Anti-Israel rallies, those rallies supporting Hamas, are everywhere. They are as unavoidable as they are annoying. They block highway traffic, shut down bridges and close off tunnels. They have blocked access to airports. Their protesters have even super glued themselves to Central Park West stopping the quintessential Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Even for those people who might be sympathetic to their cause — a group to which I most adamantly do not belong — this is no way to convince and gain support and supporters.
Yet they continue.
Across the board people in New York City and Los Angeles hate traffic. They hate traffic more than just about anything else. And New Yorkers hate the people who cause traffic. This is not rocket science. Yet, those who organize these well-orchestrated protests continue to create havoc, because they, in their deluded way of thinking, are convinced that they are successful.
They are convinced that they will sway popular opinion to support Hamas, defund Israel, turn their back on the Jewish State and ultimately, annihilate the Jewish State.
The New York Post interviewed one of the protesters. Jerry, the protester, claimed that the protests, the obstruction of traffic, was justified because it brings attention to Israeli attacks on Gaza.
"They'll call us 'Hamas supporters.' Or at the very least call these disruptions 'violent.' Inconvenience is not violence," he said, adding that he hoped the demonstrations would convince US politicians to stop supporting the war.
"The city is spending a lot of money on us," he boasted. "In our system, all of our elected officials are bought, so there's a turning point where their support for anything, when it no longer becomes profitable, they flip. And that's what makes change in this system."
Well Jerry, you are wrong! So very wrong! There is no way that U.S. policy will change because of these protests. Shutting down streets will, instead, bring the ire of the citizens against the pro-Hamas traffic blockers.
Jerry is just one voice among many. These protests are very well organized. As proof, they simultaneously, successfully, shut down the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges as well as the Holland Tunnel just after 9 a.m. one morning.
In the course of that escapade, about 300 protesters were arrested. Some were simply released. They were taken to get them out of the way. Some will be issued bench warrants and will probably return to be issued a fine or a warning.
That is where the government and the rest of good people of America are making a mistake. Prosecutors and citizens must get serious, they must step in. The power of the law is with the often-masked mass protesters.
We need to bring down the full weight of the law against these protesters whose objective is to break the fabric of everyday life and disrupt the metabolism of city transit. Protesters want to make people's lives miserable, erroneously hoping to activate the citizenry to support their cause.
That very system needs to be activated against them.
Protesters should and can be charged with a long list of real crimes, not just misdemeanor crimes. They should and can be charged with federal crimes. And civil legal action should be taken against each and every arrested person.
These protests cause real harm to travelers. The harm is both monetary and physical. Emergency vehicles are obstructed and cannot get people to hospitals. Pregnant women are delayed on their way to delivery. Sick people, in need of treatment, miss their appointments. All this is physical harm.
People are held against their will, in their own cars or in city/state/federally owned public transit vehicles. That is called kidnapping and kidnapping is a federal crime.
Citizens should organize and hire lawyers to sue each protester for the harm they caused. Because of their arrests, we now know the names and address of the protesters. And because we know their names, we can investigate as to whether they gave money to groups illegally supporting Hamas in the U.S., Europe or Gaza.
That translates into "material support for terrorism" which carries serious prison time. And it is not hard to prove.
The precedent has been set.
Title 18 of the U.S. Code was originally passed to quash the KKK who were blocking interstate highways preventing Black people from freely traveling.
The Code reads: "If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or
"If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured—
"They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. ..."
It is very clear that Hamas supporting protesters are in violation of this as well as several other laws. It matters not when or why the law was promulgated. The purpose of the law was to stop people from intimidating others and preventing their movement on the roads. Prosecute them!
A slap on the wrist for trespassing or illegal assembly is not the way to stop anarchy. Federal and local prosecutors and community organizers need to step up. Prosecute these law-breaking, terrorist group, Hamas-supporting individuals.
Throw the book at them!
Micah Halpern is a political and foreign affairs commentator. He founded "The Micah Report" and hosts "Thinking Out Loud with Micah Halpern," a weekly TV program, and "My Chopp," a daily radio spot. Follow him on Twitter @MicahHalpern. Read Micah Halpern's Reports — More Here.
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