A gathering of Pro-Palestinian protesters blocked traffic today about a mile away from the venue for Sunday night’s 96th Academy Awards in Hollywood.
Around one thousand protesters gathered outside the iconic, though now shuttered, Cinerama Dome movie theater on Sunset Boulevard, initially blocking one side of the famed street. By 2 p.m. local time traffic both directions had been fully stopped and police officers were diverting traffic.
“Who’s Street? Our street. Shut it down,” protesters chanted. Others chants included phrases such as “We are the intifada. We are the revolution,” and “Biden, Biden you’re a liar we demand a cease-fire.”
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Several groups, including Film Workers for Palestine, Not in Our Name and Jewish Voice for Peace participated in the rally.
“Oscar is a big day. The eyes of the world are on Hollywood,” said Sarah Jacobus of the LA chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.
“Hollywood plays a central narrative in shaping the culture and that includes the mythologies around Israel. we need our filmmakers and our artists to speak out.”
“This is not the time for business as usual,” Jacobus said in response to being asked if causing traffic delays was the best method to get their message across.
Many protesters were specifically focused on the densely populated city of Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Sunday that he intends to continue with plans for an offensive in the city, despite President Joe Biden calling an assault on Rafah a “red line.”
“You know, I have a red line,” Netanyahu said Sunday. “You know what the red line is? That October 7 doesn’t happen again. Never happens again. And to do that, we have to complete the destruction of the Hamas terrorist army.”
“A genocide cannot be perpetrated in the name of Jewish people, and certainly not in the name of My Family, said Miguel Camnitzer of the same group.
“We cannot allow a celebrity award show and spectacle to distract us from what’s really at stake, which is tens of thousands of lives potentially being lost if we don’t do something,” said Camnitzer.
By 3 p.m. local time, the protesters were on the move toward the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard where the Oscars will be presented, blocking traffic along the way. While guests are already arriving for the famed red carpet, the official program for the annual award show is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. pacific time.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.