Jewish Activists Demand US Action for Ceasefire in Gaza

20-10-2023

Mariana Mayor Lima

Middle East and Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence

Since Monday, October 16, 2023, Jewish activists and their allies have been protesting fervently calling for US President Biden to intervene to demand an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. [1] The demonstration, which took place in front of the White House on October 16, was organized by the Jewish groups IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace and was motivated by President Biden's unwavering support for Israel during the conflict that began on October 7th, when members of Hamas, an armed group that controls Gaza, infiltrated the Israeli border, causing death and taking hostages. [2]

Since then, Israel's response has been marked by a series of violent airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and a total blockade of the region. The number of these attacks was tragically high, according to Al Jazeera, more than 5,087 people were killed since the beginning of the conflict as a result. [3] The total blockade of Gaza, an area with more than 2.3 million residents, more than half of whom are children, has further intensified the humanitarian crisis in the region.

Matan Arad-Neeman, communications director at IfNotNow, expressed concern that the Jewish community's grief is being weaponized to create more deaths. Taking a stand against the escalation of the conflict and in favor of its end, Jewish activists recited Kaddish, the prayer of mourning, sang Jewish songs, and passionately chanted “Not in our name!” [4] Eva Borgwardt, political director at IfNotNow, demanded an urgent meeting with Biden. “We are here to tell President Biden, as commander in chief of the most powerful military in the world, that he needs to do everything in his power to demand a ceasefire, demand de-escalation, release the Israeli hostages, and resolve the underlying problems and circumstances that led us to this nightmare.” [5]

The protests were also emphatic when they accused the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu of planning a “genocide” against the Palestinian population, with slogans on billboards that read: “My pain is not your weapon” and “Stop the genocide in Gaza”, referring to Israel's violent attack against the Palestinian population living in Gaza and US support. [6]

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, stated: “Israel has already carried out mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians under the pretext of war [...] Once again, Israel is trying to justify what could amount to ethnic cleansing in the name of self-defense.” The rapporteur further states that:

“Any ongoing military operations by Israel have clearly exceeded the limits of international law. The international community must quickly put an end to these flagrant violations of international law to prevent the recurrence of a tragic history. Time is of the essence. Both Palestinians and Israelis deserve to live in peace, with equal rights, dignity, and freedom.” [7]

At least 30 people were arrested during the protest that took place on Monday, October 16, according to reports from ABCNews, however, this number was much higher during Wednesday’s protest. [8] According to Al Jazeera, 500 people were arrested during the demonstration at the United States Congress. According to a post by the Jewish organization Jewish Voice for Peace responsible for the demonstration: “We shut down Congress to draw mass attention to the US complicity in Israel’s ongoing oppression of Palestinians.”[10]

This second demonstration took place on October 16, the same day that the US positioned itself as the only country to vote against and veto a resolution at the United Nations Security Council that called for a humanitarian pause to allow much-needed aid to enter Gaza. [11]

As activist Eliza Klein from Jewish Voice for Peace said, “What we know from the Israeli state’s past atrocities against Palestinians is that the bombs only stop when there is a sufficient mass outcry from the international community” [12]

Sources and further reading

[1] The Washington Post, ‘Jewish activists arrested during protest at White House over Israel-Gaza war’ (16 October 2023), <Jewish activists arrested during protest at White House over Israel-Gaza war - The Washington Post> accessed 20 October 2023.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Al Jazeera, ‘Israel-Hamas war: Hamas says it battled Israeli troops inside Gaza’ (22 October 2023), <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/22/israel-hamas-war-gazas-al-quds-hospital-faces-threat-of-israeli-bombing> accessed 23 October 2023.

[4] Ibid.

[5] The Guardian, ‘Jewish groups rally at White House urging Biden to push for Gaza ceasefire’ (17 October 2023), <Jewish groups rally at White House urging Biden to push for Gaza ceasefire | Israel-Hamas war | The Guardian> accessed 20 October 2023.

[6] Ibid.

[7] United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, ‘UN expert warns of new instance of mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, calls for immediate ceasefire’ (14 October 2023), <UN expert warns of new instance of mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, calls for immediate ceasefire | OHCHR> accessed 20 October 2023.

[8] Supra note 5.

[9] Al Jazeera, ‘Jewish activists arrested at US Congress anti-Israel protest amid Gaza war’, (19 October 2023), <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/19/jewish-activists-arrested-at-us-congress-sit-in-calling-for-gaza-ceasefire> accessed 20 October 2023.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.