Updated Monday 8:20 a.m.
Protesters with Jewish Voice for Peace shut down Speer Boulevard Sunday as part of a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Over 100 protesters marched from the Auraria campus to the intersection of North Speer Boulevard and Champa Street, close to the Colorado Convention Center, where the Jewish National Fund USA's Global Conference for Israel has been taking place since Thursday.
The rally, Jews Against Genocide!, followed days of action from pro-Palestinian protesters who have been organizing against the conference. The Jewish National Fund was founded in 1901 and was instrumental in buying the land that is now Israel. The conference, which ends Sunday, is one of the largest gatherings of Zionists in the U.S.
This weekend's protests came in the wake of the one-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that ended on Friday.
Intensified fighting in Gaza started nearly two months ago, after Hamas militants attacked several areas in Israel, killing over 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages, according to Israeli officials. Since then, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed or wounded in Gaza by Israeli forces.
"As a Jew, I feel it's paramount that we show up in solidarity with Palestinians and that there is no way that safety for me means violence for another," said Allie Cannington, one of the protesters.
Eli Imadali for Denverite
As they marched, protesters chanted and sang: "Not in our names, not in our names."
When the group approached Speer Boulevard and Champa Street, a car stopped in the middle of the intersection. About a dozen protestors sat in a circle on the ground, connected by duct-taped tubes reinforced with metal wire. One person attached to the circle sat in the backseat of the car, meaning neither the car nor the protesters could be moved without intervention.
"We're here to shut down the (Jewish National Fund) and say no to what's happening in Gaza," Ellory Boyd, one of the protesters in the human chain, said.
Eli Imadali for Denverite
The protest shut down the intersection for over an hour.
Those caught in the traffic included people leaving the Colorado Convention Center's parking lot. Denver Police officers arrived at the scene to shut down nearby roads and direct traffic. Dozens of officers armed with paintball guns surrounded the protesters, who were chanting and praying for peace.
About half an hour into the demonstration, a DPD lieutenant announced they intended to arrest anyone who remained in the intersection for violating a city ordinance that prohibits blocking a roadway. While a majority of the protesters cleared the sidewalks, the human chain and several others who attached themselves to the rear bumper of the car with metal chains, remained.
After Denver firefighters removed the tubes connecting the circle of protesters, Denver police led them to sheriff's department vans. A total of 15 people were arrested. DPD said they face charges of obstruction of a street, failure to obey police orders, and use of prohibited obstruction equipment.
As members of the protest circle were led to the vans, the remaining protesters cheered for those arrested.
"I really commend them. It inspires me to put my own body at risk," said Zach Mouton, who joined the protest. "These are the kind of actions that have to be taken if our congressmen and our representatives aren't going to listen to us."
