Protest at U.N. demands restoration of historic Palestine

By Bronx Antiwar Coalition

The Bronx Antiwar Coalition called for and held a demonstration at the United Nations in New York City on Nov. 20 aimed at reviving and centering once again the fundamental position of anti-Zionism. The demonstration’s core demands included the total dismantlement of the Zionist state and the restoration of a single free state of Palestine. 

The organizers attempted to deliver this list of demands to the U.N. but were denied entry. The coalition will continue to raise the demand for a single Palestinian state with a follow-up event in the Bronx. As of Nov. 21, over 20 organizations and 300 individuals have signed the petition.  (http://bit.ly/restorehistoricalpalestine)

Two of the talks given during the rally are reproduced below:

‘Never again’ means for all

The following is from a talk by Janet, a Jewish organizer with the Bronx Antiwar Coalition.

Thank you all for coming! It’s now been 45 days since this human rights horror  exploded on Gaza.  I can’t begin to articulate the respect I feel for all of you, marching and engaging in acts of “good trouble” and civil disobedience. It’s tiring, I can attest to that.

But the 2.3 million people in Gaza — half of whom are children — need our voices raised. This isn’t a trend; lives and futures are on the line. Every moment more innocent Palestinians die. Hospitals are attacked. Schools. People forced to walk a Trail of Tears along unsafe “evacuation routes.”

As of today, over 11,000 civilians — including 5,000 children — have been murdered by Israel.

As a Jewish kid, I often heard the question asked in my synagogue: how could so many have stayed silent during the Holocaust?  What we’re seeing now is a holocaust wreaked by Israel. Given their claim to be a “Jewish state,” they should know better. And what they do now has nothing to do with “Jewish values.” Zionists do not — and never did — speak for us.

Ethnic cleansing is always evil. “Never again!” doesn’t mean “Never again for us,” but for all.

The constant refrain we hear now is “cease-fire.” That’s vital, but not enough. We need to address the cause itself.

Keep up the momentum

If we don’t — I guarantee — Israel and the U.S. government (Democrat and Republican) will use a cease-fire to claim everything is fixed. That there’s nothing to see now; we should just disperse; let momentum die and sweep the continuing holocaust of Palestinians under the rug.

If that happens, death and suffering will continue.

As it will if the “two-state” solution isn’t debunked. The two-state solution is a fraud, an attempt to institutionalize past injustice, which enables more violence by Israel. Israel has never been serious about two states — they admit that in rhetoric you hear from Zionists calling for “Greater Israel.” Such a so-called “solution” gives Israel a convenient border to shoot over, isolating its victims.

And a two-state solution denies Palestinians the right to return. Separate but equal doesn’t work; we in the U.S. know what an injustice that is. Stolen land deserves restitution. All Palestinians — in Gaza, the West Bank and refugees in other nations — have a right to return home to historical Palestine and be granted equal citizenship and rights.

Without justice, there can be no peace! So today’s petition calls for two things:

The arrest of the war criminals responsible for this horror: Netanyahu, his cabinet and top commanders of the IDF/IOF (Israeli Defense Forces/Israeli Occupation Forces). In the spirit of the Nuremberg [Trials], all should be remanded for international trial, along with any U.S. government official complicit in this genocide.

And we call for the immediate implementation of justice, democracy and restitution for Palestinians. In other words — a single state.  States don’t have a “right to exist.” People do.

Thank you all for being here. History is watching. It will judge us if we don’t speak and act now.

Unwavering solidarity with Palestinian resistance

The following is from a talk by Richie Merino, an organizer with the Bronx Antiwar Coalition and member of Workers World Party.

We find ourselves in a situation where a mere cease-fire is insufficient to address the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. To achieve true and lasting peace, we must consider a comprehensive solution. This solution entails dissolving the Zionist Israeli state and returning all land to Palestine.

Recently, Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, made a statement that underscores the gravity of the situation. He declared that the state of Israel could no longer accept the existence of an independent entity in Gaza.

It is becoming increasingly clear to the global population that the existence of the Israeli state – a terrorist settler-colonial project – cannot be tolerated.

The genocidal Zionist Israeli project must be completely dismantled, and those officials directly responsible for its implementation, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, along with their enablers in the successive U.S./European regimes, must be held accountable and brought to justice.

It is crucial to recognize that any other solution falls short of what is needed. If we genuinely desire peace, it is essential to acknowledge that Israel poses a significant threat not just to West Asia but to global peace as well. The surrender and defusing of their nuclear weapons should be a priority, as we can no longer overlook their blatant disregard for international law.

Israel’s genocidal, military onslaught against Gaza cannot be justified by claiming self-defense against the very people whose land they occupy. As the United Nations Special Rapporteur has aptly explained, Israel cannot claim the right of self-defense in a territory that it colonized and keeps under belligerent military occupation.

Supporting the right of the Zionist state to continue to exist is equivalent to supporting this genocide. According to international law, colonial occupations have only one right: the right to dissolve. It is clear that the two-state solution was never viable, and rewarding Zionism with land is not a just solution. Therefore, it is time to dissolve Israel once and for all and restore the land and homes to the rightful owners: the Palestinian people.

The Bronx Antiwar Coalition stands in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian resistance and supports the liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea, by any means necessary. We demand the total and complete dismantling of the Zionist Israeli state and the implementation of a “one-state solution” that includes the right of return for Palestinians.

Historic Palestine, as a secular state where all religious and ethnic groups can live with equal democratic and human rights, must be restored. Additionally, we will continue to advocate for a new Nuremberg [Trial] to hold the U.S. and Israeli governments and current/former military members accountable.

Strength and victory to the resistance!

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!