More than 500 demonstrators staged a sit-in protest at the Statue of Liberty on Nov. 6, demanding an immediate end to the Israel-Hamas war.
The black-clad protesters with the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) gathered on the statue's pedestal and dropped banners on the afternoon of that day. Their banners showed slogans such as "The Whole World Is Watching" and "Never Again for Anyone."
The JVP demonstrators occupied the national monument while singing "Ceasefire Now" before dispersing. But according to the group, it continued on a ferry headed back to Manhattan.
"We came to the Statue of Liberty today because we are inspired by the words of our Jewish ancestor, Emma Lazarus, that are etched into the monument," said JVP organizer Jay Saper. "Those words compel us to take action to support the Palestinians of Gaza yearning to be free, and we will continue to take action until we bring about a cease-fire and until Palestinians are free." (Related: Student groups call for the targeting of Israeli CIVILIANS in pro-Palestine "Day of Resistance" protests.)
"We are outraged that over 10,000 Palestinians to date have been killed, over 4,000 children, with U.S. funding, with U.S. bombs, and with U.S. protection from international accountability," JVP Director of Organizing Strategy Elena Stein meanwhile said.
New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who represents the 36th district in Queens, joined the Nov. 6 protests as a "New Yorker of conscious." He had previously been arrested alongside a colleague during a protest outside the Brooklyn home of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"This is one of the greatest symbols of New York City and our supposed commitments to universal values of liberty and freedom and respite," remarked Mamdani. "And yet, what we’ve seen is our country allowing for a genocide to take place."
Biden: Netanyahu rejected call for pause in Gaza fighting
JVP, the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the U.S., seeks to pressure the Biden Administration to stop the Israel-Palestine war. However, its plea for a ceasefire – alongside that of the White House – appears to have fallen on deaf ears.
President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials had urged Israel to issue a temporary "humanitarian" pause to allow aid into the Gaza Strip and facilitate the evacuation of civilians from the conflict zone. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained firm in his stance and rejected the request over the weekend.
"I did ask him for a pause. He passed," said Biden. "I'm still waiting to hear some other things."
According to the White House, Biden called Netanyahu on Nov. 6 to discuss "the possibility of tactical pauses" to allow Gaza residents to safely depart from conflict zones, ensure the delivery of assistance to civilians, and potentially facilitate hostage releases.
However, in an exclusive interview with ABC News' World News Tonight with anchor David Muir on that same day, Netanyahu insisted that there would be no ceasefire without the release of 240 Israeli hostages.
"There'll be no ceasefire, general ceasefire, in Gaza without the release of our hostages. The only thing that works on these Hamas criminals is the military pressure we are exerting," Netanyahu stated. He acknowledged the possibility of tactical pauses for humanitarian reasons but argued that a pause in military operations would impede their efforts to secure the release of captives.
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