On Friday, a group of Anti-Zionist Jewish organizers locked themselves up together outside of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco office, demanding that she and other U.S. officials call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. They chanted:
“Free, free, free, Palestine. Free, free, free, Palestine. No more weapons, no more war. No more weapons, no more war. Peace is what we’re fighting for, peace is what we’re fighting for. No more weapons, no more war, no more weapons.”
Pelosi did not respond to these organizers. And, after a few hours they left. But they were not alone in their demonstration. On Saturday, in San Francisco, a pro-Palestinian rally downtown attracted thousands of people. And at the UC Berkeley campus on Monday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian organizers clashed with a few dozen pro-Israel organizers.
Many pro-Palestinian groups are calling for the US to stop sending money and arms to the Israeli military, and to push for a ceasefire in the region.
Wassim Hage is a case manager and outreach coordinator with the Arab Research and Organizing Center. He says it’s absolutely critical that the U.S. call for a ceasefire in the region:
“There is an extreme, extreme deterioration of conditions for the people in Gaza right now… The ceasefire was needed yesterday. It was needed last week. The ceasefire needs to happen in order to prevent the Israeli military from committing a genocide against the people of Gaza, the Palestinians in Gaza.”
But despite the widespread calls to end U.S. aid to Israel and to prevent further violence in the region, no Bay Area representatives have signed their name to the ceasefire resolution. In fact, only 13 of 435 members of the House of Representatives have signed the resolution.