People in New York City once again took to the streets to demand a permanent ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza and an end US aid to Israel. Protesters marched from Foley Square to NYC City Hall, Wall Street, and Washington Square Park to raise their demands. The protest took place as the United Nations Security Council was voting on a ceasefire resolution, which was vetoed by the United States.
The protest was called for by the Shut It Down for Palestine Coalition, composed of several organizations including the International Peoples’ Assembly, the Palestinian Youth Movement, the ANSWER Coalition, and National Students for Justice in Palestine, and dozens of other local New York City organizations.
The Middle East in general has oil and Israel is our main base over there basically, being an ally in the region. They give us a zone of control. (Also Turkey but Israel is easier to control and it’s good to have backups.)
Turkey isn’t a reliable ally in the same way Israel is. Turkey is a relatively large country that has the capacity to act fully independently of any great power, and occasionally does. Israel is much smaller and can only sustain itself with US and EU support. A sanctions package like what has been applied to Russia would likely cripple Israel and see it wiped off the map rather quickly, so they have no choice but to stay on side.
Israel is also where a large percentage of our medical equipment and I think drugs too are from.