Hundreds of Jewish activists were arrested in the U.S. Capitol complex on Tuesday after staging a sit-in to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the U.S. and address to Congress this week, carrying signs and wearing shirts with slogans like “Not in Our Name” as they demanded an end to Israel’s U.S.-backed genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
Protesters with Jewish Voice for Peace called for Biden to stop sending weapons to Israel and to push for an immediate ceasefire, occupying the Cannon House Office building rotunda — the same place protesters occupied in October to demand a ceasefire as Israel was first embarking on its genocide.
“No one is free until everyone is free,” “Jews say stop arming Israel” and “Jews say: stop the genocide,” read some of the banners hoisted by the crowd, who were clad in matching red shirts with a demand for an arms embargo.
Since Jewish Voice for Peace’s October protest, Israel has slaughtered nearly 40,000 more Palestinians in Gaza, including tens of thousands of children, according to official counts. The true death toll is likely far higher when accounting for the thousands of people who died under the rubble, the missing and presumed dead, and deaths due to factors like Israel’s famine campaign.
The protest took place the day before Netanyahu is slated to address Congress and as he is expected to hold meetings with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during his delegation’s visit to D.C. this week. Members of other groups opposed to the genocide — IfNotNow, Democratic Socialists of America and Shoresh — also participated in the protest.
“For nine months, we’ve watched in horror as the Israeli government has carried out a genocide, armed and funded by the U.S. Congress and the Biden administration have the power to end this horror today,” said Jewish Voice for Peace executive director Stefanie Fox in a statement. “Instead, our president is preparing to meet with Netanyahu and Congressional leadership has honored him with an invitation to address Congress. Enough is enough.”
Among those arrested were over a dozen rabbis, according to the group. The rabbis led the group in prayer and songs, wearing handmade prayer shawls saying “Never Again for Anyone.”
The protesters cited their Jewish heritage as a reason for their protest, as Israeli leaders weaponize accusations of antisemitism against those opposed to the slaughter.
“The Israeli government is using U.S. funding and weapons to slaughter and starve Palestinians in Gaza. Americans — including Jewish Americans — are disgusted by our own government’s complicity in this genocide,” said Jewish Voice for Peace member Jane Hirschmann, a daughter of Holocaust survivors. “The only way to reach a ceasefire and build a just future is for the U.S. to stop sending weapons to Israel now.”
Also among the group was Cameron Jones, a Columbia University student who participated in the campus protests demanding divestment from Israel that made waves across the country this spring.
“As a student, I spent the last several months calling on my university to divest from the Israeli military,” Jones said. “Now that the semester is over, I’ve come to Washington D.C. to call on my government to stop arming Israel which has murdered over 14,000 children.”
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