<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-top-anchor"></div>
<div id="gmail-toolbar" class="gmail-toolbar-container">
</div><div class="gmail-container" lang="en-US" dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-header gmail-reader-header gmail-reader-show-element">
<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/01/08/palestine-solidarity-demonstrators-block-rush-hour-traffic-in-nyc/">peoplesdispatch.org</a>
<div class="gmail-domain-border"></div>
<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Palestine solidarity demonstrators block rush hour traffic in NYC</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Peoples Dispatch</div>
<div class="gmail-meta-data">
<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">January 8, 2024<br></div>
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="gmail-content">
<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><br><img src="cid:ii_lr5o768e0" alt="Bridge-shutdown-NYC-1024x576.jpeg" width="391" height="220"><br><p>Protesters shut down major arteries across New York City including Holland Tunnel. Photo: Craig Birchfield
</p><div>
<p><span>Hundreds of protesters blocked three bridges and one tunnel in
New York City on Monday, January 8, during peak morning commute hours.
The demonstrators were protesting the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza,
and highlighted five major demands in the struggle for Palestine: the
release of all Palestinian political prisoners, the end of the
occupation in the West Bank, the lifting of the siege on Gaza, the end
of US aid to Israel, and a permanent ceasefire. Traffic going into
Manhattan was blocked on four major commuter arteries: the Brooklyn,
Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges, as well as the Holland Tunnel. </span></p>
<p><span>The actions were organized by a wide coalition of
organizations, including Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Al-Awda: The
Palestine Right to Return Coalition, Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner
Solidarity Network, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Jewish Voice
for Peace (JVP), the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), Critical
Resistance, and Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG). </span></p>
<p><span>The New York Police Department made over 400 arrests related to
the traffic blockages. Some demonstrators used chains, PVC pipes, and
concrete to delay arrest, forcing police to use </span><a href="https://x.com/probablyreadit/status/1744387700419953008?s=20"><span>electric saws</span></a><span>
to separate the demonstrators. At least two protesters at the
Williamsburg Bridge were creative enough to link themselves together
using PVC pipes, which were poured over with concrete and cemented to a
tire. Police were forced to use a jackhammer to separate these two
demonstrators. </span></p>
<p><span>Police also </span><a href="https://x.com/wawog_now/status/1744419943590867165?s=20"><span>brutalized</span></a><span>
many protesters during the arrests. As they were being arrested,
protesters chanted “NYPD, KKK, IDF, you’re all the same,” referencing
the history of racism in policing as well as the </span><a href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/updates/with-whom-are-many-u-s-police-departments-training-with-a-chronic-human-rights-violator-israel/"><span>close ties</span></a><span> of US police departments to Israel. </span></p>
<p><span>“We jam the arteries of the city and we reclaim the bridges and
tunnels—which are funded by our taxes and fares—in solidarity with
Palestine and all who are immiserated by the forces of capitalism and
imperialism,” wrote the coalition of organizers in a </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lwhpAjG9-aa9-uK8_7IIrUxFlLpWk2gB/view?pli=1"><span>statement</span></a><span>.
“By blocking the city’s exits, the protesters created—briefly,
imperfectly—a physical analogue for the situation in Gaza, where there
is no getting out. By stopping freedom of movement for drivers, the
protesters drew parallels to the meaningless and cruel evacuation orders
that the Zionist regime, in the midst of its relentless aerial, naval,
and ground assault of Gaza, leaving people with no choice but to wait
until their homes and shelters are bombed or to leave their city on
foot.”</span></p>
<p><span>The statement touched on the historic significance of the
coordinated action. “This city is ours,” proclaimed the members of ACT
UP when, in the spring of 1995, they became the first (and until today,
only) group of activists to </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/26/nyregion/rush-hour-protest-causes-gridlock.html"><span>shut down two bridges and two tunnels at once</span></a><span>. Today’s protesters echoed the claim: New York City belongs to New Yorkers. Palestine belongs to Palestinians.”</span></p>
<p><span>At the same time, a crowd of hundreds gathered in lower
Manhattan to rally outside the New York Stock Exchange. Organizers at
this rally </span><a href="https://x.com/probablyreadit/status/1744371914330476893?s=20"><span>paid homage</span></a><span> to the bridge blockades. </span></p>
<p><span>Meanwhile, several protesters interrupted President Biden as he
was giving a speech at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South
Carolina. Biden was holding an event in homage to the 2015 killing of
nine Black churchgoers at Mother Emanuel by a racist shooter. An
audience member interrupted Biden’s speech, shouting, “If you really
care about the lives lost here, you should honor the lives lost and call
for a ceasefire in Palestine.” Multiple protesters then joined in,
shouting “ceasefire now!” </span></p>
<p><span>This past weekend, multiple actions took place, including a
march of over a thousand people through freezing rain in Midtown
Manhattan, which culminated at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Protesters disrupted a performance of the New York Philharmonic
Orchestra, citing Lincoln Center’s </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/theater/artists-protest-lincoln-center-play-backed-by-israel.html"><span>ties to the Zionist project</span></a><span>. </span></p>
<h3><b><i>Watch: </i></b><a href="https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/01/08/protesters-in-nyc-brave-snow-to-demand-an-end-to-israels-genocidal-war-on-gaza/"><b><i>Protesters in NYC brave snow to demand an end to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza</i></b></a></h3>
</div></div></div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div></div>
</div>
</div>