Response to Gaza Bombings in Manhattan

When news from the destruction of Gaza- which has claimed more than 200 lives- reached New York City, communities jumped into action.

Not wanting to waste time, an assorted group of Israeli activists came together that afternoon to hold signs in front of the consulate. Most of them knew each other from past demonstrations, but they were never united under one banner. They were members of Breaking the Silence, Anarchists Against the Wall, and Combatants for Peace back home.

Today, the day one demonstrator called "the bloodiest day of the Intifada", the Israelis found themselves without an organization for immediate response. They called their friends from home and staged a small traffic rally in Manhattan.

Sunday, the motley group will join forces with Al-Awda- a Palestinian organization with a base in New York- among others, to march from Rockefeller Center to the consulate.

Hopefully, the size of the group will increase (today saw roughly twenty demonstrators), but the civility of the police will remain. The protesters were put in a "little cage" (policeman's words), but there was no threat of arrest.

Waving signs in Hebrew and English and one-fiftieth the size of some demonstrations in Israel, these young activists have maintained their passion for justice and brought it with them to New York.