Thousands of protesters rallied at Washington Square Park on Saturday before marching up Fifth Avenue toward Times Square, partaking in a Global Day of Action that denounced the ongoing war in Gaza.
The demonstration was organized by New York City’s chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement. Attendees gathered under the Washington Square Arch around 2 p.m., demanding Israeli authorities release activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla. The fleet planned to deliver food and medical supplies to Gaza last week, but by Friday, Israel intercepted all 42 vessels and detained about 450 participants on board, including youth activist Greta Thunberg.
The group chanted “Free our prisoners, free them all” and held signs that read “SANCTION ISRAEL! ARMS EMBARGO NOW!” and “WE DEMAND FOOD, FREEDOM AND DIGNITY FOR GAZA.”
Toward the beginning of the rally, a series of speakers addressed the group. Zoe Alexandra, an author at People’s Dispatch, urged attendees to take action against “crimes against humanity” in Gaza, and Andre Easton, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, called Israel’s actions a result of “U.S. imperialism.”
“For the past two years, we know what the truth of humanity is,” Easton said. “The people of the world stand with the righteous people of Palestine.”
Around a dozen counterprotesters formed across the group holding Israeli flags and chanting pro-Israel sentiments, resulting in some verbal altercations. At least two dozen police officers surrounded the crowd, who began marching at around 3 p.m. up Fifth Avenue to Eighth Avenue and then to Times Square before concluding at Bryant Park hours later.
Brenda Prinzing, an attendee, said in an interview with WSN that the purpose of the demonstration was to encourage people to reach out to their elected representatives in solidarity and boycott companies that “support this war.” The organizers specifically discouraged attendees from supporting Amazon and Expedia.
“There’s been an ongoing genocide for two years now, and an ongoing occupation for 70 some odd years now of Palestine,” Prinzing said. “My tax dollars are funding this atrocity, and that’s unacceptable.”
The Global Day of Action has reverberated in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Italy had the largest turnout, with around two million protesters partaking in the strike. Mass arrests were made across the countries’ major cities, with nearly 500 protesters arrested in London. There were no known arrests at the New York City protest.
“I don’t know what it is with us,” Megan Moran, a local resident and protest attendee, told WSN. “People are scared or lazy or over it because there hasn’t been any change — but nothing will ever change with that attitude. People need to step up.”
Contact Aditte Parasher and Julian Torres at [email protected].