Yesterday, we held a vigil for the martyrs of Gaza in Bay Ridge. Members of the community, children, families, and elders joined us in reading the stories of prisoners and martyrs and the injured, in prayer, and in grief. The NYPD made their presence known; one of their drones hovered overhead recording us.

We had nothing to hide, we are proud of our struggle, as we are of all who fight against imperialism and occupation. But the question remains: Why is the NYPD surveilling the Arab and Muslim community of New York in this way? Why have we allowed this racist dehumanization to go unchecked?

What does it say about the priorities of this city, of this country that they have marshaled all the repressive arms of the state against communities who demand a better world, free of oppression and mass murder? Last year, the NYPD was caught proposing to use surveillance drones against block parties in majority black neighborhoods of this city. Also last year, Mayor Eric Adams suggested he would begin an import collaboration with Israeli drone technology companies.

The ruling class is disfigured by their hysteria and fear. They know the entire artifice that they have built risks tumbling down at the hands of the rage and grief of the city’s working class. This is why they try to stop us and this is why we refuse to be stopped.

At the end of the vigil we prayed Salat al-Gha’ib funerary prayer together as a community. It was a chance to recommit to a struggle that has not been defeated for more than 100 years. Those who joined us are the real city—beneath the gentrified neighborhoods and militarized public spaces and money laundering charities and prisons, they demand for something more.