Weekend of Protest for Palestine in New Jersey, 12/7-9
This weekend, several protests were held demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza and New Jersey’s complicity in the violence.
Three regularly scheduled protests took place in Montclair, Leonia, and Collingswood, while NJ BURN organized a protest against the planned Tel Aviv University campus in New Brunswick.
New Jersey Peace Action hosted two weekly vigils this weekend. On Friday, a group rallied in Montclair from 4 PM to 5 PM at 2 Church Street. On Sunday, another group gathered in Leonia under the banner of “peace and justice.” Both rallies focused on opposing American imperialism in general and the genocide in Gaza specifically.
South Jersey for Gaza held the second of it’s two weekly rallies on Saturday from 12 PM to 2 PM at the Krispy Kreme in Collingswood. This protest was a success, and no counter-protesters were reported.
As we previously reported, NJ BURN (Build Up Resistance Now) held its first mass protest on Saturday. This demonstration brought together a coalition of left-wing activists, local New Brunswick residents including students, workers and the unhoused; demanding an end to the construction of the Helix Hub and the end of the plan to build a Tel Aviv University satellite campus in NJ. The event was a major success, drawing around 60 participants and taking over several blocks. Protesters handed out flyers to passersby and chanted slogans against the genocide in Gaza, police brutality, and gentrification. A sizzle reel of the protest will be released later.
Here is a recent community member presentation also opposing the Tel Aviv hub annexation – New Brunswick is asserting this principled demand with clarity.
Author’s opinion:
While protests and demonstrations are essential to raise awareness, we must go further. To truly end the genocide in Gaza, we need to disrupt the mechanisms that sustain it and build a powerful, long-term movement for Palestinian liberation. This can only be achieved through labor action at the point of production. Two major forms of labor action should be considered.
The single best way to halt the U.S.’s complicity in the violence is through direct labor strikes that target the industries and infrastructure responsible for supplying weapons to Israel. These peaceful and organized labor strikes would focus on disrupting the flow of materials and resources used in the production and transport of military equipment. Workers in key industries like arms manufacturing, transportation, and shipping can bring operations to a standstill, preventing weapons from reaching Israel’s terrorists. By hitting these industries where it hurts, we can directly disrupt the ongoing genocide. However, this will take a lot of organizing by the workers in those industries and any political strike is technically against the law in the United States. So far 6 unions have called for a ceasefire
Additionally, a general strike against the genocide, particularly in critical logistical sectors, such as port workers, could force the business community to pressure both the outgoing Biden and incoming Trump admins to declare an arms embargo. If it is a choice between keeping their businesses running and supporting the Zionist project, most bosses will choose the former. Creating a strong pro Palestine labor movement will be difficult, but our demonstrations give us a place to start. The organization General Strike US is currently trying to create the infrastructure to conduct such a strike. They have a strike card, which once 3.5% of the American population sign, they will call a strike.
Demonstrations and protests provide critical hubs for organizing, educating, and building solidarity. These actions should not only serve as a way to express outrage but as opportunities to grow a movement capable of challenging the status quo.
Local demonstrations can serve as centers for mobilization, where activists conduct workers’ inquiries to better understand the industries and sectors that are complicit in the genocide. These inquiries should investigate the logistics of how weapons are produced, transported, and ultimately used in the violence against Palestinians. With this information, we can develop more targeted strategies that hit the economic and political structures that perpetuate the genocide.
It is vital that we recognize the need for long-term organizing. Protests should not be one-off events, but stepping stones toward the creation of a mass movement for Palestinian rights and against imperialism. By focusing on direct action and political strikes, we can build a network of workers, activists, and political allies who are committed to ending the genocide in Gaza and dismantling the systems that allow it to continue.
The electoral arena is another important front in the struggle for Palestinian liberation, but a crucial one. The lawmakers in NJ are trying to silence us, which is why this publication is calling for (80 candidates) to run for state assembly on a pro free speech platform across NJ. If you think you have what it takes to run, or would like to volunteer as a helper please read the following article which details the plan and use the form in the article to join the political fight for free speech in NJ!
upcoming events:
Next Sunday, Trenton Area Democratic Socialists of America will hold it’s second biweekly protest for Palestine at the Trenton Farmer’s Market from 12-2 PM. A member of the DSA Palestine working group named A explained that the rally will be held on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month, with the goal of eventually making it weekly. The protest was born out of the need for a local action closer to home, as opposed to traveling to South Jersey for Gaza protests. While they’ve attended events in DC and Philly, they’re excited to join a local protest in Trenton to raise awareness for Palestinian liberation. According to A, the goal of the working group is to “call on all governments, companies and higher education institutions to support a comprehensive military embargo [on Israel].” They referred to this embargo as a “moral imperative.”
Jewish Voice for Peace is planning a rally in New Brunswick on Friday December 13 from 4-5:30 at the corner of Albany and George Street (one block from the train station). This protest will will demand the expulsion of TAU and an arms embargo on Israel.
