Two Days Before Gaza War’s One- Year Anniversary, Opposing Protestors Voice Their Opinions
October 5, 2024
On the eve of the anniversary of the Gaza war, pro-Palestine protesters gathered at W. 41st Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue to oppose Israel’s involvement in the ongoing conflict. The war that began in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has escalated into a regional struggle as Israel has militarized their actions in the Palestinian-aligned nations of Iran and Lebanon.
“Israel is not a country; it is a U.S. military base in the Middle East. For 76 years, the U.S. has been a proxy for Israel—the only way to live with dignity is to resist,” said Manolo De Los Santos, of protest organizer The Palestinian Youth Movement, to the crowd.
Al Jazeera reports that as of Sept. 20, 2024, over 41,252 people have been killed in Gaza, including 705 in the West Bank, according to local health authorities.
“We have to continue to reach out to poor and working people that the only way for peace is a ceasefire and to stop U.S. funding of a genocidal regime,” said Steve, 79, a retired Amtrak worker at the Times Square protest who has been attending pro-Palestinian actions since 1968.
President Joe Biden says he has long been working on brokering a peace deal for the region with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but no agreement has been reached.
ACLU volunteers were stationed throughout the pro-Palestine protest, focusing on documenting displays of force by the police. An anonymous volunteer disclosed that the ACLU is specifically trained to watch for kettling, an illegal technique used by police to keep protesters from exiting barricades, and any other violent activity.
“Up toward 42nd Street, [police] are handing out zip ties, which is usually an indication that the police are looking to make arrests,” said the anonymous volunteer.
On the other side of 8th Avenue, a Christian pro-Israel demonstration united in chorus: “We stand for Israel; we will not be silenced.”
The majority of counter-protesters held up posters of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian pastor in Germany during the Nazi regime.
“Bonhoeffer founded the Confessing Church, which united Jews and Christians to protect the Jewish people. He died a martyr in the concentration camps,” said Emily Talento, a co-organizer of the counter-protest.
“We as Christians believe this is our Bonhoeffer movement—we want to make sure our Jewish friends know they will never be alone again, that we are with them.”
On the eve of the war’s one-year anniversary and as the November 2024 presidential election nears, the fervor on both sides of the conflict has not waned. As the Israeli military expands its ground operations in southern Lebanon and Beirut, resolving the region’s conflict becomes more important—and more complicated—than ever.
