Jewish-led Activists Protest at Statue of Liberty, Demand a Ceasefire in Gaza

At least 500 “Jews and allies” took over New York’s Statue of Liberty in a sit-in protest organized by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) on 6 November to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The protestors dropped massive banners with calls for a ceasefire with slogans such as “the whole world is watching.” Demonstrators chanted “ceasefire now” and “never again for anyone, never again is now.”

“Hundreds of Jews and allies are holding an emergency sit-in, taking over the island to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. We refuse to allow genocide to be carried out in our names. Ceasefire now to save lives! Never again for anyone,” the group said on X.

JVP is the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world, according to its website. The group aims to organize a grassroots movement that unites U.S. Jews from various backgrounds to stand with Palestinians in their fight for freedom.

JVP, along with the movements IfNotNow and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), previously led the largest Jewish protests on 19 October in solidarity with Palestinians in Washington’s Capitol Hill. The protest saw at least 5,000 people from around the U.S. marching in a “Jews against Genocide” rally. Two dozen rabbis led at least 500 Jews in the Capitol Hill sit-in, where the rabbis blew shofars and shared testimonials from Palestinians in Gaza.

“The crisis in Gaza only grows more extreme by the day. To shift the tides will require nothing short of a mass movement that refuses to rest — and refuses to let our government rest — until we end Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians,” JVP said on its website.

“Grounded in that gravity, the thousands who poured out yesterday saw what’s possible when we take strategic, collective action. We are more committed than ever to escalating together from here,” the group added.

Earlier this week, thousands of protestors packed the streets of cities around the world to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and condemn Israel’s actions against Palestinians.