On Monday morning, hundreds of American Jews and their allies descended upon the steps of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, disrupting business as usual to demand an end to the U.S.’s support for Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
The action was led by Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization that describes itself as “the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.” According to that group, about 500 American Jews and their supporters took part in the demonstration on Monday, making it the “largest act of civil disobedience” ever at the New York Stock Exchange.
Demonstrators rushed to the entrance of the stock exchange in a surprise action just moments before the opening bell rang. There, they called for an end to the U.S.’s material support for the genocide, for the imposition of an arms embargo on Israel, and for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
“Stocks are rising while children are dying,” Jay Saper with Jewish Voice for Peace said in a statement shared with Truthout. “As Israel drops bombs on homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza, Wall Street booms, and all the members of Congress who invest in these companies get richer every day.”
The organization noted in a press release preceding the protest that weapons companies like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and others are seeing their profits skyrocket on Wall Street as Israel has massacred tens of thousands of Palestinians over the past year alone, with full backing from the U.S. government. Politicians are also benefiting financially from the slaughter of Palestinians.
“Politicians should not be allowed to profit from genocide, but at least 50 members of Congress or their spouses own stock from Lockheed Martin or Raytheon,” said Jewish Voice for Peace member and MacArthur Fellow Ros Petchesky. “There can be no business as usual while the US arms Israel and profits from genocide. We’re here to demand an arms embargo now.”
Demonstrators wore red shirts that read “Not In Our Name” and “Stop Arming Israel.” They engaged in several chants, including “Let Gaza Live,” and unfurled a large banner that read, “Gaza Bombed, Wall Street Booms.”
Around 200 participants in the demonstration — including some Jewish descendants of Holocaust survivors — were arrested during the protest. Some were dragged out by their arms and legs by New York City police officers. Others locked themselves to the main entrance of the building or chained themselves to gates outside of the stock exchange.
“As Jews, many of us are descendants of those who survived genocide. Our ancestors taught us to never be bystanders in the face of injustice. We are all responsible for taking action to change the course of history and stop this genocide that is being waged in our name,” the social media account for Jewish Voice for Peace New York City said.
Elena Stein, director of organizing strategy for Jewish Voice for Peace, condemned the Biden administration for exploiting Jewish trauma to justify sending billions for Israel to use in its extermination campaign, stating:
The Biden Administration wants the public to believe that the US’s $18 billion slush fund for Israel’s genocide is for the sake of ‘Jewish safety.’ … We’re here refusing to be used as the US’s moral cover and to expose its true interests: financial gain and control in the region. Weapons embargo now.
“Let’s be clear once and for all: the US is not arming Israel to protect Jews. The US is arming Israel for its own profit and control of the region,” the national Jewish Voice for Peace account said on X.
For months, the Biden administration has baselessly claimed that they’ve been pushing for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to bring an end to Israel’s genocidal siege of Gaza. Recently, however, the White House has admitted that ceasefire talks have essentially been suspended — and that the U.S. never actually aimed to achieve a diplomatic resolution through ceasefire negotiations.
Notably, Israel has sabotaged many ceasefire deals, including by assassinating a lead ceasefire negotiator for Hamas and by escalating the Israeli military’s violence in Lebanon. Hamas has been open to a number of ceasefire proposals.
Conservative estimates of the civilian death toll suggest that Israel has killed around 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza over the past year. However, health experts believe the truth death toll is far higher, with many estimating that Israel’s genocide has killed between 100,000 and 330,000 Palestinians in Gaza — amounting to as much as 15 percent of Gaza’s population before October 2023.
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