As protests for a ceasefire in Gaza continue around the United States, the Jewish-led peace organization IfNotNow helped organize Wednesday’s protest at the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The protesters held hands to block the entrance to the building and were met with pepper spray and police use of force. “Let’s be clear that police escalated the protest,” says Eva Borgwardt, national spokesperson for IfNowNow. “Our Jewish values and our safety as Jews is extremely, extremely contingent on calling for a ceasefire now,” Bogwardt, who is Jewish, continues. She also comments on Democratic Party leaders’ resistance to and suppression of public calls to rein in Israel’s lethal assault on Gaza, as well as the role of the powerful lobbying group AIPAC in policing public dissent.
