On Wednesday, Jewish Voice for Peace states “500 Jews were arrested and 10,000 took to the streets to support and to demand a ceasefire and an end to Palestinian genocide.” See video of hundreds of protesters at the Capitol chanting: “Cease-fire Now!”
Al Jazeera reports: “Israel bombs Greek Orthodox Gaza church sheltering displaced people.” The Patriarch of Jerusalem issued a statement which “condemns the Israeli airstrikes targeting humanitarian institutions in Gaza.” Palestinian fatalities are reported to exceed 3,000.
SONYA MEYERSON-KNOX, sonya@jewishvoiceforpeace.org, @jvplive
LIV KUNINS-BERKOWITZ, liv@jewishvoiceforpeace.org,
Sonya Meyerson-Knox and Liv Kunins-Berkowitz are with Jewish Voice for Peace, which is organizing protests. The group is telling “Congress to stop fueling violence. The U.S. must work to immediately de-escalate to prevent the further loss of life, and not fuel and exacerbate the violence by sending more weapons to Israel.”
AURA KANEGIS, akanegis@afsc.org,
Kanegis is director of policy and advocacy with the American Friends Service Committee, which is “guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light of each person.”
She has repeatedly visited Gaza beginning in 2014 and just wrote the piece “Congress, do not buy more death with my tax dollars” for the Religious News Service. She writes: “Media portrayals of Gaza are so devoid of humanity — and often facts — that it is unsurprising that the horrifying violence we saw take place on Oct. 7 has been spoken of as ‘unprovoked.’ It is easy to forget our tax dollars — over $3 billion to Israel every year — have been directly supporting war crimes, sowing seeds of anger and war that will yield bitter fruit for generations to come. … In subsequent visits I have seen the crushing conditions of the Israeli blockade worsen, and a campaign of nonviolent protest largely ignored by the world. …”