(Daily360.com) Palestinian protesters burned an American flag in New York City on April 15. Pro-Israel people were carrying the flag as the Palestinian activists set it on fire while the New York Police Department was nearby. Officers worked to grab the flag and put out the fire. Just after that ensued, a protester screamed “death to America.”
There were many protests scheduled on the same day in cities around the country. Protestors stopped the flow of traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. Traffic to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago was also halted amid the protests.
The NYPD said 150 protesters were present and they made several arrests, but no specific number has been provided. April 15 is also the day that taxes are required to be filed and commonly known as tax day. The organizers of the protests purposely chose this day. They are requesting that the United States put an end to sending taxpayer funds to Israel. The protest demands also included a call for an arms embargo.
One organizer referred to the U.S. support for Israel as funding genocide. Protesters threw flares into the river and chained themselves to vehicles as part of the call to defund Israel. The traffic on the Golden Gate bridge was reportedly halted for five hours. The California Highway Patrol reported 38 arrests for various charges. Some protesters brought concrete barrels onto the highway and chained themselves to the barrels. The police had to use jackhammers to break the concrete before arresting the protesters.
Protesters have been demonstrating in Chicago since October 7 when Hamas issued the first attack against Israel. Since the war began, the numbers show 33,700 Palestinian deaths have occurred in the conflict according to the Gaza health ministry. It estimates that two-thirds of the deaths are women and children. The protest that blocked the roads to O’Hare prompted several travelers to speed walk and run the rest of the way to make their flights on time.
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