NEW YORK – Following the
overnight eviction of Occupy Wall Street protesters
from Zuccotti Park, Jewish protesters issued statements Tuesday morning
expressing solidarity with the movement generally.
“Occupy Judaism stands
shoulder to shoulder with the Occupy Wall Street protesters,” read a statement
released on the Occupy Judaism Facebook page. “We are outraged by [New York
City] Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg’s contempt for the rights of American citizens
and his use of public health and safety to justify beating and macing nonviolent
protesters. The mayor’s actions reflect neither Jewish, nor American, nor human
values.
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99% of America.
You cannot evict 99% of humanity.”
Members of
Occupy Judaism met with the broader faithbased contingent of protesters, Occupy
Faith, Tuesday morning at Judson Memorial Church downtown to discuss their
future course of action, including finding space for demonstrators and dealing
with the challenges posed by the increasing presence of homeless people at the
protests.
Occupy Faith groups and leaders were scheduled to meet and hold
a rally at Foley Square in downtown Manhattan, by the US Federal Courthouse,
later that afternoon, with word disseminated via Twitter and Facebook. Another
rally was set up for Thursday.
“Calling on all faith leaders to speak
out, to open their doors to occupiers and to be present for Thursday’s
mobilization,” read a Tweet sent out Tuesday morning.
Daniel Sieradski, a
protester involved in Occupy Judaism, said he felt that Bloomberg’s crackdown
attempts would only invigorate the protests.
“People’s outrage at the
suppression of civil rights feeds our movement like Miracle- Gro,” Sieradski
said.