Cynthia Nixon Says Her Son Is on 'Hunger Strike' in Support of Gaza
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Cynthia Nixon, the well-known actress, activist and one-time gubernatorial candidate, said her son is on a hunger strike in support of Gaza while pushing to halt America's arming of Israel.
Nixon made the comments during a discussion Wednesday at Newsweek's Manhattan office.
Why It Matters
The ongoing Israel-Gaza war has inflicted mass destruction, death and famine in Gaza for 20 months. At least 1.9 million people—about 90 percent of the population there—have been internally displaced by Israeli bombardments, according to the United Nations. Israel's ground and air attacks have killed more than 55,300 Palestinians, per the Gaza Health Ministry.
The U.S., Israel's top diplomatic and financial ally, provides more than $3.8 billion in annual military aid, with an additional $17.8 billion authorized since Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the full-scale military campaign in Gaza.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that the U.S. "take over the Gaza Strip," a proposal that Arab nations have unanimously rejected.
In recent days, Israel has launched a mass attack on Iran, which has diverted much of the attention from Gaza to Tehran. There is no ceasefire in the region and aid deliveries are limited, with the World Food Program warning of famine.
Protests against Israel's military campaign in Gaza and U.S. support for it have spawned in cities across the country, drawing significant attention on college campuses.
What To Know
Nixon, 59, best known for her role as Miranda on Sex and the City and a range of other acting credits, told Newsweek that her son, Seph Mozes, is "on hunger strike right now" in support of Gaza.
Mozes, 28, was just 8 months old when Nixon shot the pilot for Sex in the City. He graduated from the University of Chicago.
Nixon described him as "a quite observant Jew" who is "very steeped in Jewish Voices for Peace," a group identifying itself as the "world's largest Jewish organization standing in solidarity with Palestine." It describes itself as a Jewish anti-Zionist organization.
She added, "He and five other of his compatriots are doing a hunger strike in Chicago [since] Monday, for Gaza. 'Stop starving Gaza, stop arming Israel.'" Local reporting says the group called for an "infinite" hunger strike.
Nixon said that her son "doesn't have illusions that he's going to end the war, but I think he wants to do everything he can."
While Nixon isn't Jewish, two of her children are. "His grandparents were Holocaust survivors, and he just feels like he can't stand by and not do everything he can," she added.
She described her son as "a smart person with his ear to the ground."
Nixon herself took part in a two-day hunger strike in November 2023, during the early months of the war, to protest food shortages in Gaza caused by Israeli blockades and to call for a permanent ceasefire.
The hunger strike comes as the Gaza's Health Ministry reported that at least 51 Palestinians were killed while waiting for aid trucks on Tuesday.
Cynthia Nixon speaks with "Newsweek" at One World Trade Center in New York City on June 18.
Cynthia Nixon speaks with "Newsweek" at One World Trade Center in New York City on June 18.
Vivek Kemp for Newsweek
What People Are Saying
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said in its 2025 Hunger Hotspots report: "In all hotspots of highest concern – the Sudan, Palestine, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali – widespread and escalating armed violence is a major driver of the deterioration in food security, including Catastrophe outcomes in affected areas."
Jewish Voices for Peace said in an X post on Wednesday: "This weekend, as hundreds of thousands gathered for mass protest in opposition to rising US fascism, anti-Zionist Jews around the country made sure that the growing struggle against rising authoritarianism in the US is inseparable from the struggle for Palestinian freedom."
Eman Abdelhadi, assistant professor at the University of Chicago, said in a Monday X post: "Six leaders of JVP Chicago are launching an indefinite hunger strike today. Two of them are academics. No business as usual during genocide."
What Happens Next
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have continued across the U.S. for 20 months. More recently, anti-war protests have also emerged in opposition to potential U.S. military action against Iran.
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