“The Jews are called human beings, but the non-Jews are not humans. They are beasts.”
JEWISH Talmud: Baba mezia, 114b
PHIL PASQUINI
Protesters in Washington, DC’s Freedom Plaza decry the killing of thousands of Palestinian children by Israeli airstrikes, on Nov. 4, 2023. (STAFF PHOTO P. PASQUINI)
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January/February 2024, pp. xx-xx
Waging Peace
Responding to the mounting death toll in Gaza, a coalition of solidarity organizations held a massive “National March on Washington for Palestine” on Nov. 4. Organizers estimate that 300,000 people participated in the protest in downtown Washington, DC, making it the largest pro-Palestine gathering in U.S. history, and among the biggest for any cause in Washington in recent years. Supporters from cities across the nation traveled to DC, including Portland, Maine; Boston; Columbus, Ohio; Atlanta; Miami; and at least ten buses drove from New York City.
In a statement, event organizers said, “Israel, with the full backing of the U.S. government, is carrying out an unprecedented massacre in Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians are being killed with bombs, bullets and missiles paid for by U.S. tax dollars. This is the latest bloody chapter in the colonial project of Israel, founded with the objective of dispossessing Palestinians from their land.”
Israel’s stated military goal of eliminating Hamas has led to all corners of the densely populated Gaza Strip being relentlessly bombed, resulting in (as of Nov. 6) the deaths of more than 10,000 Palestinians, including 4,000 children.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of many speakers from a diversity of backgrounds, told the crowd their activism is important. “Part of what we do every day is defend the rights of American Muslims and pro-Palestine activists,” he said of CAIR. “Those activists who have been subjected to hate crimes, Islamophobic attacks, who have been fired from their job, discriminated against, and those whose right to speak has been stifled in schools or university campuses, I tell all of you we hear you and we are with you. You are not alone. The people of Gaza, the children of Gaza, rely on your voices and on your activism. Do not be scared, do not be intimidated. Contact our organization and seek our help.”
A large gathering in front of the White House demands President Joe Biden ceases his support for Israel’s war on Gaza, on Nov. 4, 2023. (STAFF PHOTO P. PASQUINI)
U.S. rapper Macklemore told the crowd about some advice he did not accept. “They told me to be quiet, they told me to do my research, to go back, that it’s too complex to say something, to be silent in this moment. In the last three weeks, I’ve gone back and I’ve done some research and I’m teachable, I don’t know enough, but I know enough that this is a genocide.”
Other speakers included attorney and activist Noura Erakat, writer Mohammed El-Kurd, author Vijay Prashad, representatives of the Palestinian Feminist Collective who were joined by actor Susan Sarandon, student activists from across the U.S., as well as representatives from leading Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, Black, Indigenous and other co-sponsoring organizations.
On Nov. 3, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian-American in Congress, said in a video posted on Twitter, “Mr. President, the American people are not with you on this one,” a sentiment echoed by many at the march. Attendees held signs and participated in chants referring to the president as “Genocide Joe,” and stated their intent not to vote for him in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Following the rally at Freedom Plaza, the massive crowd marched to the White House, filling the city’s downtown streets with chants for an immediate ceasefire and an end to military aid to Israel.
Similar rallies calling for a ceasefire were held on that Saturday in London, Berlin, Bucharest, Paris, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities.
—Phil Pasquini
