As part of a coordinated effort of “blocking the arteries of capitalism and jamming the wheels of production,” anti-Israel protesters disrupted traffic at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, among other locations in the United States, on Monday.
Called A15 and centered on tax day in America, the effort involved a “multi-city economic blockade” in “solidarity with Palestine,” per the group’s site. It listed participating cities in multiple countries as well as major U.S. cities.
In San Francisco, where protesters blocked traffic for almost five hours, some “were linked together using a ‘sleeping dragon’ maneuver, in which protesters connect their arms inside PVC piping that must be cut through to separate them,” Gabe Stutman reported in J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
Sharing a news report that referred to “pro-Palestinian” protesters, Marc Levine, the Anti-Defamation League’s Central Pacific regional director, wrote that “a day after Israel is attacked by Iran, the media continues to get it wrong. These are not pro-Palestinian protestors. They’ve always been anti-Israel.”
On the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, protesters ground “traffic to a halt on its Manhattan-bound side as cops in riot gear fought to contain the unrest,” the New York Post reported.
In Chicago, a frustrated traveler who was walking with his luggage along the interstate toward O’Hare told WLS-TV, “I understand people have the freedom to do what they want but when it starts impacting me personally, it’s kind of an issue.” A mom carrying her child told the television station, “This is the last thing we wanna be doing.”
“Whatever point these protesters were trying to make was lost on the thousands of people massively inconvenienced by this woefully misguided demonstration,” stated Sarah van Loon, Chicago regional director at the American Jewish Committee.
“There is a time and place for everything, including a ceasefire. That can happen in Gaza once Hamas releases all the hostages, lays down its arms and is prevented from having a role in determining the future of Gaza,” van Loon said.
“Perhaps these protesters should direct their frustration at Hamas, for rejecting yet another proposal that could lead to a ceasefire,” she added. “Performative charades like this do nothing to advance the cause of peace.”
