Protests across U.S. condemn Israeli massacre
By
Betsey Piette
Published Jun 10, 2010 11:21 AM
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Philadelphia
Photo: Kelly Valdez
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The worldwide storm of protests that followed Israel’s murderous attack
against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla continued the week following the May 31
pre-dawn assault, an atrocity that resulted in the death of at least nine
activists and injury to scores more who were attempting to deliver 10,000 tons
of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Protesters in dozens of cities — perhaps as many as a hundred —
across the U.S. are voicing a common demand for an end to the U.S.-backed
Israeli blockade of Gaza and an end to U.S. funding of Israel’s
occupation of Palestine. Demonstrations also took place in cities across
Canada, and major protests occurred on June 4 throughout the Middle East and on
June 5 across Europe, including as many as 20,000 people in London.
On a worldwide scale larger numbers of people than ever before are involved
both in planning new attempts to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza and in
the movement to boycott, divest or win sanctions against Israel.
Detroit
WW photo: Bryan G. Pfeifer
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Over 40 protesters gathered in downtown Tacoma, Wash., on May
31 to condemn the Israeli raid on the humanitarian aid flotilla. The emergency
protest had been organized through a series of e-mails and phone calls earlier
in the day. It included Jewish activists and members of United for Peace of
Pierce County, People for Peace, Justice and Healing and Women in Black.
Over 200 people, largely from Palestinian and Arab communities, demonstrated on
June 1 in front of the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta as part of
a protest organized by the Movement to End Israeli Apartheid-Georgia. There was
significant participation by Jewish activists opposed to Israeli aggression.
Joe Beasley, director of Rainbow/Push, attended as well as representatives of
faith organizations.
Buffalo, N.Y.
WW photo: Ellie Dorrittie
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In Cleveland 60 people including Arab youth protested outside
the office of Sen. Sherrod Brown (Dem.) and then marched a few blocks to the
office of Sen. George Voinovich (Rep.) in a June 1 action sponsored by the
Middle East Peace Forum. The two-hour protest received many honks of support
from passing motorists.
On June 2 the Jersey City Peace Movement held a very
successful, emergency vigil and rally outside Congressman Steve Rothman’s
(Dem.) Jersey City, N.J., office. Participants included N.J. Action 21’s
Narciso Castillo, recent City Council candidate Adela Rohena and JCPM president
Erik-Anders Nilsson along with other members of his organization.
New York
WW photo: Alan Roth
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After the action at Rothman’s office the protesters marched through
Journal Square with large posters in solidarity with Gaza.
On May 31, June 1 and June 4 there were protests in New York,
with 1,000 people on the last date marching from the Times Square area to the
Israeli U.N. Mission on the East Side. Al-Awda, the International Action Center
and many other organizations participated, along with a contingent from the
Turkish community carrying their country’s flags.
New York
WW photo: John Catalinotto
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In Richmond, Va., more than 75 people protested June 1 and
called on the United Nations to indict Israeli leaders for mass murder and
violation of international law. They also demanded an immediate end to the
annual $3 billion U.S. subsidy to Israel and called on Gov. Bob McDonnell to
dissolve the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board, the state’s only agency
formed to promote trade with a specific foreign country. Participants included
Arab Americans, Black activists, anarchists and representatives of local peace
organizations.
More than 3,000 people protested outside the Israeli Consulate in
Chicago on June 1. The diverse crowd included Arabs, African
Americans and Latinos/as demanding an end to the siege of Gaza and an end to
the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.
New York
WW photo: John Catalinotto
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Awad Hamdan of American Muslims for Palestine said, “We demand that
Israel stop its deadly actions and stop blaming the civilians for their deaths.
This was Israel’s fault.” Another speaker compared Arizona to Gaza,
noting that Arizona’s new anti-immigrant law is like Israeli apartheid
that oppresses Palestinians. The Palestine Solidarity Group in Chicago has
launched a campaign to pressure the city to sever its ties with Israel.
A second protest on June 2 targeted Israel’s inclusion in the Sister City
program’s 50th anniversary banquet dinner attended by representatives of
more then 70 governments. Hamdan said, “We’ve been urging Chicago
for years to drop the sister city of Petach Tikva, which was the first
‘Jewish-only’ settlement in Palestine. They haven’t listened,
and we will continue to protest.” Demonstrators also demanded that Israel
free Ameer Makhoul, a Palestinian grassroots activist kidnapped from his home
in May and tortured at Petach Tikva.
On June 1 around 350 people attended a rally outside the Israeli Consulate in
Philadelphia and then marched down all three lanes of Market
Street to City Hall. The march ended with a rally outside the offices of the
Philadelphia Inquirer, where demonstrators called on the newspaper to end its
one-sided coverage in favor of the Israeli settler state.
A number of the participants were Palestinian, mostly youth, including a
dynamic group of high school students who led the march and the chants. At one
point a small group of Zionists attempted to stop the march, but protesters
pushed right through them.
The protest was called by the Philly International Action Center and endorsed
by Jewish Voices for Peace, Brandywine Peace Community, Philly Against War,
Delaware Valley Vietnam Vets, Socialist Action and others. Several family
members of the Fort Dix Five who held a rally earlier in the day attended.
Around 500 people, including many high school and college students from the
Arab-American community, rallied outside the city hall in Dearborn,
Mich., on June 1 in a protest called by the Congress of Arab American
Organizations. The protesters challenged President Barack Obama’s policy
of continued support for Israel’s occupation of Palestine as well as the
spending of billions of dollars for an unjustifiable war on Afghanistan. The
following day the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice and
other organizations held a protest in downtown Detroit outside
the federal building.
Dozens of protesters gathered in downtown Indianapolis on June
2, holding signs and waving Palestinian and Turkish flags. Many held candles to
mourn the nine activists killed onboard the flotilla.
Abraham Alfaran, who has family in Gaza, stated, “It brings tears to my
eyes to see the children die and to see the people who are trying to feed the
unfed, the people that are under siege, lose their lives.” Jessica
Neisley, who spent three months in Gaza in 2004 with the International
Solidarity Movement, also spoke.
On June 5 over a thousand protesters rallied and marched in downtown
San Francisco. The demonstration was organized and endorsed by
a broad coalition of anti-war, labor, community, Palestinian and solidarity
organizations.
Cristina Gutierrez, speaking for the local San Francisco immigrant rights group
Barrios Unidos, expressed her community’s solidarity with the Palestinian
people. “As an immigrant, I walk hand in hand with the
Palestinians,” Gutierrez stated.
Husam Zakharia, a young Palestinian activist, made the connection between the
reactionary forces supporting the anti-immigrant law SB 1070 in Arizona and the
leaders of Israel who attacked the flotilla. “The same forces that are
dragging immigrants out of their communities at home are killing the people of
Palestine,” he said.
Jack Heymann, a labor activist and Executive Board member of Local 10,
International Longshore Workers Union, brought solidarity greetings from his
union. He noted that the longshore workers have a rich history of fighting
against repression. In the U.S., ILWU locals refused to load cargo bound for
South Africa to protest apartheid. “In June 2009, dockworkers in Durban,
South Africa, refused to load an Israeli ship to protest the massacre of 1,500
Palestinians in Gaza,” Heyman stated.
Chanting, “Occupation is a crime from Iraq to Palestine!” the
demonstration marched up Market Street and ended at the Civic Center.
Gloria Rubac, Bev Hiestand, Martha Grevatt, Dianne Mathiowetz, Phil
Wilayto, Kris Hamel, Judy Greenspan and others contributed to this
article.
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