Jewish Voice for Peace, IUPUI students gather in downtown Indy to protest Israel-Hamas war
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Students at IUPUI gathered in Monument Circle early Monday morning to protest the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The Jewish Voice for Peace and the Middle Eastern Student Association at the university teamed up for the rally called “Wake Up Indy.” The groups say they want the U.S. to stop sending weapons and funding to the Israeli government.
“The people of Indianapolis reject the use of our money to fund an ongoing genocide and will continue to show up to protest against this misuse of taxpayer funds,” organizers explained in a news release.
The release continued, saying, “For over 80 days, Gaza has been under near constant bombardment and siege by the State of Israel. Over 22,000 Palestinians have been killed, with many thousands more still missing, buried under rubble. With a lack of access to food and clean drinking water, the United Nations is reporting half of Gaza’s population is at risk of starvation.”
Multiple other grassroots organizations in Indiana are also calling for peace. The groups said they are demanding federal, state, and local leaders to call an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Around 8:30 a.m., the protesters walked from the circle to outside the building of Senator Todd Young’s office.
Nancy Kohn with the Jewish Voice for Peace says that she’s been relentless in calling local lawmakers, including Young, to voice her disapproval.
“I call and write a couple of times a week to say ‘I am Jewish, and not all Jews support this stuff, please stop doing this with my tax dollars and in my name,’” Kohn told News 8. “(Young’s) response, because he, at least, writes a response, is ‘no, Israel is the U.S. closest ally, and we have to give them unconditional support. But it’s like, unconditional support has given them the green light to commit genocide.”
Another protester at the rally told News 8 that he feels it is time for accountability.
“Todd Young is my representative in Congress. He says he is here to represent me and do what we the people ask,” he said. “Yet, it’s been over three months – no talk of a ceasefire from any of them. The IDF has been committing mass bombings in Gaza. It’s time that we see some accountability, it’s time that we see some action from our representatives.”
Jewish Voice for Peace has held more than a dozen protests and says they will continue to speak up until the war is over.
News 8’s Michaela Springer contributed to this report.