Pro-Palestine Protesters Blocked LA Freeway at Rush Hour
Pro-Palestine protesters in Los Angeles blocked hundreds of vehicles on Wednesday morning when demonstrators sat in a row holding signs demanding a ceasefire in the Middle East.
The demonstrators from the group IfNotNow, which described itself as a “movement of anti-Apartheid American Jews working to end our community’s support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine,” blocked the southbound 110 Freeway, one of the most congested highways in LA. At least two school busses can be seen stuck in the traffic jam created by the protesters, who seemingly had little regard for the people they put at risk through their demonstration.
Fox News reported that the group “chanted in English and sang songs in Hebrew, and even put up a large menorah in the middle of the freeway.”
In a video posted by Upward News on Instagram, outraged drivers can be see getting out of their vehicles and confronting the demonstrators.
FOX 11 reporter Stu Mundel described the commuters’ reaction to the traffic obstruction from a news helicopter, stating, “But the drivers – well, this is Los Angeles – and stopping the 110 freeway, tempers are starting to flare down there. You can see a lot of emotion starting to explode.”
“We actually saw a couple fist fights just take place,” Mundel added.
The reporter told viewers that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and police officers at the scene took “a passive stance on this,” and only began arresting protesters about an hour after the traffic obstruction was first reported.
Blocking traffic can have serious consequences: drivers who run out of gas on the highway will be stranded, limited water can lead to some drivers experiencing heat exhaustion, and worst of all, ambulances traveling to and from hospitals risk delays, which can be a matter of life and death.
According to a 2018 report by the Boston Herald, an 83-year-old car crash victim being transported to the hospital had to be diverted off-route due to a massive highway backup caused by protesters. At the time, Easton Fire Chief Kevin Partridge said,“Obviously their protest has impacted public safety and thankfully for this gentleman his injuries weren’t life-threatening.”
