Hundreds of progressive American Jewish activists occupied the Statue of Liberty in New York to demand that Israel cease fire in Gaza and put an end to the genocide its bombing is causing against civilians in the Strip.

The activists, most of whom were young, wore black T-shirts with slogans printed on them, including “Jews demand a ceasefire now” and “Not in our name,” and they stood at the base of the monument that symbolizes New York.

The demonstrators held banners reading: “The whole world is watching,” “The Palestinians must be liberated,” and “Stop shooting now.”

A statement quoted Jay Saper - from the "Jewish Voice for Peace" organization - as saying, "The famous words of our Jewish grandmother (the nineteenth-century American poet) Emma Lazarus inscribed on this monument compel us to work to support the Palestinians of Gaza who aspire to live free."

The Jewish-led organization opposes the Israeli government's policies towards the Palestinians as a form of apartheid.

"We scream with Gaza"

“Just like the Palestinians, many of our ancestors yearned to breathe freely,” the group said on the X platform.

In turn, the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEO) issued a statement calling for “an end to Israel’s genocidal bombing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”

For her part, American photographer Nancy Golden said, “As long as the people of Gaza are screaming, we must scream louder, no matter the attempts to silence us.”

Local elected officials, the majority of whom were from the left, participated in the demonstration.

Similar demonstrations were previously organized in the past few weeks at Grand Central Station in Manhattan and in the Cannon House administration building in Congress in Washington.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies