Demonstrators block the road in front of Biden's motorcade in New York
About 100 Jewish activists were arrested in New York City after they blocked the road to President Joe Biden's motorcade to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) led the city's Upper East Side demonstration, with activists sitting at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, as Biden was attending a fundraiser nearby.
“As Jewish New Yorkers, we want to make it abundantly clear that Biden is not welcome in our city as he continues to fund and arm the Israeli government’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” JVP’s Jay Saper said.
JVP activist Maya Ediri noted that this is Biden's first visit to New York since October 7, noting that "instead of responding to the majority of his base demanding a ceasefire, he is meeting with corporate donors behind closed doors."
The JVP said in a statement: “The Israeli army killed more than 27,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 11,000 children, during four months of bombing and military attack. Gaza was intentionally made uninhabitable, with Israeli air strikes destroying 70% of "Infrastructure, including hospitals, universities, electricity and water networks. Nearly two million people were forced to flee their homes; 1.9 million people live in the southern city of Rafah, where the Israeli army recently launched air strikes."
The demonstration Wednesday is the latest in a wave of Jewish-led protests by groups including JVP and IfNotNow that have closed transportation hubs, in front of the Statue of Liberty, and disrupted speeches by Biden and other administration officials.
Marianne Williamson confirms the suspension of her rival to Biden for the Democratic Party nomination
Marianne Williamson announced that she will suspend her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, after President Joe Biden achieved his first official victory in the party's primary elections in South Carolina.
“I greatly appreciate all the wonderful people who have accompanied me on our political journey over the past ten months,” the writer said in an emailed statement to her supporters. “Although our level of failure is clear to everyone, our level of success is real.”
In a video accompanying the statement, she said: “We did what we could to shed some light on some very dark times.”
Williamson's announcement comes after Biden achieved his first official victory of the 2024 cycle in the Democratic primary in South Carolina over the weekend followed by a win, Tuesday, in Nevada.
Although the president was not on the ballot in New Hampshire last month, Williamson was unable to secure a victory. Instead, Biden symbolically won the primary.
Williamson launched her long journey to the presidency in March 2023, her second attempt after a failed run in 2020.
With Williamson's exit, Minnesota Representative Dean Phillips remains Biden's only competitor for the Democratic nomination.
Tags:
america