Pro-Palestinian protesters roar through New York City in giant Labour Day march
It should have been a quiet public holiday in New York City, but anti-war activists and pro-Palestinian protesters had other plans.
Thousands of people roared through Manhattan on Monday afternoon, chanting and screaming, blocking traffic and blaring vuvuzelas as they reminded the city that a devastating war continues to unfold in Gaza.
And as has been the case since protests against Israel's war on Gaza began - following the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October on southern Israel - demonstrators called for an arms embargo against Israel, a ceasefire, ending the siege in Gaza, and an end to the occupation of Palestine.
On Monday, protesters said they wanted to emphasise one more thing: they would not be distracted by election fever while Palestinians were being bombed in Gaza.
"Both the Republicans and the Democrats are bipartisan when it comes to genocide, and we won't vote for people who have blood on their hands," Nerdeen Kiswani, chair of Within Our Lifetime, told Middle East Eye.
"We're boycotting the Democratic Party. We are calling for people to understand that Killer Kamala and Genocide Joe are just one in the same."
Kiswani said they oppose tax dollars going toward the killing of their family members and are united in opposition to those universities invested in facilitating the occupation of Palestinians and profiting off the war in Gaza.
"And so we are doing just the same when it comes to the Democratic Party, and really, any party, an institution that supports genocide and calls for a ceasefire, not enough. We are not stupid," Kiswani added.
Protesters - many of whom said they had been coming for months to express their outrage - said they wanted local and federal government officials, business leaders, and university administrators to know that they would not stop making them feel uncomfortable, no matter how long the war on Gaza continued.
Read more: Pro-Palestinian protesters roar through New York City in giant Labour Day march
