Photo: @wawog_now
Last week saw daring, creative, and determined protests against the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza—on opposite coasts of the U.S., in New York City and San Francisco. At a time when the U.S. continues to send massive weapons to Israel as they massacre and starve the Palestinian people of Gaza, it is urgent and necessary that protests like these not only continue but become even bolder and more widespread, as people dig deeper into what is at the root of these crimes and how to stop them.
“Stop the Presses” at the New York Times
In the early morning hours of Thursday, March 14, protesters blocked the New York Times printing center in the Queens borough of New York City, preventing trucks from entering the facility for several hours to pick up the day’s papers for distribution. Their banner read, “Consent for Genocide is Manufactured Here.” Later that morning, protesters occupied the lobby of the Times headquarters in Manhattan, and more than 120 were arrested. They were acting against what the Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG) called “Times’s role in legitimizing the occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, as well as its sordid record of support for U.S.-backed wars and regime change around the world.”
While occupying the building lobby, Writers Against the War on Gaza held a mock awards show, where presenters gave out awards to the “Most Deranged Use of the Passive Voice to Justify Genocide” and “Best Supporting Bad Actor.”
Along with the action at the Times's printing facility and headquarters, WAWOG distributed a fake version of the paper, titled The New York War Crimes (crossing out the word Times). See the online version here. The banner headline declares: “STOP THE PRESSES! FREE PALESTINE!” The issue of the New York War Crimes includes “a line-by-line look at the way the Times has attempted to make a genocide [of Palestinians in Gaza] palatable to the public” and examples of its “sordid record of support for American wars, right-wing dictatorships and U.S. backed regime change”—from the U.S.-backed 1954 coup in Guatemala to the CIA coup in Iran in 1953, and others.
“Stop the World for Gaza” at SF International Airport
Hundreds of protesters shut down SFO International Terminal, demanding permanent #CEASEFIRE in war on #Gaza and an end to U.S. arms to Israel, March 13, 2024. Photo: Brooke Anderson @movementphotographer via twitter
Wednesday morning, March 13, hundreds of protesters converged at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to cause a major disruption. One of their banners read “Stop the World for Gaza.” In a local news coverage of the protest, as the protesters are heard in the background chanting “Shut it down! Shut it down!” the reporter says, “Well, it was anything but business as usual at SFO’s international terminal today. A large group of pro-Palestine, anti-war protesters descended on the terminal and effectively shut down the security gates. The group calling for an end to the violence that officials say has now left nearly 30,000 Palestinians dead.” The organizers planned for the protest to last for exactly 153 minutes—one minute for each day since Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza began in October.
One of the protesters said, “So many lives have been lost and so many more are at stake, and we cannot sit idly by as our government is complicit in arming and justifying these atrocities against Palestinians in this moment, and for the past 75 years. As people of conscience, it is a necessity for us to take action to stop this escalating genocide."
Elsewhere…
Some of the other recent protests around Palestine:
Portland, Oregon, March 15: Hundreds of high school students and some teachers walked out of school and converged at the Portland Public Schools headquarters.
Staten Island, New York City, March 15: Students at Wagner High School walked out chanting “Free Palestine”; they also alleged discrimination by school officials against Palestinian and Arab students.
Bakersfield, California, March 13: Protesters chanting “Ceasefire now!” disrupted a city council meeting, demanding that the council adopt an official resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Cleveland, Ohio, March 9: A protest car caravan shut down parts of major highways, including near the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and then disrupted traffic in the downtown area.