NYTWA Members Call for Immediate & Permanent
Ceasefire in Gaza
"War cannot bring about peace. Apartheid cannot bring about security."
New York, NY: On January 10, 2024, members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, representing over 28,000 yellow taxi, green cab, Uber and Lyft drivers, voted to join the growing global call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and growing national calls for President Biden to stop actively arming the genocide of Palestinians. As of this date, more than 23,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and thousands more remain trapped under rubble. Among the killed are over 10,000 children. Over 25,000 children have been orphaned. More than 10 children per day, on average, have lost one or both of their legs. 1.9 million Gazans are displaced by the US-backed Israeli war and face daily the threat of death by bombardment and hunger as famine looms across Gaza. Calls for a permanent ceasefire have more and more popular support among the American public. Given the role of the US in supplying Israel with weapons and our influential close ties, more civic and labor organizations, as well as editorial boards across the country are organizing to pressure the White House for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Today, the NYTWA joins their ranks.
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance released the following statement:
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance joins the people of conscience of the world to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in order to end what is an unfolding genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza by Israeli forces – financed and given political cover primarily by the United States, England, and western powers; the immediate release of all hostages by Hamas; an immediate delivery of food, water, and medical supplies and full rebuilding of the infrastructure and homes of Gaza; release of all Palestinian political prisoners, including children and adults held without charges; and an end to an apartheid occupation so the people of Gaza, West Bank and Israel may find a solution that is ever-lasting, just and peaceful.
We mourn the loss of 23,000 Palestinians and the loss of 1,200 Israelis since the October 7th terrorist attack by Hamas and Israel's escalating war on Gaza in response. As working-class people committed to a world that values humanity and peace, we call for an end to the collective punishment of our Palestinian sisters and brothers, which global human rights organizations and a filing by the South African government at the International Court of Justice have decried a genocide; a genocide being armed and aided by our US tax dollars.
We watch in horror and heartache as Gaza is turned into the world’s largest graveyard for children. More children have been killed in Gaza than in any other conflict in recent history. Hundreds of entire family lines have been killed - there are no more remaining descendants. The Israeli army has dropped more bombs than in any other conflict in recent history: over 500 non-precision 2,000 pound bombs – made and supplied by the USA - dropped in densely populated areas. There is no refuge. Refugee camps are being bombarded. Hospitals are being obliterated by bombs; and hospitals left standing are running out of supplies. Hospital workers needed to save victims of war and journalists needed to capture the ravages of war have been killed in higher numbers by Israeli forces than in any other conflict in modern history. 85% of the Gazan population has been displaced, and aid organizations warn of looming famine across all of Gaza as starvation spreads, particularly deadly for children and the elderly. Amidst this massive death and destruction, disturbing calls by Israeli officials for permanent displacement and genocide continue, and such calls remain unabated by our White House.
War cannot bring about peace. Apartheid cannot bring about security. Silence cannot serve humanity. For centuries labor organizations have built our movements based on solidarity and the basic struggle for a just, humane world. Unions are called to action in times of darkness and despair, for the solidarity of our collective humanity. War is not the weapon of the working-class and the poor; we are often its first victims. As American unionists, we have an even more pressing moral duty. Our Palestinian brothers and sisters, already suffering under apartheid in the world’s largest open-air prison, are bearing an unspeakable assault and collective punishment - all paid for by our tax dollars and the sweat of our labor. We must act for an immediate ceasefire of the bombardment of Gaza, the release of hostages held by Hamas and political prisoners detained by Israel, and a rebuilding of Gaza that is free of occupation. Further, we must remain vigilant in the fight against anti-Semitism, including rejecting attempts by any to use the conflict to stoke the fires of anti-Semitism.
We take guidance from our Palestinian brothers and sisters yearning for a life of freedom, dignity and nationhood; from the courageous Israeli anti-war and anti-occupation activists; from our Jewish brothers and sisters here at home leading the way for a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-generational anti-war movement; from the forces of peace with justice around the world including heads of states to children marching in solidarity to save their would-be playmates and fellow dreamers.
So be it resolved that we will organize for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, including taking part in marches, stoppages and boycotts; and so be it resolved we reaffirm our duty to fight the forces of anti-Semitism and the forces of Islamophobia which take deeper root as war rages on. We urge our fellow labor unions, community organizations and all good people of conscience to similarly take action, including to sign on to the labor movement's ceasefire statement of solidarity.