Police arrested a group of Jewish demonstrators Monday for obstructing the entrance to the Israeli consulate in Chicago as they demanded a ceasefire in Gaza, The Associated Press reported.
Ben Lorber, one of the organizers, claimed that over 100 individuals were arrested for blocking the escalators leading to the consulate during rush hour and now face misdemeanor trespassing charges, according to AP. Chicago police did not immediately specify the exact number of arrests, the outlet reported.
The demonstration was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, IfNotNow and Never Again Action, with the people traveling from across the Midwest to attend, per AP.
Live from the largest gathering of Midwestern Jews in solidarity with Palestinians in history. We’re outside the Israeli consulate, Jewish tradition tells us that saving one life is equal to saving an entire world. Israel & President Biden- are you listening? #CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/N1seTtvWy8
— JVP Chicago (@JVPChicago) November 13, 2023
“We will not let a genocide happen in our name,” Clara Belitz of IfNotNow Chicago said during a live stream from the protest, the outlet noted. (RELATED: Police Arrest 20 Ivy League Students At Pro-Palestine Protest)
This demonstration is one of several recent actions, including sit-ins in New York City and Washington, D.C., where similar groups have gathered to voice opposition to Israel’s military response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, which left over 1,400 Israelis dead and nearly 250 as hostages. Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry claims that 11,000 Gazans have been killed since the war began, though U.S. officials and other observers have cast doubt on that figure, The New York Times reported.
Police make arrests of protesters inside Accenture Tower in Chicago, with chants of “Free free Palestine!” and “Ceasefire now!” from demonstrators sitting on escalators inside the building, which houses the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest pic.twitter.com/TAs0nIKyGe
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) November 13, 2023
The organizers noted that “progressive Jewish communities [in the Midwest] are far smaller and separated by distance,” per the AP.
Other elements of the Jewish community have organized their own demonstrations in support of the Israel’s war against Hamas.