Pro-Palestinian activists gathered on Monday evening for an impromptu demonstration in the U.S. city of New York in support of Palestinian prisoner, Khalil Awawdeh, who has been on a hunger strike in an Israeli jail for nearly six months.
He was arrested last December and incarcerated in the maximum security Ayalon Prison, under administrative detention. A doctor who has examined him said last week the prisoner is in critical condition and could die at any moment from a range of maladies.
Some 200 activists, mostly students from Arab backgrounds and members of the progressive Left, gathered with Palestinian flags and photos of Awadeh, whom they called a symbol of the resistance, and demanded his release.
The demonstration was organized by Nerdeen Kiswani, leader of the Within Our Lifetime organization, calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state in place of Israel.
Kishwani led the crowd in repeated calls: "Free Khalil, free Palestine, Zionism must fall," as the participants echoed her chants with enthusiasm.
Pro-Palestinian demonstration calling for release of hunger striking prisoner
(Video: Amir Bogen)
She said she was in communications with Awawdeh, who told her that he appreciated the group's struggle and asked that it continue, "until we triumph."
"Even if he would be freed today and would return home, the struggle will not end," she said. "All Palestinians are in danger under Israeli institutions and rule. There will be no resolution until we kick Israel out. And no, we do not agree to a two-state solution. We will not concede one centimeter of Palestine - from the river to the sea," she said.
Kiswani, who is becoming increasingly well known in New York's public life, recently made headlines as leader of the anti-Zionist protests on campuses, part of City University New York (CUNY,) a network of 25 collages and one university, spread throughout the city.
Accusing NYU - located near Washington Square where the rally took place - of supporting Zionism and the U.S. policy towards Israel, Kiswani in a call for action, demanded of those present to fight against Israel on all the city's campuses.
Kiswani, who is aware of the criticism directed against her aggressive rhetoric, said accusations of antisemitism should not deter.
"If anyone tells you that your opposition of Zionism and the State of Israel means that you are antisemitic, tell them they have made an antisemitic statement themselves," she said. "It is antisemitic to state that all Jews support Israel and Zionism. There are many among us here, who oppose Israel's existence," she said pointing at a group of radical ultra-Orthodox Jews who attended the demonstration.
A dozen or so member of the extreme Neturei Karta religious group made the effort of traveling from Brooklyn to attend the event, carrying Palestinian flags and posters hailing Awadeh. They also had signs with the words: "The state of Israel does not represent Judaism" and "Authentic Rabbis, have always opposed Zionism and the State of Israel."
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Nerdeen Kiswani, with brown scarf, talks to ultra-Orthodox anti Zionist group during pro-Palestine demonstration in New York
(Photo: Amir Bogen)
Yisroel Dovid Weiss, Neturei Karta's spokesperson, addressed the demonstrators with a keffiyeh – a traditional Arab scarf - draped around his neck.
"Even before the establishment of Israel, Zionists were seen abusing Haredi communities in Europe," he said. "How evil they were, and their plans were to carry out the Naqba (the Palestinian Catastrophe) as the exodus of Palestinians from Israel after 1947.
"This is unacceptable and has nothing to do with sanctity, spirituality or justice," he said. "All of Palestine is a big internment camp ... Khalil was taken to a torture chamber and this cannot be acceptable," he said.
"This is not about religion or Judaism," Weiss said. " What is occurring in Palestine is a war crime. So many people were persecuted and murdered over the years. Don't be afraid," he said.
"You are not antisemites when you stand up to Zionism. You are antisemitic if you remain silent and allow Zionists to speak for Jewish sanctity and for all Jews who suffered under Hitler. Our families were persecuted and murdered by the Nazis and that is exactly what the Zionists are doing. But we will continue to oppose them here and in Palestine," the rabbi told the crowd.