South Paterson business district becomes a ghost town. Why did the shops all close?
In South Paterson, stores, restaurants, bakeries and pharmacies went dark Monday. On block after block, metal gates were pulled down over storefronts and "closed" signs turned outward.
Business owners hung signs in doors letting the public know that they had closed in support of the “Global Strike for Gaza,” an international one-day effort to call for a cease-fire.
“The situation in Gaza has hit home for us in an intensely personal way,” said Amjad Abukwaik, who had shuttered his business, Sheefa Pharmacy, on Palestine Way. “Our decision to close our doors today is a solemn acknowledgement of the human toll of the conflict and a small gesture of solidary with those who continue to endure unimaginable hardships.”
Abukwaik, who lost 30 members of his family in Israeli airstrikes, said the decision to shut down business “was not a political statement, but a human one.” He joined business owners Monday at Gould Park to call for an end to the bombardment of Gaza and for the U.S. to take concrete steps toward lasting peace.
The massive shutdown of business was an unusual sight in the normally busy shopping and dining district, which had not felt this deserted since the days of COVID lockdowns. The strike, initiated by Palestinian activists and grassroots organizations, comes just days after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution calling for a cease-fire.
Activists and strike supporters shared the #StrikeForGaza hashtag on X, formerly known as Twitter, urging people to stay home from school and work and to refrain from spending money.
Videos and photos shared on X showed shuttered shops and empty streets in the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. In the Detroit metropolitan area, also home to a large Arab American population, at least 100 businesses shut their doors on Monday, TCD Dearborn News reported.
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In South Paterson, known as “Little Palestine,” Syrian, Jordanian and Turkish business owners, including Muslims and Christians, joined the strike. The strike unfolded with messages late Saturday evening and on Sunday, via word of mouth and text messages.
Rania Mustafa, executive director of the Palestinian American Community Center in Clifton, said people have felt desperate about the conflict and were willing to act, "even if it means putting their own livelihoods on hold."
Ghassan Yousef, who owns Al-Quds Super Market in Paterson and Kanoon Restaurant in Clifton, said his business had dropped 40% in the past two months because people who are grieving and upset do not want to shop or dine out. Still, he did not hesitate when he heard the call to shut down on Monday.
"Even if they ask me to close for a whole month, I will do it," Yousef said. “We have to stand up together as one hand, to stand up to the people making the decisions, to stop the killings. That’s the least we can do.”
Among the crowd in Gould Park were school-age children whose parents had kept them out of school. Heyam Asmar, of Paterson, said she kept her five children home and sent notes to the schools telling them they were supporting the strike for Gaza.
“We want our kids and the community here to understand what is happening,” Asmar said.
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The Paterson school district reported a higher-than-normal number of student and staff absences at four local schools with a large population of students with Arab ancestry, Dan Juan, interim director of communications, said in a statement. In those schools, 101 staff members were absent Monday. Information on student absences was not immediately available.
“The District recognizes that the Israeli/Gaza War is greatly distressing for many of our staff and students,” Juan said. “Their right to speak freely of their feelings regarding the conflict is respected. The District would like to reiterate that it is providing emotional and mental health support to any student, family, and staff member that needs it.”
Israel has killed more than 17,700 Palestinian people in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war, say Gaza health authorities. About two-thirds of the dead are women and children. About 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced in Gaza. The bombardment followed the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, which has been labeled a terrorist organization by the United States and others, that left 1,200 dead, including many civilians.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ businesses closed for a strike. What's behind it?
