assault,” JVP said in a statement. “Gaza has been intentionally made uninhabitable, with Israeli airstrikes destroying 70% of the infrastructure, including hospitals, universities, electricity and water networks. Nearly two million people have been forced to flee their homes; 1.9 million live in the southern city of Rafah, where the Israeli military recently launched airstrikes.”
Wednesday’s demonstration was the latest in a wave of Jewish-led protests by groups including JVP and IfNotNow that have shut down transit hubs, blocked the Statue of Liberty, and disrupted speeches by Biden and other administration officials.