On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters turned out in cities across the US to demand that the Trump administration end certain immigration policies.Earlier this year, the White House instituted a “zero tolerance” policy of splitting up migrant children and their parents who arrive together at the Mexico-US border. After intense public pressure, President Donald Trump announced that the US would stop the practice, but more than 2,000 children remain separated from their families. Despite a federal judge ruling last week that they must be reunited within 30 days, the White House has said its timetable for doing so is unclear.On Twitter, Gadot shared a post written by Patty Jenkins, who is currently directing her in the sequel to Wonder Woman.
“Trying to make our film today, but Gal and I growing increasingly distracted by the fact that there is somehow not an aggressive and swift effort to reunite these kids with their parents,” Jenkins wrote. “What kind of people are standing in the way of such a thing? #Childrenbelongwiththeirparents.”Many other Jewish celebrities weighed in on the issue over the weekend.“We need more than one judge’s order to end this crisis – we need action by this Administration and this Congress to reunify all children with their families as quickly as possible and end the policy of dehumanizing families who are only seeking safety out of fear for their lives,” wrote Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman on Instagram. “Find a march near you this Saturday, June 30 and hold this Administration accountable for the humanitarian crisis it created.”Jewish actress Amy Schumer took part in a march in New York on Saturday – posing for a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt reading “joyful warrior.”“All families want what’s best for their children,” she wrote on Instagram earlier last week. “We won’t let @realdonaldTrump demonize immigrant families for sacrificing everything to keep their children safe. Stand up to say #familiesbelongtogether.”Jewish comedian Sarah Silverman has long been outspoken against the Trump White House on social media.“The difference between humans and animals used to be that humans possess reason,” Silverman wrote on Saturday. “Now it’s that animals have an instinct to take care of abandoned babies that are not their own, and humans do not.”
The protests in Los Angeles, New York, DC, Chicago and many other cities were largely peaceful, with only a handful of arrests. In Philadelphia on Friday, six people were arrested after blocking the entrance to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in the city. One of those arrested, according to several media reports, was 85-yearold Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Renewal movement.“Criminals are living in the White House, who would tear away even nursing children from their mother's breast,” Waskow said in a speech outside the ICE office, according to a video posted by a city council member. “If you need to arrest us, so be it, but remember who the real criminals are.”A separate video showed a Philadelphia police officer cuffing Waskow with a plastic zip tie and then leading him away with his cane. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer they were issued citations and then released.
Rabbi Waskow is a hero today and has been to all of us his entire life. #AbolishICE #ShutDownBerks pic.twitter.com/lDhFIhhg96
— Helen Gym (@HelenGym2015) June 29, 2018