In the lead up to the announcement, various Bronx politicians had joined different rallies and events around the country in recent weeks, defending their respective views on how the situation should best be addressed. As reported, the latest violence broke out in the region after Hamas attacked several locations in southern Israel on Oct. 7, and kidnapped around 240 Jewish hostages.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and others in Congress announced, on Wednesday, Nov. 15, an expansion of a collective of congressional representatives who had been pressing the Biden administration for a bilateral ceasefire to bring an end to the latest violence in the region.

 

“Today, we are announcing an expanded coalition of 24 members of Congress pressing the Biden administration for a bilateral ceasefire in Gaza on the basis of grave violations of children’s rights,” the congresswoman wrote on social media. “Proud to co-lead with partners @BettyMcCollum04and @RepMarkPocan.” The letter announcing the expansion is attached and can be read in full below. 

 

Two days prior, on Monday, Nov. 13, Ocasio-Cortez, other congressmembers, faith leaders and congregants joined Jewish group, “Rabbis for Ceasefire Now,” on the U.S. Capitol lawn to call for a ceasefire in the region. The calls came amid mass protests seen in cities across the world in recent weeks, including in New York City and in The Bronx, during which thousands have also called for an end to the violence.

Other rallies organized by the Jewish community had also been held in The Bronx, and elsewhere around the City and the world, to call for the release of the Jewish hostages kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, including one rally held in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Nov. 14, attended by thousands.

 

Among them were Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), a Jewish Democrat who represents the northwest Bronx, Council Member Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), who is also Jewish, is the assemblyman’s son, and a Democrat who represents much of the same area of the northwest Bronx. 

 

Also in attendance at the D.C. rally were Democratic Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) who represents parts of The Bronx and northern Manhattan, U.S. Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is also Jewish, and who represents New York, U.S. Congress Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents parts of Brooklyn, and Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15), who represents the northwest Bronx and a large additional section of the borough stretching all the way to the South Bronx.

The assemblyman later wrote after the rally, “On Tuesday, a massive gathering of hundreds of thousands of Jews and supporters of the Jewish community took place in Washington, D.C. during the “March for Israel” rally. With as many as 300,000 people in attendance, it is probably the largest pro-Israel rally ever. The rally was to show massive support for Israel, to demand the release of the hostages, and to speak out strongly against antisemitism.”

 

He said participants at the march spoke out against antisemitism, and several speakers expressed compassion for innocent Palestinians affected by the ongoing conflict. “Alana Zeitchik, a speaker at the event, emphasized the coexistence of empathy for both Palestinian and Israeli families, citing the suffering experienced by her own family, six members of whom are still held hostage,” he wrote.

Hamas denied the allegations, as well as those which allege the group is using ordinary Palestinians sheltering in the hospital as human shields. Reuters also reported that Al Shifa Hospital has been evacuating patients and staff since Israeli troops swept in last week.

 

Meanwhile, addressing those gathered on Monday, Nov. 13, at the D.C. gathering, Ocasio-Cortez said she was comforted to be surrounded by members of the Jewish community. “I went to public school, grew up, went to public school in Westchester County, with a lot of precocious and compassionate kids, which is to say I had a lot of Jewish friends,” she said, amid some laughter from the crowd.

“I grew up with great fellowship with the Jewish community,” Ocasio-Cortez added in part. “When I think about the things that the Jewish families, my Jewish friends, my Jewish community taught me growing up, how they shaped me, is that the unconditional centering of value of all human dignity and life is one of the most Jewish things in the world.”

 

The congresswoman continued, “The idea that calling for a ceasefire would somehow be antisemitic is actually so upside down. It’s actually contrary to the values of this community that helped raise me, frankly. I think so much about where we are, in this moment, the courage that it takes to speak up in this moment, and the urgency of this moment. I think about the language that is being used in this moment. Over 4,000 children have been killed, over 10,000 people have died, in addition to the horror of the 1200-1400 lives that have been taken on October 7th, as well.”

The congresswoman continued, “And so when folks try to say and malign about what [a] ceasefire may imply, let’s make it crystal clear tonight what [a] ceasefire means. Ceasefire means release the hostages, all the hostages! Ceasefire means stop the bombardment now! Ceasefire means defend the innocent! Ceasefire means transcend cycles of violence! To me, in that sense, ceasefire is not just real politic, it is spiritual.”

 

She added, “We are being called to be higher than our history. We are being called to transcend the tit for tat. We are being called to transcend the sanitation of atrocity. We are being called to center human value and human dignity above all else. That is what ceasefire now means.”

Ocasio-Cortez said she and others would not back down and would not be afraid. “We will demand more of our president. We will demand better of our president. Ceasefire is not just an option. It is our only way out of this. Ceasefire means there is no military solution, only a diplomatic solution, a relational solution, a reckoning with ourselves and our history. That is what ceasefire now means and I will never, ever ever back away from those values.”

She later wrote on Twitter, “Grateful to have joined ‘Rabbis for Ceasefire’ tonight.” She added, “Ceasefire means release the hostages. Ceasefire means stop the bombardment. Ceasefire means defend the innocent. Ceasefire means transcend cycles of violence. Ceasefire is not just an option. It is our only way out of this.”

On Friday, Nov. 10, more pro-Palestinian protests had taken place in Manhattan and elsewhere.

 

Posters of Jewish hostages were seen partially ripped from poles outside The New York Times building, located on Eighth Avenue and West 41st Street in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 11, after Palestinian protestors had reportedly thrown fake blood on (and perhaps outside) the building during one protest, seemingly in continued opposition to the newspaper’s coverage of events in Israel and Gaza.

 

On the other hand, The Times had also been castigated by some in the Jewish community for previously misreporting that the fatal bombing of al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza had been carried out by the Israeli army. It has since walked back the report.

 

Some paint markings in red were still visible on the sidewalk and on the street outside the building on Nov. 11, including a word possibly spelling “Jews” and nearby, red arrows seemingly pointing towards the building.

“Free Palestine” was also written in white chalk on the sidewalk in front of the building, as was “F*ck… [something else to faint to decipher].” Most of the fake blood had been cleaned up by the following evening and a barrier had been erected outside the door of the building.

 

Meanwhile, the NYPD closed down Grand Central Station to prevent pro-Palestinian supporters from entering. The glass section of one of the doors to the station was seen boarded up on Nov. 11, after the glass had been kicked in, as seen in footage captured on social media.

On Wednesday, Nov. 22, following the announcement of the ceasefire, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who represents New York, released a statement, saying, “I am thankful that a deal has been struck to allow 50 hostages to be released and returned to their families. Securing the release of hostages has been a top priority for me and the Biden administration since Hamas launched this brutal attack.”

 

The senator said that over the past month, she met with families of hostages many times, listened to their stories and shared their grief. “I am grateful that for some, they will be reunited and can start the process of healing from this terrible ordeal. However, while this agreement is encouraging, I will not rest until every hostage is free and reunited with their loved ones.”

Gillibrand said the ceasefire agreement was also important in that it would pause hostilities and enable additional humanitarian aid into Gaza for innocent Palestinians civilians, who she said had suffered greatly in the wake of the conflict. “The Senate will continue working to deliver additional humanitarian assistance for these innocent men, women and children, as well to deliver aid to support Israel during this conflict,” she said.

 

She concluded, “I want to thank the Biden administration for its tireless dedication to bringing these hostages home. I know President Biden will not stop working until every hostage is released and I stand ready to assist him.”

Recent approval polls indicated that support among some Democrats for U.S. President Joe Biden had plummeted amid the outbreak of the latest violence in the Middle East, only one year away from his presidential reelection bid. Some have accused his administration of supporting “genocide” in Gaza, adding that the administration’s support of the bombing of Gaza by Israel is out of step with the wishes of regular Americans who say they prefer to have their tax dollars spent on education, healthcare and other domestic concerns.

 

Internationally, meanwhile, many in Northern Ireland, and elsewhere, see the situation in Gaza as being similar to the former occupation of Northern Ireland by the British army over many decades until a ceasefire was finally brokered with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in August 1994, and the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, bringing relative peace to the region for the last 25 years. Northern Ireland still remains part of the United Kingdom, though calls for Irish unity have been strengthened since Brexit, and continue to gain momentum.

 

Biden, an Irish American and longtime supporter of The Good Friday Agreement, has been unwavering in its defense, including during the recent Brexit negotiations over the so-called Northern Ireland protocol and backstop. Meanwhile, support for Palestine among nationalists in Northern Ireland, and to a degree in the Rep. of Ireland, has potentially placed the president in a tricky situation with his Irish American base as he, no doubt, also seeks to maintain the approval of the U.S. Jewish population.

 

To read our previous coverage on the local impact of the latest tensions in the Middle East, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here,  as well as a recent op-ed.

 

For those wishing to donate to help humanitarian efforts in the Middle East, UNICEF is coordinating aid for those affected by the conflict. Visit https://www.unicefusa.org/.