Activists in Jersey City rallied and marched on Friday evening for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
Hosted by Ceasefire Now NJ and other related groups, the crowd of about 100 people decried the actions of Israel since the war began on October 7th with a Hamas invasion involving the killing and capturing of innocent Israeli civilians.
They demanded the city council pass the resolution demanding that Congress work to impose a ceasefire that failed at a special meeting last month. A few addressed the topic at Wednesday’s council meeting.
“Israel must end its genocide of Gaza,” North Jersey Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) leader Issac Jimenez argued.
He called for their federal representatives to come out in support of a ceasefire.
“Not another nickel, not another dime For Israel’s crime!” the group shouted at the rally.
“The relentless bombing continues. Food, water, and medical supplies continue to be blocked to two million people slowly dying,” said Meera Jaffrey, of Jewish Voices for Peace.
“There are more and more of us that stand united against this genocide,” she argued. “Our voices have to be amplified at the local level so Washington can hear.”
“I’m sick to death of the racism embedded in our city,” Evelyn Ibarra, who runs the Foundry Girl Instagram page, declared.
“Our housing keeps going up. All the money just does not go back to the people. I’m sick and tired of it … We have to rally together to make sure he’s [Mayor Steven Fulop] not elected as governor,” Ibarra added to applause.
She said a Palestinian flag raising at City Hall in December was canceled and also took umbrage with Fulop supporting the Jersey City police in light of Andrew Washington being fatally shot by an officer after he pulled a knife during a mental episode.
Ibarra also decried the failure of the passage of the ceasefire resolution before the city council.
“The reason they denied it was they didn’t want to piss off just one percent, a small percentage of people they accommodate across the board for everything. Murdering children and being racist is wrong!” Ibarra exclaimed.
“The majority want to end the war,” she argued.
Jimenez chimed in that cancelling the flag raising was “a slap in the face” and it still remains unclear what can be done to change things locally.
“We can vote them out, but who can we vote for?” Jimenez asked.
“We need a peaceful end to the atrocity,” added Steven Marlow, from Peace Action.
Kathy Koch, of Jewish Voices for Peace, said too many people think of Arabic people as deviants.
“Let’s stop these dehumanizing myths,” she said.
Cameron Orr, of the People’s Word, said many local governments have endorsed a ceasefire and he also denounced American funding to Israel and said it should go towards schools and other things
“The rent is too high! We need affordable housing,” Orr stated.
“It’s discouraging how slow things are moving. But the Mayor of Chicago endorsed a ceasefire. It took a long time to stop the Vietnam War.”
A man criticized a man selling Palestinian flags was escorted away by the JCPD stationed nearby.
Then they marched downtown past the Hudson County Courthouse down Pavonia escorted by JCPD patrol cars.
“Shut the f*** up!” one man yelled out the window to an enraged crowd.
Once they arrived at the Newark Avenue Pedestrian Plaza without further incident, more protesters spoke.
Maya Ponton Aronoff said she was Jewish, and it was the Jewish harvest holiday Tu BiShvat this week.
She called the Israeli government authoritarian.
“We see something so horrific we couldn’t have dreamed it up,” Aronoff said, also exclaiming that Palestinians are being massacred.
“The hostages are not home. There is no ceasefire,” Aronoff added.
Ibarra said she has supported Jewish and Israeli businesses in the past, along with other ethnic businesses, but that is becoming less and less possible.
“This is a really divisive time in Jersey City. People are accusing me of spreading antisemitism. This is what Jersey City represents. This is the most diverse city in America,” she noted.
“We want all the hostages to come home. We want the murder to stop,” Ibarra added, pushing back against the notion that she’s anti-Semitic.
They then marched to the Grove Street station at the end of the plaza.
Rochelle Santos said she was Jewish and decried the actions of the Israeli military against the war.
“Israel is being charged with genocide. They’re going to trial for genocide,” she shouted.
If these people were honest, which of course they are not, they would admit that the reason they support a ceasefire is because they are happy about the barbaric attack that took 1400 lives in Israel on October 7th. Otherwise we would, at the very least, be hearing them demanding the freeing of the Israeli hostages taken that day along with a ceasefire. These are anti-Semites plain and simple.
Gaza is an excuse for these Communist revolutionaries to march and make noise. It’s the same 50 people at all these protests, don’t you see?