Several hundred Jewish activists demonstrated on Capitol Hill, Washington DC and protested inside a House office building on Wednesday, October 18, demanding that the Joe Biden administration and lawmakers push for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as Israeli airstrikes continue and the humanitarian crisis intensifies. Just yesterday the Director of Congressional and Public Affairs at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Josh Paul who is in Charge of U.S. Arms Transfers to Foreign Nations, Josh Paul has resigned in protest the blind bias of the US administration.
US Capitol Police “arrested” around 300 people who were protesting inside the House office building and said three protesters were charged with assault on a police officer.
The protest rally was organised by Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now, two Jewish anti-Zionist groups. Wearing black shirts that prominently said “Not in our name” on the front and “Jews say ceasefire now” on the back, about 400 group members gathered inside the building.
As per a post by Jewish Voice for Peace on X (formerly Twitter), thousands of protesters sang and chanted outside. They held signs saying, “Jews say stop the genocide of Palestinians” and “Never again for anyone.”
This demonstration comes amid protests across the Middle East after a strike on the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday killed about 500 people, making it the deadliest single strike on civilians in the Gaza Strip since the conflict began.
In the regular live updates during the protest on X, Jewish Voice for Peace posted, “While we were inside, an Israeli airstrike bombed the entrance of a school in Khan Younis, where Palestinians were forced to evacuate to. These are atrocities. This is why we demand a ceasefire now!”
Inside, we’re holding prayer and continuing to demand an end to the genocide of Palestinians as the last few are arrested. #CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/R8FbOxmgq9
— Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvplive) October 18, 2023
This is the second time this week that Jewish protesters demanding a ceasefire were arrested. On Monday, more than 30 people were arrested in a protest that blocked entrances to the White House. The protests mark growing dissent even in the United States on the attacks on Gaza.
“People are coming from across the country,” said Eva Borgwardt, the national spokeswoman for If Not Now, according to the New York Times. “So many of us are grieving,” she said, adding, “The horrific bombing cannot be the answer.”
Related:
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