Cynthia Nixon of Sex and the City fame has begun a hunger strike to protest the continuation of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Nixon, 57, stood outside the White House alongside a group of activists and progressive politicians on Monday calling for US President Joe Biden to push for a permanent ceasefire amid what has been labelled a ‘humanitarian crisis’ in Gaza.
“As the mother of Jewish children whose grandparents are Holocaust survivors, I have been asked by my son to use any voice I have to affirm as loudly as possible that ‘never again’ means ‘never again for anyone’,” Nixon said in her speech in front of the White House, holding a sign that read “Biden, you are starving Gaza. Permanent ceasefire now”.
“I would like to make a personal plea to a president who has himself experienced such devastating personal loss to connect with that empathy for which he is so well known, and to look at the children of Gaza and imagine that they were his children.”
Reports indicate that Nixon has planned to participate in two or three days of the planned five-day hunger strike to draw attention to the conditions of Palestinians.
She also called for a permanent extension on the ceasefire that has been underway since Friday alongside Delaware State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, New York Rep. Zohran Mamdani, Oklahoma Rep. Mauree Turner, Virginia Rep. Sam Rasoul, and Michigan Rep. Abraham Aiyash, according to Time Magazine.
“None of this is normal. None of this is routine, and none of this can be allowed to continue,” Nixon said, referencing the rising civilian death toll of Gazans during the last seven weeks of Israel’s attack on the region.
The actor-turned-politician, best known for her role as Miranda Hobbes in Sex and the City, ran for governor of New York in 2018 but was beaten by incumbent candidate Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary race. She has two Jewish children with her ex-husband and has been outspoken in her support of the Jewish community despite being publicly critical of Israel. Nixon is one of the 260 artist signatories of an open letter calling on President Biden to commit to a ceasefire.
