Look: Jewish protesters stage sit-in at US federal building demanding Gaza ceasefire

Hundreds of protesters led by Jewish peace activists calling for a cease-fire in Gaza staged a sit-in inside of the federal building in Oakland, California, leading to multiple arrests.

People wore T-shirts reading "Jews Say Cease-fire Now” and carried banners that read “Not in Our Name” and “Let Gaza Live” in the rotunda of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal building on Monday evening.

Jewish Voice for Peace, one of the protest organizers, posted online that dozens of people had been taken into custody by 9 pm.

Protesters were escorted outside of the building by U.S. Department of Homeland Security police. Messages were sent early Tuesday to the department and to Oakland police asking how many people were arrested and on what charges.

“There is no other choice,” Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb of Berkeley told KNTV-TV when explaining why she was at the sit-in. “How many people do we have to kill before we arrive at a cease-fire?”

The protest was part of a growing number across the country following fighting triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel, whose response has led to thousands of deaths — and much destruction — across Gaza.

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