Cynthia Nixon, activists on hunger strike to push for Israel-Hamas cease-fire

NEW YORK — “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon is taking part in a hunger strike, alongside other activists and politicians, to pressure President Joe Biden to demand a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

The former New York gubernatorial candidate, 57, was among speakers announcing the demonstration during a press conference outside the White House on Monday, The Guardian reports. The move was initially intended to coincide with the end of the four-day truce between Israel’s military and Hamas, which has now been extended for at least another two days.

While the “And Just Like That” star’s fast will end Tuesday as she returns to New York for professional commitments, the other activists intend to fast until Friday.

Noting that she is “the mother of Jewish children whose grandparents are Holocaust survivors,” Nixon went on to say that, since the conflict began in early October, “Israel has killed more civilians on a tiny strip of land than was killed in 20 years of war in the entire country of Afghanistan.”

The two-time Emmy winner said she is “sick and tired of people explaining away by saying that civilian casualties are a routine toll of war.

“There is nothing routine about these figures. There is nothing routine about these deaths,” she said. The actor also added “a personal plea” to Biden, “who has experienced such devastating personal loss.”

She implored the president “to connect with an empathy that he has acknowledged and to look at the children of Gaza and imagine that they were his children.”

On Oct. 7, Hamas, which runs Gaza, attacked killed at least 1,200 people in Israel — many of whom were civilians — and took over 200 hostages. Over 6,000 children are among the nearly 15,000 people who have so far been killed amid the Israeli offensive, per Gaza’s health ministry. The territory’s residents have also contended with shortages of food, water and fuel for several weeks.

Nixon’s participation in the fast comes as other actors have lost jobs and representation after making controversial remarks about the conflict.

Last week, “Scream” star Melissa Barrera was dropped from the rebooted franchise after comments the studio, and others, viewed as perpetuating antisemitic tropes and promoting “hate speech.”

The week prior, Susan Sarandon attended a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City, where she also advocated for a cease-fire and said: “There are a lot of people that are afraid, afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence.” The Oscar winner was subsequently dropped by United Talent Agency.

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