“We are enablers. The United States people and the United States government are enablers of what is happening. Stopping the shipping of weapons is just one aspect that needs to be done, opening up the gates to humanitarian assistance for the starving people of Gaza, that is a must,” said Gilroy during Thursday’s press conference.
Anthony Donovan, a Catholic worker and Pax Christi member, told RNS he plans to fast for a week. Donovan, who is 73 years old, said he will mostly drink water and green juice, following a recipe recommended by FOSNA.
“I can’t pray hard enough,” he said. “That’s very important to help guide me, to let me know what the next step will be. But really, we have to walk. Prayers are walking. Prayers are action. So that’s why we’re here, and that’s why we’ve been out since October 7.”
After Israel launched its military campaign on Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, members of Pax Christi and Veterans for Peace started protesting outside the U.S. Mission to the United Nations building every Thursday.
Mary Yelenick, a member of Pax Christi International, said she joined the weekly protest to denounce the U.S. military support provided to Israel.
“What prompted me to come here originally was the images of the children in Gaza, the little children who lost both arms and both legs and both parents. We did that with our tax dollars. We did that with supplying munitions,” Yelenick told RNS.
Though she isn’t sure she will fast for 40 days, Yelenick intends to fast for a few days every week.
“Even when we fast, they don’t have access to water. So even with water, I have far more than the people in Gaza, and that’s because of our country,” she said.
This article originally appeared here.
