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NYC Workers March for Gaza: 'Stop the Bombs! Cease-Fire Now!'
"We demand our N.Y. senators call for an immediate and lasting cease-fire, vote NO on the $14 billion aid bill, and refuse far-right AIPAC contributions! And we will continue to march, protest, disrupt, and fight until we end this genocide."
Dec 21, 2023
Unions, Jewish groups, and other organizations led a march in New York City Thursday night to demand a cease-fire in the U.S.-backed Israeli war on Gaza and pressure their members of Congress to stop taking campaign cash from pro-Israel lobbyists.
Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 9A; American Postal Workers Union (APWU); United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE) Eastern Region; New York City's arm of Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA); Adalah Justice Project, American Muslims for Palestine N.Y./N.J.; Jewish Voice for Peace-N.Y.; New York Communities for Change; the New York Working Families Party; and more took to the streets to call for "peace and justice for Palestine."
They carried signs stressing U.S. worker demands for a cease-fire in the conflict that has killed more than 20,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 8,000 children. The signs also highlighted how much money Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries—all New York Democrats—have taken from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
AIPAC is reportedly planning to spend at least $100 million in 2024 Democratic primaries, aiming to unseat cease-fire supporters, particularly "Squad" members—Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
"For two months, the whole world has watched as the Israeli military launched its assault on Gaza," said organizers of Thursday's march, who rallied behind a clear message: "Stop the Bombs! Cease-fire now!"
"Disease, hunger, and thirst are spreading rapidly," they continued. "Two million Palestinians have been displaced and thousands imprisoned by the Israeli state."
The United States gives Israel $3.8 billion in annual military aid and U.S. President Joe Biden has asked Congress for another $14.3 billion for the war effort. As the march organizers put it: "This horror has unfolded with the full support of the U.S. government. Our out-of-touch representatives, instead of siding with their constituents are siding with AIPAC, a racist right-wing lobby group."
"But we will not let them ignore this growing working-class movement. Hundreds of thousands of regular people have taken to the streets, jammed the phone lines and inboxes of their representatives, stopped traffic, staged sit-ins, and more, to demand peace and justice," they added. "We demand our N.Y. senators call for an immediate and lasting cease-fire, vote NO on the $14 billion aid bill, and refuse far-right AIPAC contributions! And we will continue to march, protest, disrupt, and fight until we end this genocide."
The NYC march came a week after leaders of unions such as the UAW, APWU, and UE held a press conference with Democrats including Bush, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, and Tlaib at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. to demand a cease-fire.
Noting UAW president Shawn Fain's participation, John Nichols wrote for The Nation:
For Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress and an outspoken advocate for a cease-fire, it was an especially poignant moment. She noted, "I'm a proud daughter of a UAW worker, and I know my Yaba [father], if he was here, he would be so proud. The UAW taught him he deserved human dignity, even though he only had a fourth-grade education, even though he was Palestinian, even though he was Muslim. On that assembly line, he was equal to every single human being on that line. Who did that for him? The United Auto Workers did that for him."
Fain, for his part, delivered a clear call for a change in U.S. policy.
"The only path forward to peace and social justice is a cease-fire," said the UAW leader.
Thursday's demonstration coincided with intense debates over a cease-fire resolution at the United Nations Security Council in New York City. The United States, one of five nations with veto power, has delayed multiple expected votes on the measure this week.
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Police Assault Protesters Demanding Gaza Cease-Fire at DNC HQ
"With every passing minute that President Biden and the Democratic Party refuse to heed the calls of their voters and demand a cease-fire, more Palestinians in Gaza are being killed by Israeli airstrikes."
Nov 16, 2023
U.S. Capitol Police used pellet guns and pepper spray late Wednesday to break up an interfaith protest calling for a cease-fire in Gaza as top Democratic lawmakers gathered for a candidate event inside the headquarters of the party's national committee.
Organizers of the protest said that shortly after demonstrators locked arms and obstructed the entrance to the Democratic National Committee building, police—including some in riot gear—rushed them without warning and used "brute force" to remove activists from the area.
At least 100 demonstrators were injured during the police response, including one person who was pushed over railing onto their head, Sumaya Awad, a member of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA), toldThe Washington Post.
"The Democratic Party just showed exactly how it feels about its voters," Awad said in a statement. "The Israeli military just stormed a hospital in Gaza, airstrikes have killed over 4,500 children, and water is running out. Over 80% of Democratic voters are demanding a cease-fire and brought that message of peace to party leadership, who responded by unleashing an incredibly violent police attack on them."
Jewish Voice for Peace Action and IfNotNow, groups that helped organize the demonstration along with DSA, echoed that account and criticized media outlets for uncritically reporting a Capitol Police statement accusing activists of "violently protesting."
A
Semafor reporter who was at the protest refuted claims from some lawmakers—including Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman (Calif.) and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.)—that demonstrators tried to "storm" DNC headquarters.
IfNotNow said in a statement that protesters were pepper sprayed, dragged by the hair, hit with police bikes, choked, kicked, punched in the face, and tackled to the pavement.
The Capitol Police
wrote in a social media post that six officers "were treated for injuries—ranging from minor cuts to being pepper sprayed to being punched."
Just a
small fraction of Congress has called for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip even as support for a negotiated end to the bloodshed nears 70% among the U.S. public. President Joe Biden has repeatedly dismissed calls for a cease-fire, breaking with an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters and a growing number of lawmakers in his party.
Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, said in a statement late Wednesday that "with every passing minute that President Biden and the Democratic Party refuse to heed the calls of their voters and demand a cease-fire, more Palestinians in Gaza are being killed by Israeli airstrikes and siege."
"Tonight, hundreds of peaceful anti-war activists came to the DNC to call for an end to bombs and violence in order to save Palestinian and Israeli lives. They were met with brutal assaults by the police," Miller added. "The Democrats need to decide: will they stand on the side of peace and justice, or will they continue to support war and genocide?"
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'Pay Your Writers': Boston University Crowd Disrupts CEO's Graduation Speech Amid Strike
Writers Guild of America members and local allies picketed outside while the crowd in the stadium booed David Zaslav and made clear to the industry executive that "we don't want you here."
May 21, 2023
As unionized film and television writers across the United States continue to strike, Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav was met with critical chants both inside and outside of Boston University's Sunday commencement ceremony, during which he spoke and received an honorary degree.
After weeks of negotiating with Zaslav's company as well as Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, and Sony under the the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the Writers Guild of America (WGA) launched the strike in early May, saying that "the studios' responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing."
That same week, BU announced Zaslav as a commencement speaker, sparking backlash from students, alumni, community members, and the WGA, East director of communications, Jason Gordon, who expressed "deep disappointment with the university over its poor decision" to provide the industry CEO with a platform.
"Boston University should not give voice to someone who wants to destroy their students' ability to build a career in the film and television industry," Gordon told
The Boston Globe. "The university should expect students, Writers Guild members, as well as other unions and community groups to picket Zaslav's commencement address."
WGA members delivered the promised picket with support from local allies, including members of BU Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) and Boston DSA, who made signs that said: "F*!# Zaslav! Solidarity With the Writers."
\u201cSolidarity with the Writers Guild on strike! Out here with @Boston_DSA and @BU_YDSA comrades picketing Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav\u2019s commencement speech at BU.\u201d— Mike Connolly (@Mike Connolly) 1684692373
\u201cAfter getting booed by BU students David Zaslav had to cross the WGA picket line and Scabby the rat on his way out of the VIP exit. Sorry not sorry.\u201d— Annie Stamell (@Annie Stamell) 1684698472
Within Nickerson Field, "boos and expletives rained down" on Zaslav, who graduated from the BU School of Law in 1985.
During his speech, the CEO did not address the ongoing strike, "or the several dozen students who turned their backs to him, and instead shared the strategies that helped him become one of Hollywood's most powerful figures," reportedBU Today.
\u201cWarner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was met by a huge WGA-DSA picket at BU's commencement today \u2014 with hundreds outside, plus Scabby and a plane, as BU grads turned their backs and drowned him in boos and chants\n\nPay your writers, David, and get the fuck out of Massachusetts\u201d— \ud835\uddea\ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddf0\ud835\uddf2\ud835\ude00\ud835\ude01\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddff \ud835\uddd7\ud835\udde6\ud835\uddd4 \ud83c\udf39 (@\ud835\uddea\ud835\uddfc\ud835\uddff\ud835\uddf0\ud835\uddf2\ud835\ude00\ud835\ude01\ud835\uddf2\ud835\uddff \ud835\uddd7\ud835\udde6\ud835\uddd4 \ud83c\udf39) 1684709485
As The A.V. Club's Sam Barasanti wrote Sunday:
It seems like, for those of us who weren't there, that Zaslav's speech was as stunningly out-of-touch with reality as the decision to host him was in the first place, which speaks to a general contempt he seems to have for... oh, let's say everyone.
This is a man who was put in charge of a massive media empire, and the most notable things he has done with that power are burn money, dismantle one of the most prestigious brands in entertainment, double-dip on promoting J.K. Rowling, kick off the now-common trend of studios deleting content from their streaming services and making it completely inaccessible in some cases, and—how can we forget?—driving the writers who make his shows and movies to go on a strike that may soon lead to similar strikes from the DGA and SAG-AFTRA that would render Hollywood completely motionless.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "'We don't want you here,' 'Pay your writers,' and 'Shut up, Zaslav' could be heard emanating from the crowd, messages similar to the prepared chants for the picket, including some created by the school's YDSA chapter members and school students who were inspired by BU hockey chants."
\u201cEnjoy a free serotonin boost every time he\u2019s forced to pause!\u201d— DSA-LA's Hollywood Labor (@DSA-LA's Hollywood Labor) 1684696957
\u201cThe WGA is thankful to all the B.U. graduates for chanting "Pay your writers" at Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav while he delivered the #BU2023 commencement address. #WGAStrike\u201d— Writers Guild of America, East (@Writers Guild of America, East) 1684698396
As The Hollywood Reporter detailed:
Students from BU's College of Communications, which houses its film and TV program, as well as the College of Fine Arts and some enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences, were among those who had expressed interest or were expected to take part in the ceremony protest, according to Vanessa Barlett, a graduating senior who helped lead the student-led writers strike solidarity event inside Nickerson Field.
"I'm in the same college as a bunch of film and TV kids," Barlett, who studied political science and journalism and was among those who created the day's official chants, told The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the event. "I'm friends with a lot of people in the College of Fine Arts, people who are in the theater arts program, so having a sense of solidarity is very important to me."
Some progressive lawmakers also weighed in—including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who tweeted that "if Warner Bros Discovery can afford to pay its CEO David Zaslav $286 million in compensation over the past two years, it can afford to pay its writers much better wages and benefits. Mr. Zaslav: Listen to the Boston University students and the Writers Guild. Pay your writers."
\u201c\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83d\udcbc \u201cYou have to listen to people you disagree with\u201d\n\n\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f \u201cPay your writers!\u201d\n\n\ud83d\udc68\ud83c\udffc\u200d\ud83d\udcbc \u201cNo, not me. Not like that\u201d\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1684707030
Striking workers' demands from studios, which include pay increases and limits on artificial intelligence, "would gain writers approximately $429 million per year," according to WGA. "AMPTP's offer is approximately $86 million per year, 48% of which is from the minimums increase."
This article has been updated with tweets from Worcester DSA, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
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