As Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York prepared for the final vote to pass an aid package that would provide $26 billion to Israel and billions more to Ukraine and Taiwan, it appeared that at least 100 protesters was arrested after stopping traffic in his Brooklyn neighborhood on the street. the second night of Passover to call for an end to US military support for Israel.
Although Mr. Schumer, the Democratic majority leader, was in Washington, protesters rallied Tuesday at Grand Army Plaza, a block from his home in Brooklyn, a frequent protest site. since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war. As the sun set, hundreds of people gathered around a circular banner representing the Seder plate, which read “Jews say stop arming Israel” along with images of edible dishes. used during the Seder meal.
“This will not be a Seder as usual. These are not normal times,” Morgan Bassichis, a member of the progressive group Jewish Voice for Peace, told attendees.
After a series of speakers addressed the rally, a large portion of the crowd moved into the street between the northern edge of Prospect Park and the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, blocking traffic flow and causing The driver must honk. Police officers monitoring the event warned protesters that they would be arrested if they did not move; As they remained, officers entered with zip-tie handcuffs and began making arrests. In the chaos, it is unclear exactly how many people were arrested before the crowd dispersed. But it appeared that at least 100 protesters, some wearing reflective vests over black T-shirts that read “Jews say ceasefire now,” were led away in pairs.
The rally, organized by pro-Palestinian Jewish groups, marked a distinctly different Passover celebration for Jews in New York City and beyond, as well as university and the family dinner table are all feeling the ripple effects of the Israel-Hamas war.
Stefanie Fox, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, said the rally was held on Passover to send a message to Mr. Schumer as the Senate proceed to the final vote aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. About $9 billion of that $95 billion package is earmarked for “humanitarian aid worldwide,” including for civilians in Gaza. (Later package passed with a vote of 79 to 18.)
“Everything in our tradition compels us to make every effort to stop these historic atrocities being committed in our name,” Ms. Fox said in an interview Monday. and with our tax dollars.”
Mr. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States, recently called election to replace Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, at the end of the war. His rebuke from the leader of the Jewish state last month Analysts said – in a speech in which he also spoke of his love for the state of Israel and his horror at the attacks by Hamas on October 7 – exposed The gap is widening between Israel and the United States, its most important ally.
“Senator Schumer recently spoke very harshly about Prime Minister Netanyahu on the Senate floor,” Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace, said at Tuesday's rally. “The fact that he does that with one hand and rewards Prime Minister Netanyahu with the other by promoting this military funding package shows that he is not serious about actually transforming US policy to promote push for change.”
One attendee, Calvin Harrison, 29, a community organizer who lives in Manhattan, said he was at Grand Army Plaza “because I am Jewish and I was raised to believe that Judaism is Justice”.
“Passover is a celebration of liberation for the future,” he continued. “We cannot celebrate our own liberation while we are oppressing the Palestinian people.”
