From the Ocean to the Harbor, Staten Island is Quiet no Longer
Community members disrupted Staten Islanders' routinous commute, decrying Benjamin Netanyahu's forthcoming address to a joint session of Congress.
On July 15th, a muggy Monday morning, as commuters were boarding the 8:00 AM Dorothy Day ferry to Manhattan, a group of Staten Islanders took over several balconies in solidarity with Palestine. These organizers represented groups like the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Shut it Down for Palestine coalition, and Staten Island 4 Palestine.
The action was appropriate considering the vessel's namesake, as SIFerry.com notes, 'Dorothy Day was an American journalist, social activist, and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic Christian without abandoning her social and anarchist activism.'
Community members brandished banners reading “Arrest Netanyahu, War Criminals are not Welcome Here”, “Free Palestine, From the River to the Sea”, and “From the Ocean to the Harbor, Staten Island is Quiet no Longer”. As Staten Islanders boarded below, they were welcomed by chants of “Free, Free Palestine”, a speech by Leila Hegazy, and an invitation to march in DC for the Arrest Netanyahu protest on July 24 with the Staten Island 4 Palestine coalition.
On July 24th Americans, including Staten Islanders outraged by the mass murder continuing in Palestine, will converge on the Capitol Building to hold the war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu as he addresses a joint session of congress for the fourth time - more than any other foreign leader, including Winston Churchill.
-Leila Hegazy
Despite a ferry worker attempting - and failing - to snatch one of the banners, organizers held their agitation as the morning crowd boarded. Eventually activists were kicked off of the vessel by NYPD, claiming the ferry captain had requested they leave, and that their continued presence was trespassing. This was in stark contrast to activists' June 6 banner drop on the ferry where they were allowed to remain so long as they did not interfere with the ferry announcements, suggesting Staten Island Ferry staff and police were more prepared for the action the second time around, or that free speech rights are up to the whims of each vessel's captain.
Members' spirits were not broken by the NYPD setback, as they pivoted to a second location over the ferry terrace with renewed enthusiasm.
Thousands are expected to attend the July 24th Arrest Netanyahu demonstration. You can find a bus near you here.
