Above: Demonstrators hang a Palestinian flag proclaiming the BDS movement from the south side of the Manhattan Bridge as a pro-Palestinian rally marched across the neighboring Brooklyn Bridge (AP)
While hundreds marched across the Brooklyn Bridge, massive Palestinian flag-banner urging Boycott, Divestment and Sanction is Unfurled From Manhattan Bridge
Photo Gallery Below
Hundreds of protesters flooded the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City on Wednesday, carrying signs and chanting in support of Palestinians as violence continues to rage in Gaza.
As demonstrators marched across the bridge, activists also dropped a huge Palestinian flag from the nearby Manhattan Bridge that read, “Boycott Divestment Sanctions.”
Although it is unknown exactly how many people participated in the event, photographs from the vent on social media clearly indicate that at least several hundred were present [Note: participants in the event report 1,000 marchers]. During the last pro-Gaza rally in New York City, somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people took part.
The latest demonstration comes as talks between Israelis and Palestinians fell apart yet again on Tuesday, renewing hostilities between the two parties. As RT reported then, 500 rockets were fired at Israel by Hamas, while Israel launched at least 35 airstrikes against various targets in the Gaza Strip.
Both sides have accused each other of breaking the ceasefire that was previously in place.
The New York City event was organized under the label, “March for Palestine,” and sought $1,000 in funding earlier this month through the Indiegogo website. Organizers criticized what they claimed was“Israel’s ethnic cleansing project,” and said the march would demand “freedom from occupation, freedom from colonization, freedom to return to, inhabit, and live in a territory which we or our parents and grandparents called home … without the destruction of the common resources that nurture and sustain life.”
At the protest, Mashable’s Colin Daileda tweeted that people repeated numerous chants, including,“No more money for Israel’s crimes, not another nickel, not another dime.”
“Israel bombs. We protest. Boycott, sanction and divest,” was another slogan that made the rounds, according to civil rights activist Linda Sarsour.
Demonstrators also connected their gathering to the ongoing events in Ferguson, Missouri, where protests have become a nightly occurrence in the wake of an 18-year-old’s death at the hands of police. Michael Brown was shot up to six times, according to an autopsy report, sparking backlash against police brutality and excessive force.
At the Gaza rally in New York, one speaker said, “There’s a reason people are making the connection between Gaza and Ferguson,” as quoted by Daileda, before adding that both situations are rooted in racism.
Meanwhile, others chanted, “Resistance is justified from Ferguson to Palestine,” as well as, “We are young, we are strong, we are marching all night long.”
Below are photos taken by Ellen Davidson of the Brooklyn Bridge march. You can see more photos here.
Davidson describes the event writing: Nearly 1000 people rallied in Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn August 20 in support of Palestine and to protest Israel’s continued siege and illegal blockade of Gaza. They then marched across the Brooklyn Bridge, filling the pedestrian walkway and chanting “When people are occupied, resistance is justified” and “Gaza to Ferguson, end the occupation.” Cars passing on the bridge below the march honked in support. At the Manhattan end of the march, another rally was held at One Police Plaza. A highlight was a huge banner that was dropped from the south side of the Manhattan Bridge, facing the marchers on the Brooklyn Bridge. In the shape of a Palestinian flag, it read “Gaza” across the top, with the words “Boycott, Divest, Sanctions” running down the three vertical stripes. Many signs drew parallels between the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and the current police and National Guard occupation of Ferguson, MO. Unlike the militarized presence in Ferguson, however, on the Brooklyn Bridge, members of the New York Police Department’s community affairs unit bopped along to the beats of the Rude Mechanical Orchestra as they kept a lane of the walkway free for non-demonstrators to pass by.
[nggallery id=”162″]