PRO-PALESTINE, ANTI-GENOCIDE ACTIVISTS SHUTDOWN NYC

On January 8th, 2024, pro-Palestinian activists successfully blocked 4 major routes into New York:

  • The Brooklyn Bridge
  • Holland Tunnel
  • Manhattan Bridge
  • Williamsburg Bridge

Map of the shutdown

 
With the genocide in Palestine ramping up on a daily basis, and the United States continuing to send billions of taxpayer dollars to Israel for “aid”, this is a victory for pro-Palestine activists across the globe. The demands are clear and concise:

 

  1. Immediate and permanent ceasefire now
  2. Lift the siege on Gaza
  3. Free all Palestinian prisoners
  4. End US “Aid” to Israel

 
Since the events of October 7th, 2023, we have witnessed atrocity after atrocity as Israel and the IOF continue to murder Palestinian families, while driving out those that remain. The death toll right now is a staggering 20,000+ Palestinians—the majority of which are children—with those numbers increasing every day. In typical Israeli fashion, members of the Knesset and the Israeli government are demanding that other countries step up in order to take on the Palestinian diaspora. We’ve witnessed IOF soldiers carrying out field executions of unarmed Palestinians, while Netanyahu has the audacity to state that Israel’s army is “the most moral army in the world”.

 
Across the globe, we are seeing pro-Palestinian actions and protests increasing tenfold in both frequency and attendance numbers. While it can sometimes be difficult to keep up with and report all of these actions, we must strive to keep the core demands at the forefront of our message, continue to organize, and communicate with each other. The only way we can keep the pressure on politicians and the other abhorrent ghouls involved in this genocide, is by carrying out actions that are similar to the brave comrades mentioned above in New York.

 
Shutting down commerce and disrupting the flow of capital is one of the few tools the working class has in their arsenal. Take a look at businesses like McDonalds and Starbucks, for example. Starbucks is seeing a $12b drop in revenue due to boycotts, while a McDonalds franchise in Malaysia recently filed a lawsuit against the BDS movement claiming that they’ve lost more than $1m in revenue.

The BDS Movement has proven to be one of the most successful campaigns in disrupting business as usual for the ruling class that continues to profit off of imperialism and genocide. In addition to company boycotts, we can add infrastructure disruptions to the arsenal and continue to expand on those actions in order to hit those complicit where it hurts the most: their bottom line.