Protests for Palestinians in Gaza block roadways in U.S. cities

Demonstrators in the United States launched protests on Monday in locations from Seattle to Philadelphia. Videos show protesters holding up banners to block cars from crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and flooding the Block Shopping Center in downtown Los Angeles. Demonstrators in nearby Oakland chained themselves to eight 55-gallon drums filled with cement, shutting down Interstate 880. Protesters in Illinois similarly formed a human chain to block Interstate 190 outside O’Hare International Airport during the morning rush hour. Passengers could be seen leaving cars with suitcases and walking around the protest to make their flights. Protesters in New York blocked traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge and launched 16 protests on Monday, according to a statement by NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell.

Were there international protests? In Canada, protesters flooded the streets of Alberta’s capital of Edmonton, calling for an arms embargo on Israel. Protesters in Ireland rallied outside the Shannon airport. They called for a boycott of Israeli goods while wearing blindfolds and being tied together with rope in a line. Crowds marched in Copenhagen, Denmark, with drums, flags, and banners, calling for an immediate cease-fire. French demonstrators took a more passive approach, opting to dye water red in the Bartholdi Fountain and plant thousands of miniature Palestinian flags.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about an airman protesting the war in Gaza by fatally lighting himself on fire in February.