About 40 protesters from Jewish Voice for Peace Rhode Island gathered in front of Senator Jack Reed鈥檚 (D-R.I.) Providence office at 8 a.m. Thursday to demand that he call for a ceasefire in Gaza, stop supporting military aid for Israel and restore funding for humanitarian aid organizations like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which the Biden administration after allegations that some UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 attack on Israel.
The demonstration marks the latest in a series of pro-Palestinian protests staged by JVP R.I. amidst a growing national movement opposing U.S. aid to Israel and calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Protesters held large banners reading 鈥淛ack Reed Block Biden No More Weapons to Israel鈥� and 鈥淓nd Genocide.鈥� They handed out pamphlets, provided food and attracted passersby to join the demonstration in Kennedy Plaza. Two cars from the Providence Police Department were stationed across the street from the demonstration.
Picketers chanted, 鈥済enocide Jack, what do you say? How many kids have you killed today?鈥� as well as 鈥渟top the killing, stop the hate, Israel is an apartheid state鈥� and 鈥渞esistance is justified when people are occupied.鈥�
Organizers noted Reed鈥檚 role in decisions regarding military aid due to his position as . Jackie Goldman, an organizer for JVP, said that motivation for the demonstration also came from Reed鈥檚 support for a recent $95 billion foreign aid package that provided $26 billion in aid to Israel.
鈥淭hat money should really be going to humanitarian aid or things to help local Rhode Islanders,鈥� Goldman said. In January 2024, the World Bank and the United Nations approximated the cost of damage to critical infrastructure in Gaza at $18.5 billion.
In on March 19, Reed said that the U.S. would 鈥渃ontinue to support Israel as it works to degrade and defeat Hamas,鈥� but added that he has 鈥渄eep reservations about the conduct of this war.鈥�
Unruh wrote in an email to The Herald that 鈥淩eed has called for Israel to drastically change its tactics, for Hamas to release the hostages and more aid for Gaza鈥檚 civilians.鈥�
鈥淲hat Senator Reed fails to mention is that his words are empty,鈥� Goldman wrote in an email to The Herald. 鈥淚f he were responsive to constituents, he would take serious action to stop the Israeli assault on Gaza,鈥� they added.
Organizers from JVP R.I. said they have tried to engage with Reed directly, but have not been able to meet with him personally. Danya Reda 鈥�99, an organizer with Vote Uncommitted R.I., shared her discontent at his office鈥檚 responsiveness to constituent concerns. Reda met with members of Reed鈥檚 staff in November and January. Each meeting took a month to schedule, she said.
Reda also expressed frustration with communications between meetings. 鈥淪ince that meeting in January, we haven't heard a single word from them,鈥� she added. Reda noted that organizers 鈥渇ollowed up just this past week 鈥� two separate emails with specific questions鈥� and have so far received 鈥渘o response.鈥�
Senator Reed is 鈥渃onstantly hearing from and meeting with Rhode Islanders,鈥� Unruh wrote.
Four of Reed鈥檚 five largest donors are in weapons manufacturing, with his top donor being Lockheed Martin. Zack Kligler 鈥�20.5, an organizer with JVP RI, said, 鈥渨e鈥檙e here to remind the Senator that as much as these war profiteers can line his pockets, ultimately, at the end of the day, he works for the people of Rhode Island.鈥�
Unruh did not respond to specific questions about donations from weapon manufacturers.
Organizers referenced growing support for ceasefire, particularly on college campuses across the country. Joel Reinstein, who has been involved with JVP for about a decade, described the wave of activism as a 鈥渂eacon of hope.鈥�
When Kligler was at Brown, he was involved with organizing to pass a 2020 report from the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility, which recommended divestment from 鈥渃ompanies that facilitate the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territory.鈥� He said he sees parallels between JVP鈥檚 work and student activists鈥� calls for divestment.
Many of the demonstrators at the rally dropped off supplies for students participating in the encampment.
At the rally, Goldman encouraged participants to continue showing up at JVP events. 鈥淧alestinians want to live freely in their homeland,鈥� said Reinstein. 鈥淭here will be justice and peace when Israelis and Palestinians are living together as neighbors with equal rights.鈥�
Reinstein emphasized the extent of Jewish involvement in organizing for Palestine. 鈥淭here鈥檚 all this rhetoric to justify police crackdowns on encampments about the safety of Jewish students,鈥� Reinstein said. But, he noted, many of the organizers involved in the protests that have this past week .
鈥淎 lot of people invoke antisemitism and invoke Jewishness as a reason to keep up all of these various Zionist fights,鈥� Goldman said. 鈥淲e recognize that with our positionality, it's our job to be able to work with our congresspeople to show them that this doesn鈥檛 have to be the way.鈥�
JVP鈥檚 rally fell during the week of Passover, which 鈥渋s very much this holiday that celebrates liberation,鈥� Goldman said. 鈥淚n my mind, that is not just Jewish liberation, but liberation for all people.鈥�
Ciara Meyer is a Senior Staff Writer covering the Beyond Brown beat. She is from Saratoga Springs, New York and plans on concentrating in Statistics and English nonfiction. In her free time, she loves scrapbooking and building lego flowers.
