ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - Dozens of protestors calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war blocked a well-traveled intersection in Ann Arbor ahead of Saturday's football showdown between Ohio State and the University of Michigan.
Around 70 members of the group Washentaw County 4 Palestine gathered at the intersection of Victors Way and State Street and blocked the street with signs that read, "Land Back not Quarterbacks" and "Permanent Ceasefire," in an effort to draw attention to their message.
As stated by the group, they gathered to "demand to end the siege of Gaza by Israel."
Organizers said in an prepared statement that the legendary rivalry of the football game, dubbed "The Game," was the right backdrop to try and reach a national spotlight.
The group not only blocked the intersection, but also traffic from the highway and two nearby hotels.
"Despite the importance of the game to football fans across the country, protestors affirmed that business cannot be allowed to continue as usual in the face of apartheid and an ongoing genocide in Palestine," organizers said. "...protestors took this action to show that a temporary ceasefire is not enough..."
The group called on the University of Michigan to divest in all weapons manufacturers and other businesses "supporting Israel's genocide of Palestinians."
In addition, the group demanded:
• Michgan's Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters immediately call for a permanent ceasefire
• Our tax dollars go towards funding an apartheid project despite it being massively unpopular as shown by protests across the state and country
• Taxation without public accountability was one of the driving forces behind the foundation of this country, and it cannot be allowed to exist now. Politicians must listen to the people and call for an end to
the humanitarian transgressions of Israel.
The protest comes one day after hundreds gathered at Somerset Mall in Troy, disrupting Black Friday shoppers, and two days after protestors briefly interrupted the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade -- they both called for a permanent end to the fighting.
A four-day ceasefire began Nov. 24. The ceasefire will include the exchange of hostages between Israel and Hamas.