NEWARK, NJ: Hafsa Habehh, center, and hundreds of demonstrators take over the One Gateway building with the intent to occupy New Jersey Senator’s Corey Booker’s office in Newark, NJ on Thursday, November 9, 2023. The demonstrators occupied the foyer area with chants and speeches about ending the war between Israel and Palestine. (©2023 Brian Branch Price/TheFotoDesk)

NEWARK, NJ–On November 9, the growing global movement for a "Free Palestine" took to the streets of Newark for the Shut It Down for Palestine rally and march; the third time in under a month.

In his Black-and-White medium, Brian Branch Price, Public Square Amplified photojournalist and editor, narrates the Palestinian community's profound rage, indomitable spirit, and unwavering determination to end the war on Gaza, and he and they find a narrow space that allows him both distance and intimacy.

“The photographer uses his lens to tell a visual and impactful story that allows each image to stand alone, but as part of the full photo essay. The viewer should be able to identify the full story in each image,” said Branch-Price.

Indeed, the images are sublime: They bring us to the edge of the activists’ fearlessness on that night, challenging us to construct the counternarrative to mainstream media reports of the history of the present-day Israeli war on, and occupation of, Palestine.

Close to 500 people gathered at Senator Corey Booker’s downtown Newark office to confront his silence on what organizers and international human rights lawyers describe as “the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.” Senator Booker remains resolute in his support of Israel and has not called for a ceasefire but a “short-term cessation in hostilities” toward the goal of delivering humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

“Palestinians have suffered at the expense of our tax dollars, and we, as Americans, are saying no longer. We call on the Senate and Congress to call for an end to all hostilities in Gaza, including the siege and blockade. This is the bare minimum. We also call for an end to U.S. complicity in this genocide and financial aiding of the occupation. We will be heard, and we will make history,” said Hafsa Habehh, board member of American Muslims for Palestine.

In A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution, a summary released on April 17, 2021, Human Rights Watch found that the “Israeli government has pursued an intent to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians throughout the territory it controls. In the OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territory], including East Jerusalem, that intent has been coupled with systematic oppression of Palestinians and inhumane acts committed against them. When these three elements occur together, they amount to the crime of apartheid. Israeli authorities are also committing the crime against humanity of persecution based on the discriminatory intent behind Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the grave abuses it has carried out in the OPT.”

Lana Mustafa, a Palestinian-American mother and local farmer, brought her three children with her to be witnesses. “Children learn by example. The leaders of today are failing us and the people of Gaza. We are so privileged in the United States that we don’t even realize the extent of our freedom. We have the right to voice our concerns when our leaders lead us astray. I want my kids to know their voice matters, and I will raise them to speak out against injustice and not stand idle waiting for the next person to do something. There is a genocide happening in Gaza, and I don’t want blood on my hands,” said Mustafa.

Anthony Diaz of the Newark Water Coalition attended the rally as a partner and an observer to provide safety for participants. “The Newark Water Coalition believes that all struggles are interconnected. We lost a food supplier because we supported Palestine, which is a small price to pay for solidarity. International pressure was critical to ending apartheid in South Africa, and the same can happen here. Every organization or organizer that preaches liberation must show solidarity with the Palestinian people. [Today’s] action was to put pressure on our politicians. They are here to enact the will of the people, and we are calling for a ceasefire and an end to occupation of Palestine,” said Diaz.

In an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory dated 2004, paragraph 139 makes plain that Israel lacks the legal support for its stance of “self-defense” in its current military assault on Gaza in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas. The Opinion states, “Article 51 of the Charter thus recognizes the existence of an inherent right of self-defense in the case of armed attack by one State against another State. However, Israel does not claim that the attacks against it are imputable to a foreign State.’