New York City: Bibi Not Welcome
I got there early. The address for the gathering was 800 Second Avenue, the Israeli Consulate. I didn’t see any people assembled, but numerous police were setting up metal barricades to secure a perimeter. I crossed over to the east side of the street. There, a policewoman informed me that the whole block was closed except for customers of stores conducting business. After a glance, I told her I was going to the nail salon. She let me through, and another person slid in with me.
Her name was Miriam Kaplan. She had been attending vigils with the Israelis For Peace NYC group on Sunday afternoons at 5 pm in Union Square. An American Jew, she was “horrified” at the behavior of the Israeli government and thought it was “terrible” that Netanyahu was speaking before Congress. I asked her if she had reached out to her representative. Yes, she had contacted Congressman Dan Goldman but had received no response. “This is the most acute situation,” Kaplan said, “but this has been going on my whole life — the way Israelis have been treating the Palestinians.” She referenced the unending settlement building and the actions of violent settlers.
A young woman, S.J. Reynolds, joined us. She also frequented the Sunday protests. She had a Jewish star around her neck with multi-colored stones that her grandmother had given her. (Later, she put on a keffiyeh.) I asked her why she had come. “I’m here to show my support for Gaza. More specifically, Palestinians and what they are going through.” She expressed the feeling, “Israel used to stand for something to the Jewish people.” We talked about the use of terminology that so many American Jews obsess about. “Judaism and Zionism overlap, but are not the same thing,” she said.
A crowd started congregating at the southeast corner of 43rd Street, not far from “Yitzhak Rabin Way.” Relocating to that spot, I spoke to Noa Fort, a co-organizer of Israelis For Peace NYC. She was gearing up to lead demonstrators in a chant. In addition to keeping people away from the Consulate, there were directives that amplifying devices would not be allowed. However, loud voices and whistle-blowing created an energetic atmosphere. Passing cars, in agreement with the sentiments on the signs held aloft, honked their support while passing, adding to the energy. “Let Gaza Live,” “Cease Fire Now,” and “There is No Military Solution” were several of the views expressed on placards.
Most of the rhyming chants called out Netanyahu directly.
“Say it loud. Say it clear. Bibi is not welcome here.”
“They are running out of time. Netanyahu must resign.”
Fort read aloud a statement from Alon-Lee Green of Standing Together. It was shared as well on the ground in Washington, D.C., where a phalanx of Jewish groups had coordinated to express their anger over Netanyahu’s presence in the United States.
The vibe of the group in Manhattan underscored that the future of Israelis and Palestinians needs to be intertwined, the Occupation must end, and Bibi and his cabinet of “Crime Ministers” have to go.
Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, leader of Lab/Shul NYC and a speaker at many of the actions I have attended, encapsulated this vision. After returning from another month spent in Israel, he thanked everyone for “being here with your presence.” Lau-Lavie pointed out that while Netanyahu was delivering his speech, Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli Maoz Inon (who lost his parents in the October 7 attack) were speaking with members of Congress and “delivering a different message.”
In contrast to the Netanyahu approach, Lau-Lavie said, “It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s not either/or. Focus on what’s working.” He spoke about those Israelis who have lost empathy and have adopted a “mine at the expense of yours” point of view. Rather than a concept of connection that is intertwined, many of the Israelis he dialogued with were “focused on their own pain.” Yet, he noted that he was at the largest peace demonstration in Tel Aviv that he had ever witnessed. “We may not be the majority, but we are still showing up.”
Lau-Lavie asked individuals in the crowd to shout one word, defining why they were there. Responses encompassed “justice, love, hope, pain, and humanity.” He said, “I’m here today because I love the country I was born in. I will not agree to give it up in the name of haters. Let’s expand the circle because right now, it’s a fistfight. We’re standing up to say there’s a better way.”
Fort reminded everyone about the Sunday weekly event and urged them to come and bring three friends. “We have to make it clear to the American people that we don’t support Netanyahu.”
The group began to disperse. I spoke with Charlotte Phillips, the Chairperson of Brooklyn for Peace, who held a sign that read, “Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war.” Her thoughts about Netanyahu in Washington were succinct. “Bibi’s invite was totally inappropriate. He’s a war criminal.” Shaking her head, she said, “The war has to stop. Occupation must end. Our government has to stop sending weapons [paid for by] our tax dollars. There must be a way found for people to live together. There still can be a way.”
The final person I interviewed was Zohar Tirosh-Polk. She was in Kings of Israel Square when Rabin delivered his final speech and has been an activist since. She posited that Israel has been in crisis from that time and ascribed “a major role” to Netanyahu for the nation’s deterioration.
“There are many roads to peace,” Tirosh-Polk emphasized. “Everyone from the River to the Sea gets to have their narrative and rights honored. Now there is an urgent call for bridge building against polarization and for people to believe in a joint vision.”
As time runs out for the Israeli hostages and the Palestinians in Gaza, one can only wonder how long it will take for another reality to take hold.
“Not one more drop of blood. War has no winners.”
Photos: Marcia G. Yerman
