(BrightPress.org) – A group of several hundred activists hosted a sit-in at the Statue of Liberty on Monday, November 6th, to promote a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Jewish Voice for Peace organized the event which featured over 500 people wearing black outfits. Their t-shirts featured phrases like “not in our name,” and “ceasefire now.” They hung banners from the steps of the monument which said things like “the whole world is watching,” and “never again for anyone.”
The gathering began on the pedestal around 1 p.m. and lasted for about 20 minutes before they got back on the ferry. They sang songs and chanted while taking videos and photographs. The celebratory atmosphere was said to have continued on the boat ride back to Manhattan.
Jay Saper is an organizer with Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) and he said that they came to the Statue of Liberty due to inspiration from Emma Lazarus, a Jewish woman whose words are etched into the monument. The New Colossus is a poem penned by Lazarus which states “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” He said her words compelled them to continue to protest for an end to the violence and freedom for the Palestinian people.
NY Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani joined the event as a “New Yorker of conscience.” He said that the statue is one of our nation’s “greatest symbols” and dedicated to the values of freedom and liberty and what’s going on in the Middle East right now is a genocide that is widely tolerated.
Mamdani identifies as a socialist and was arrested with another assembly member outside of Senator Chuck Schumer’s Brooklyn residence in October.
The protest is the latest public stunt by the group to demand a ceasefire. They invaded Grand Central Terminal in central Manhattan on October 27th during a Friday rush hour frustrating angry commuters who were trying to get home for the weekend. The group is attempting to pressure the Biden administration into urging a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict.
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