Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Space Needle on Sunday afternoon to demand a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
They surrounded the ticket booth and the main entrance of Seattle’s landmark tower, preventing people from going inside. But some self-service ticket booths on the side of the building still worked, and staff let people in through other entrances.
The civil disobedience action was organized by the advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace. Organizer Michael Grant said that after protesting at the Federal Building for weeks, demanding Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., call for a cease-fire, Jewish Voice for Peace was taking a bigger stage at the Space Needle Sunday afternoon.
“We’re here at the Space Needle as an iconic Washington landmark to say that there cannot be any business as usual, there cannot be visiting tourist attractions while our tax dollars are going to fund the murders of innocent Palestinians,” Grant said.
Writer Ijeoma Oluo, who spoke at the event, said the calls for cease-fire and protests give her hope because of the “amazing solidarity in such horrific times.”
“As a Black woman, it was important for me that we … recognize our shared struggle with Palestinian people,” Oluo said. “The systems that are oppressing, that are seeking to crush Palestinians seek to oppress populations of color and Indigenous populations around the world.”
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 240 hostages in its early-October attack on Israeli military bases and border cities. Since then, intense waves of Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 11,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and severe shortages in food, water, medical supplies and fuel have created a dire humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Seattle-area residents with family in Israel and Gaza have been watching the death and destruction with horror and grief. Hundreds have attended protests over the past month and a half, some urging the release of hostages and supporting Israel’s military efforts and others demanding a cease-fire and calling for the end of Israel’s occupation of and control over Palestinian territories.
On Thursday, multifaith leaders from across the state gathered at Seattle’s Henry M. Jackson Federal Building to demand a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas.
A solidarity statement from the faith leaders was signed by Seattle City Council members Lisa Herbold, Tammy Morales, Teresa Mosqueda and Dan Strauss, and state Sens. Noel Frame, Bob Hasegawa, Liz Lovelett, T’wina Nobles, Rebecca Saldaña, Derek Stanford and Yasmin Trudeau.
Many fear the Israel-Hamas war will lead to a dramatic rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and anti-Arab bigotry and violence, which the solidarity statement condemns. Those concerns have proved justified, as Jewish, Muslim and Arab community groups have noted an increase in bias incidents and harassment since Oct. 7.
Several prominent Jewish community organizations and leaders in Washington were not involved with the solidarity statement and did not sign it, reflecting how local Jews’ views about the polarizing conflict vary widely. Many support Israel’s ongoing military operations as a means of destroying Hamas and preventing another massacre.