Metro Detroit businesses, residents join global strike calling for ceasefire in Gaza
DEARBORN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Businesses across metro Detroit closed their doors on Monday; people called off work and school; others refused to spend any money – all in part of a global economic strike, demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
For the first time since it opened, it’s as if time stood still at Haraz Coffee House in Dearborn – no one behind the counters and no one at the tables.
A sign at the entrance stated that all Haraz Coffee locations are closed on Monday, Dec. 11, "in solidarity with Palestine."
"Today, the message is to all leaders – no matter if they’re political leaders, religious leaders– wars like this, there’s always something great that comes out of them, and the greatest thing that came out of this war was exposing the real face of all these politicians, religious leaders, community leaders who are standing on the wrong side of history," said Hamzah Nasser, the CEO of Haraz Cofee House.
Palestinian activists initiated the one-day worldwide protest. The goal is to peacefully disrupt the economy and compel government officials to demand a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and other Palestinian territories.
"The people of Palestine should be looked at the same way that the United States sees Ukraine," Nasser said. "I was watching videos of Gaza just three months ago. People were graduating, becoming doctors, teachers. And today, ninety percent of those people are gone. Everybody deserves a future."
Nice Price, a home goods store in Dearborn, had a similar sign on their door in both English and Arabic.
US vetoes UN resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza
The U.S. was the only country to vote against calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. The United Kingdom abstained from the vote.
"We have family and friends in Palestine," the owner, Ahmad Al-Hassan said.
In the past couple of months, local owners have raised money and sent goods to people in Palestine.
The temporary store closures, and sacrifice of a day’s earnings, is the next step to calling for some sort of change in the ongoing war.
"This is the least that we could do to bring awareness to what’s going on; to help stop the suffering," Al-Hassan said. "Really, this is the best way to ask for a ceasefire as an entrepreneur."
Haraz Coffee House, Nice Price, and all the other businesses that closed Monday, will reopen Tuesday.
Nasser said they will continue to send messages to political and community leaders, advocating for an end to the war.