Nine people were arrested on Aug. 13 after around 40-50 protesters blocked lanes on the 405 southbound freeway. The protesters were calling for an arms embargo against Israel and a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
According to a press release from California Highway Patrol (CHP), they first received reports of the protet at 9 a.m. north of Venice Boulevard; the lanes were reopened by 9:50 a.m.
“Blocking the 405 won’t ‘Free Palestine,’ but it will ensure that everyone hates your guts.” – Eitan Fischberger
The Los Angeles chapter of IfNotNow, a group that describes itself as “a movement of American Jews organizing our community to end U.S. support for Israel’s apartheid system,” posted on Instagram “To all those stuck in traffic, we sincerely apologize for the disruption to your day. We are especially sorry to the working class people whose lives have been affected. As a cross-class organization, we have a deep understanding of the impact of this kind of action. However, we also know that what hurts working class people more than standstill traffic is our tax money being spent on military aid to Israel while working families struggle to make ends meet in our own communities.” IfNotNow Los Angeles called for Vice President Kamala Harris (D) to “reject AIPAC’s toxic agenda and do everything possible to achieve a permanent ceasefire and hostage exchange, starting with support for an immediate arms embargo. More than 40,000 Palestinians have already been killed by Israel, with the blessing and resources of the US. Our Jewish values compel us to mourn this tragedy while at the same time fighting for it to stop. On Tisha b’Av, we remember the atrocities that have been committed against us throughout history. We cannot be complicit in enabling such similar atrocities to be committed against others.”
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IfNotNow Los Angeles also shared video of protesters being arrested.
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In a press release, the CHP said it “will not tolerate the actions of a small group that unlawfully prevent commuters from making it to their jobs, medical appointments, personal engagements, and many other daily activities.”
Update: CHP confirms 9 people were arrested and processed by the LAPD. They no vehicles were towed from the freeway. https://t.co/NnE7NXMH1j pic.twitter.com/VMwkmWIUHS
— Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) August 13, 2024
Communications expert and analyst Eitan Fischberger posted on X, “Blocking the 405 won’t ‘Free Palestine,’ but it will ensure that everyone hates your guts.” He added in a separate post that “Ceasefire Now + Arms Embargo on Israel = Destruction of Israel. It’s not rocket science.”
Blocking the 405 won't "Free Palestine," but it will ensure that everyone hates your gutspic.twitter.com/9zGt1SgNkk
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) August 13, 2024
The Math is Simple:
Ceasefire Now + Arms Embargo on Israel = Destruction of Israel
It's not rocket science. https://t.co/jDSs1mjZ8f
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) August 13, 2024
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