American Jews join “Israelis for Peace” at a protest against the war in Gaza on March 3. Photo by Gili Getz

By Jacob Kornbluh March 4, 2024

Unlike at other rallies for a ceasefire in Gaza, you aren’t likely to hear calls for Palestine to extend “from the river to the sea” at the one in New York’s Union Square each Sunday. And there will be few or no denunciations of Israel as a “settler-colonial” state.

Rather, rallygoers call on both Israel and Hamas to agree to a “bilateral ceasefire,” humanitarian aid for Palestinians and the release of all hostages in Gaza. 

“This is the place I feel very comfortable speaking out,” said Brad Lander, the city’s comptroller and highest-ranking Jewish official in the city’s government.

Lander, who gathered with about 100 others at Sunday’s rally, said he’s a regular.

It was Rabbi Rachel Timoner’s first time.

The senior rabbi of Brooklyn’s progressive Congregation Beth Elohim told the crowd why she stands with them.

“For a long time I did not use the word ‘ceasefire,’” she said, “because it was being used by people who celebrated Oct. 7, people who do not hold Hamas responsible, and people who want to eliminate the state of Israel — and I did not want to be associated with that.”

Timoner, who is also a co-founder of the progressive New York Jewish Agenda group, said that though she supports Israel’s right to defend itself, “continued war and Israeli occupation of Gaza will be an unmitigated disaster” and “a bilateral ceasefire with hostage and prisoner release has never been more urgent.” 

The rally is organized by a group called “Israelis for Peace.” It began months ago with vigils for Israeli and Palestinian victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s campaign in Gaza. In more recent weeks, the group has demonstrated for a ceasefire and hostage deal.

They request no one bring a flag to the rallies — Palestinian, Israeli or any other — because flags have been provocative at other protests. 

Standing in a circle at the center of the square, the demonstrators, Israelis and Americans, chant slogans like “War has no winners,” “There is no military solution,” “Ceasefire now,” and “Hey hey, ho ho, the occupation has got to go.” There are also calls for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s resignation.

‘As long as the bombs are dropping’

Tamar Glezerman, the Israeli-born screenwriter and director who co-founded Israelis for Peace, said most participants are leftists but their opinions about Israel vary. Organizer Noa Fort, a Israeli-born vocalist and pianist, said the rally feels unique in that it makes space for American Jews to “mourn for both sides” of the conflict and “hold both these pains together.” 

The group is affiliated with a larger one, the “Anti-Occupation Bloc,” which was established last year as part of the movement against Israel’s judicial overhaul plan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed for the overhaul to consolidate right-wing control of the government.

Pro-Israel protests sometimes champion an Israeli government which many American Jews say does not reflect their values. Pro-Palestinian protests are often dominated by scathing rhetoric toward Israel. And rallygoers have sometimes justified or downplayed Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

On Saturday, a speaker at a protest a little farther south in Manhattan, in Washington Square Park, said people are “sick and tired of being told and reminded about the events of Oct. 7,” and called President Joe Biden and elected officials who support Israel’s right to defend itself “the real terrorists.”

Glezerman said the ones she organizes shouldn’t be the only ceasefire protests, “even if some of the messaging is personally difficult for me.” 

“For as long as the bombs are dropping, the hostages are imprisoned and all of these problems continue to exist, I’m glad that people are out there protesting,” she said. “There’s an urgency that surpasses almost everything.”

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