As Biden Visits, Bay Bridge Shut Down to Demand Gaza Ceasefire and End of US Military Aid to Israel

“We are beyond grief watching thousands of our loved ones murdered by the Israeli military. There is a genocide happening in Gaza, and President Biden is hosting cocktail parties in San Francisco right now,” said Aisha Nizar with the Palestinian Youth Movement. “We refuse to stand by as our elected officials pay for and cheer on the genocide of Palestinians. Biden must call for a ceasefire now.”

A multiracial group of Bay Area residents locked arms and unfurled a banner reading “Biden Harris: Ceasefire Now” across all lanes of traffic while 200 people held a “die-in”, covering their bodies in white sheets and placards that read “11,000 dead”.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, the Israeli military has killed over 11,100 people in the past month — that is 1 in every 200 people. According to the UN, over 1.5 Million Palestinians in Gaza have been made homeless due to the carpet bombing of their homes.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said that, “The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians amounts also to a war crime, as does the unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians.”

Just last week, 3 babies on ventilators in the NICU at Al Shifa hospital died due to Israel’s bombardment of hospitals and another 36 babies had to be respirated by hand. Hospitals are out of electricity, fuel, and supplies. Gazans are being operated on without anesthesia.

Israel has severely restricted water, food, electricity and fuel from entering Gaza, and Palestinians are dying from dehydration.

“President Biden could end this genocide today, but instead, he's using our tax dollars to pay for it,” said Shana Kim, with Bay Area Palestine Solidarity (BAPS). “I was born in San Francisco, land that was also violently stolen from the Ohone people through a genocide. The billions that Biden is sending to fund Israel’s war crimes is money that we need to be using here for housing, healthcare, and education.”

President Biden is in San Francisco this week along with Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet with world leaders from across the Asia Pacifics as they gather for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. At the APEC Summit, Indonesian President Joko Widodo strongly urged President Biden to help bring about a ceasefire.

According to a recent poll, 66% of all Americans and over 80% of Democrats support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Biden is facing growing pressure from within his own administration, the state department, and across federal agencies, with many Biden administration staffers and advisors now joining calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Today’s action is part of a surge in civil disobedience around the country, including Jewish community-led shutdowns of Grand Central Station in New York City and Arab-led actions to stop military vessels from transporting weapons to Israel.


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