Jewish-Led Protest Outside Trump Hotel Demands End to US Support for Gaza Genocide
"The carnage the Israeli government is inflicting on the people of Gaza is unbearable. Palestinians in Gaza are suffering catastrophic levels of widespread starvation," IfNotNow wrote on social media. "Israeli troops have killed over 1,000 starving Palestinians lining up for scant aid at U.S.-backed sites. Haaretz reports that these 'food aid massacres' are a command decision. This is an atrocity of the gravest sort."
"Some Jewish communal leaders declare it a betrayal to Judaism to cry out against these injustices," the group added. "We consider it a betrayal to Judaism not to. For our collective sake. For the sake of those suffering. For the sake of each of our souls, we say NO MORE."
The demonstration, which started at Columbus Circle before moving closer to President Donald Trump's hotel, featured remarks from Jewish organizers, commentators, and political figures, including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.
IfNotNow said that more than 40 were arrested at the demonstration, which the group called a product of "the broadest tent coalition in the Jewish community against the atrocities in Gaza in the last two years, representing the vast majority of U.S. Jews who are outraged by the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza."
NYPD officers arrest activists protesting Israel's war on Gaza outside the Trump International Hotel in New York City. (Photo: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Monday's protest came days after 50 people were arrested at the Manhattan offices of U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer during a demonstration against the lawmakers' continued support for arming the Israeli military. A day earlier, the two Democratic senators voted against a pair of resolutions led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would have halted the Trump administration's sale of 1,000-pound bombs, assault rifles, and other weaponry to the Israeli government.
But a majority of Senate Democrats voted for the resolutions, a signal that lawmakers are beginning to respond as U.S. public support for Israel's war on Gaza continues to fall. A Gallup survey released last month found that just 32% of Americans—including a mere 8% of Democrats—support the assault, a new low.
Meanwhile, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering expanding its assault on an enclave that is already utterly devastated, with more than 90% of residential buildings damaged or destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people killed or injured, and famine conditions fueled by Israel's blockade spreading rapidly.
“We need to keep up the pressure and get more food and aid into Gaza NOW before more Palestinians die of starvation,” T'ruah, an organization of rabbis that took part in Monday's protest, said in a statement. "This event is a mass mobilization of American Jews who object to our government's continued support for the policy of starvation and refusal to leverage its immense power to compel the admission of humanitarian aid."
Reuters reported Monday that Netanyahu "will convene his security cabinet this week to decide on Israel's next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect cease-fire talks with Hamas, with one senior Israeli source suggesting more force could be an option."
"Last Saturday, during a visit to the country, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza," Reuters noted. "But Israeli officials have also floated ideas including expanding the military offensive in Gaza and annexing parts of the shattered enclave."
