In the face of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, backed by the U.S., people across the world have been taking to the streets in anguish and outrage at the massive death and suffering the Palestinian people are being subjected to. In the U.S., Jewish people horrified at what Israel is doing have been at the forefront of many defiant civil disobedience and other protests, declaring “Not in Our Name!” The protests have involved people of different nationalities, religions, and backgrounds, and hundreds of protests have rocked campuses across the country, including at “elite” universities like Columbia and Harvard.
On this page are scenes from some of the most recent protests.
Around the World
In London on November 11 (which is Armistice Day in Britain, commemorating the end of World War 1), at least 300,000 people marched against Israel, demanding a ceasefire in their war on Gaza. The police arrested at least 126 people. Hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated every Saturday since Israel began its attacks on Gaza. Chants were aimed at the governments of Britain and the United States for supporting Israel. A 22-year-old student said: "My family are all in Gaza and none of them are OK… This situation is a big, big problem for humanity and for me to have to say to the world, remember that we are human beings...”
Protests took place on Thursday, November 16 across Spain and in Mexico City, Rotterdam, Rabat and elsewhere. In Spain, university and high school students gathered in 38 cities, including Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga, Bilbao, Zaragoza and Madrid, with many high school students walking out of classes. People rallied in the Moroccan capital of Rabat in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Demonstrators in front of the Israeli embassy in Mexico City denounced the killing of Palestinian children in Gaza. People showed solidarity with the Palestinian people and called for a ceasefire during 2026 FIFA (the international governing association for soccer) World Cup qualifying games across Asia.
In the United States
New York, November 17. There have been nearly daily protests in NYC against Israel and in support of the Palestinian people. On Friday, thousands rallied at Union Square and then joined another group that was protesting at the New York Public Library main branch at Bryant Park. The crowd blocked traffic as the protesters then marched downtown to Penn Station. Cops arrested pro-Palestine supporters who occupied the headquarters of News Corp, the media company that owns the Fox News channel and the Wall Street Journal and New York Post newspapers. Protesters chanted “Fox News, you can’t hide. Your lies cover up genocide.” One woman protester said, “Every day I am watching Palestinian people get massacred… This can’t keep happening.”
San Francisco Bay Area, November 16. Protesters blocked the Bay Area Bridge by stopping their cars in traffic and then throwing the car keys into the water, bringing the busy commute to a stop. Protesters formed a human chain as they linked arms and sat on the bridge, with some lying under white sheets in a die-in. The demonstrators had signs saying "Stop the Genocide" and "No US Military Aid to Israel.” Some 250 cops were mobilized against the protest, and 80 protesters were arrested, their hands zip-tied. The bridge demonstration followed several protests coinciding with the start of the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit taking place in San Francisco, which Biden attended.
Protesters opposing war on Gaza block San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge during APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Conference, November 16, 2023. Photo: AP
San Francisco Photo: @revclub_bay
San Francisco, November 4. Thousands of demonstrators—including union members, teachers, health care workers and others—gathered in Civic Center Plaza in front of City Hall to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. Some estimated the crowd numbered more than 50,000—perhaps the largest pro-Palestine march in Bay Area history. Many waved Palestinian flags and left mementos and flowers at an altar spread on the pavement to honor the thousands of Palestinians in Gaza who have been killed.
Michigan. In the past week there have been many protests in Detroit and other cities in Michigan calling for an end to the Israeli attacks on Palestinians. People chanted "Biden, Biden, you can't hide. We charge you with genocide." On Friday, November 17, hundreds protested in Ann Arbor to demand the University of Michigan stop investing in companies that fund military operations in Israel. Demonstrators, from over 50 student organizations, descended on Ruthven Hall, where President Santa Ono's office and the university's central administrative operations are located.
Washington, DC, November 15. The Jewish group IfNotNow helped organize a protest at the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters. Protesters held hands to block the entrance to the building. Cops pepper sprayed and used force against this civil disobedience protest. They pushed and pulled the protesters to remove them from the area, at one point shoving a protester down a staircase. Police also fired projectiles containing chemical irritants. Cops stomped on the memorial candles that had been set up by protesters to honor the 11,200+ Palestinians that have been killed since October 7.
Boston, November 16. About 100 protesters stopped traffic on the bridge connecting the city to Cambridge for more than two hours during the morning rush. They chanted “ceasefire now!” and held a banner saying, “Jews say: ceasefire now." Members of the Jewish group IfNotNow sat on the road, unfurled a banner and held signs. Demonstrators unfurled a scroll listing the names of every child under the age of five who has been killed in Gaza since the Israeli war started.
Other cities all over the country where people have taken to the streets include Los Angeles, where over 1,000 protesters shut down an area of Hollywood Boulevard; Austin, Texas, where thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators rallied at the state Capitol and then marched in the streets; Cincinnati, Ohio, where marchers shut down intersections; and Provo, Utah, where more than 200 gathered in front of the City Library.
Thousands at the "All Out For Palestine" rally march down San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin, Texas, November 12, 2023. Photo: AP