Since Oct. 7, many thousands of New Yorkers have protested for Gaza each week. Palestinians have played a leading role, usually supported by anti-Zionist Jews, other Arabs and Muslims, and progressives and leftists.

Friday, Nov. 17, marked the second national Shut it Down! For Palestine day of action. Various groups converged at Bryant Park around 5 p.m., flooding Midtown with demonstrators. Nerdeen Kiswani, co-founder of Within Our Lifetime Palestine, led a people’s chant.

“These Zionist and pathetic platforms are not going to ever show the full reality of our people. This is why we must come out and take to the streets to get the truth out there,” said Kiswani as the group repeated the words back to her, “They will always spread Zionist propaganda and the people are above that. We know better!”

Earlier that day, around 60 CUNY students and supporters marched in front of Governor Kathy Hochul’s office as a part of the mass actions. The students called out presidents of the CUNY campuses for silencing students by promoting Zionist speakers, Islamophobia, and discrimination against anti-Zionist Jews. Students said that CUNY has been silent about Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hate speech, smearing peaceful protesters as terrorists, justifying genocide and forcing protests off campus where they were subject to heavy police presence with helicopters. (In a clear double standard, the Brooklyn District Attorney has dropped charges against Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, who openly possessed a gun at a Oct. 12 Brooklyn College Palestine action.)

“We will tell the chancellor that we will no longer be in any of his diversity-equity inclusion,” said one Palestinian speaker, “We will never be in his DEI posters — so they can no longer advertise us as the CUNY body that supports a genocide!

Then on Saturday, Within Our Lifetime, which is based out of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, held another massive protest in the neighborhood. Bay Ridge is home to the majority of the roughly 25,000 Palestinians living in New York City, and the city has one of the largest Palestinian diaspora populations outside of the Middle East. At one point during the protest, a young girl led chants.

“Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes!” she shouted into the mic. Since Israel’s 1948 occupation of Palestine, protest has been a part of Palestinian family life, both for Palestinians living in Palestine and for the diaspora.

The Saturday protest ended in a group prayer for Gaza, with Palestinian-Americans praying for their friends and family members in Palestine who are being killed with arms paid for with their own tax dollars. Meanwhile, bombs continue to rain down on the Strip in full force, and over 13,000 Gazans have been killed. Attacks on the West Bank by settlers and soldiers alike also continue advancing.

To see footage of all of this, click on the videos to the right!

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