New York protesters besiege Citigroup HQ over ties with Israel
Pro-Palestinian protesters and climate justice activists have converged outside the Citigroup headquarters in New York City to demand the US finance corporation cut ties with the Israeli regime.
The protesters also called on the company to sever its trade with arms manufacturing companies supplying weapons to Israelis, and Israeli-linked fossil fuel firms.
They blockaded every entrance of the Citigroup headquarters in New York on Friday, preventing employees from getting to work.
A multitude of protesters from across the United States are expected to converge in the city on June 28.
The protesters will travel from around the country to engage in a nonviolent demonstration outside the Citigroup building in what organizers “expect will be one of the largest mass climate civil disobedience actions in this country for several years.”
“We understand that there is no climate justice without a free Palestine,” said one of the organizers interviewed by media named Liv.
“Palestinians will be the first people to experience the harshest impacts of climate change,” Liv added.
Layla, another organizer of the protests, described the climate crisis and devastation in Palestine as inextricably intertwined.
“The corporations and institutions that are profiting off of the genocide and the ongoing war are also profiting off of the destruction of the environment and the planet,” she said.
“We know our struggles are interconnected. Our victory is one and our enemy is one,” Layla said, adding, “We have a collective responsibility to our people back home to be organized, unified and mobilized to put an end to this genocide.”
The New York Police Department formed a protective line outside of Citibank headquarters this week with its Strategic Response Group, outfitted in riot gear, arresting several protesters after warning them to disperse.
Despite the police crackdowns, pro-Palestinian protests have continued across the US, especially at universities, demanding divestment from companies profiting from the war in Gaza.
The ongoing 12-week-long protest in New York, titled Summer of Heat on Wall Street, began on June 10 and targets Citigroup and its affiliates, including its subsidiary, Citibank.
