US elections 2024: Pro-Palestinian protesters condemn Democrats in New York

On Tuesday’s election night, protesters in New York came out to reject the US presidential election, calling it a farce.

Hundreds of people gathered under the towering JP Morgan and Newscorp skyscrapers in midtown Manhattan.

The band performed and the crowd chanted and sang rhythmically.

The cheerful scenes betrayed the outrage and urgency for which they had gathered.

“Remember Hiroshima. Remember Vietnam. Democratic Party, we know which side you’re on!

Organizers said they came to remind voters that while they stood in line to vote for their next president, several Israeli airstrikes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip killed dozens of Palestinians.

Organizers added that they came to remind Americans that no matter who they elect tonight – Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump – the country will still be complicit in a long war against the Palestinians.

To those who see Harris as a “lesser evil,” Nerdin Kiswani, one of the protest organizers, said, “We shouldn’t vote for Democrats. We must charge them with war crimes.”

One of the protesters, Jacqueline, told Middle East Eye that she voted for Jill Stein of the Green Party before going to the protest.

“I voted for a third party because I believe in creating a third party. But I also don’t believe this is a democracy. This is an oligarchy,” she said.

“I think Trump wants him to be open about his agenda. I think the Democratic Party is more insidious,” said Jacqueline, who asked to be identified only by her first name.

Fear of Trump

A few blocks away, on a dimly lit New York City street, a black woman emerged from one of the hundreds of polling stations located throughout the city. She said the only thing that was easy about voting was the process.

“It was a circus,” Sam Arbor* said, shaking her head.

Arbor, who is of Cuban descent, said that although she voted for Harris, she was not a fan.

“I would put Bernie (Sanders’) name in there if I could,” she laughed.

“President 45 (Trump) is very popular – and that’s why I voted for her (Harris) in case people vote for him. And I think about the way he talks about people of color, and it makes me fear for black people,” she said.

“I think there are a lot of people who are uncomfortable with the idea of ​​a woman running the country.”

But Arbor said if you ask what Harris has been up to over the past four years, she won’t answer.

“She has been part of the administration for the last four years, but you never saw her. She made almost no noise. If I were the first female vice president, you would have seen me or even my shoes. If you ask me, it’s bullshit,” Arbor said, adding, “I have a feeling he’s coming back.”

Like many others, Arbor isn’t entirely up to speed on the details of the Gaza war, but when asked about her thoughts, she leaned in and whispered, “Whatever happens, it’s probably America’s fault.”

Returning to the protest, organizers kept the energy high under the fully lit skyscrapers.

The brass ensemble lifted the mood with a rendition of the revolutionary song “Bella ciao” as economic news flashed past on the telegraph machine on the Newscorp façade.

Several dozen police officers milled around the protesters, draped in keffiyehs and carrying placards and banners, as they have at every protest over the past year. They held caps and belts in their hands, as if preparing for a riot.

But the crowd ignored them.

“Say it clearly! Say it loud! Gaza, you make us proud!” they roared.

Around 9:00 p.m. local time, as polling stations across the city closed, protesters gathered and began marching down 6th Avenue.

Across the street, near the lobby of the JP Morgan financial center, a small group of Israeli supporters who had come to confront pro-Palestinian and anti-war protesters folded their flags and went, as always, in the opposite direction.

*Name has been changed