Two hundred demonstrators from Jewish Voice for Peace occupied Maersk Corporation’s lobby Wednesday in Midtown Manhattan, ending with 100 people winding up in handcuffs.
Protesters stormed Maersk Corporation’s headquarters just after 11 a.m. on June 11 with fury after they say the international trade company is playing a pivotal role in the ongoing war between Palestine and Israel. About two hundred demonstrators occupied the company’s lobby, charging that Maersk has been helping deliver components for Israel’s F-35 fighter jets that are used to bomb hospitals and schools in Gaza.
“Maersk is not just a carrier of goods — it is a central player sustaining Israel’s military operations. Gaza is in dire need of shipments of aid, not shipments used to slaughter,” said Jay Saper of Jewish Voice for Peace.
This comes after the Palestine Youth Movement released a report stating that this shipping company has been crucial in supplying Israel’s military by shipping components for the F-35 fighter jet program. In response to this report, a coalition led by the Palestinian Youth Movement and Jewish Voice for Peace filled the lobby of Maersk’s Manhattan offices, holding banners and signs depicting an F-35 on a Maersk cargo vessel.
As they chanted “Maersk, Maersk, drop the cargo, we demand an arms embargo,” the demonstrators refused to move from the lobby until Maersk cut its Israeli military ties.
Workers in the building became enraged, pushing some protesters and even lunging at an amNewYork photographer.
Members of the NYPD’s SRG Unit moved in after about an hour and cuffed protesters as they screamed. Some still refused to be moved and were carried away by the NYPD.
