Members of the group Jewish Voices for Peace and supporters including members of YUCCA (Youth United for Climate Action) led a demonstration outside the office of Congressional Representative Melanie Stansbury in Albuquerque on Nov. 20.
The symbolic "die-in" was a demand for Rep. Stansbury, a Democrat, to call for a ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza.
A few dozen people gathered, with some laid down on the sidewalk, wrapped in white shrouds as a clarinet played. Others laid out names of some of as many as 13,000 people Palestinian officials say have been killed in Israel's response to the attack by Hamas militants last month that killed about 1200 people.
"The job we're looking at now is to pressure our Congresspeople and our elected officials to understand that we're demanding a ceasefire," said Tanya Hyde, of Jewish Voices for Peace. "And Jews in particular do not want this killing to go on in our name."
President Joe Biden argued in a Nov. 18 op-ed in the Washington Post that, “To Hamas’s members, every ceasefire is time they exploit to rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters, and restart the killing by attacking innocents again.” Administration officials have emphasized their position that Hamas must release hostages before any pause in fighting can take place.
On Nov. 21, the cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly met to discuss whether to approve a ceasefire deal with Hamas, to allow for a prisoner exchange.
Outside Rep. Stansbury's office, Hyde condemned the killing on both sides, and Hamas's taking of more than 200 hostages, but said Israel's response has been disproportionate, adding the demonstration was timed to coincide with Thanksgiving family gatherings.
"And so you take a moment to remember that the people of Gaza can't do that. They're losing their families, they can't find their families," she said, adding that her group's number of active members has about tripled since the conflict broke out.
Rep. Stansbury did call last month for a humanitarian pause in the fighting, though not for a ceasefire.
Speaking to KUNM earlier in the day, activist Samia Assed of the Southwest Coalition for Palestine said that her organization, too, has seen an influx of support.
"Just random, everyday Americans who are very angry at what's happening," she said.
She also wants elected leaders to call for a ceasefire.
"We are frustrated beyond means with our congressional delegates and our senators who have not had a clear stance on this," she said.
Calls for a halt to the violence have intensified locally, nationally and internationally. Hundreds of federal staffers have signed letters calling for a change in U.S. policy. And on Monday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that, "We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented," since he took office in 2017.
The 2nd Congressional District's representative, Gabe Vasquez, a Democrat, has called for a ceasefire.
Senator Martin Heinrich joined other Democratic Senators Monday in calling for Israel to open its border with Gaza for humanitarian aid. Democratic Senator Ben Ray Luján joined Heinrich last month in calling for fuel deliveries to the besieged enclave.
Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez, also a Democrat, said over the weekend that while, "Israel has a responsibility to its people to remove Hamas from operational control," she supports the Biden Administration's work to achieve a temporary ceasefire.
