Freeee, free Palestine!
Freeee, free Palestine!
Free, free, free Palestine!
Free, free, free Palestine!
These words echoed through Washington D.C. as 300,000 activists, students, children, and allies chanted this and other phrases for the better part of November 4th, 2023. Despite what other news organizations may be reporting, there were not thousands or tens of thousands of protestors in D.C.. There were 300,000. I would know, I was there.
I carpooled up to D.C. with Harrisonburg community members, since EMU did not provide transportation. We arrived around noon, and many protestors were already taking to the streets. In lieu of lunch, I shotgunned a trail mix with my fiancee. Couple goals. Eventually, we made our way to Freedom Plaza where for the next three hours, we held our signs and chanted until our voices were hoarse. We didn’t intend to stay at the rally for as long as we did, but as one can imagine with 300,000 people moving in the city, there were several waves of marches. We ended up in one of the last waves. However, because of the unintentional stationary position we had found ourselves in, we heard many speakers and witnessed several powerful moments. One that I recall is seeing a helicopter flying overhead, probably getting news footage, and at the same time, folks in the neighboring buildings holding Palestinian flags over balconies. It felt like I was a part of something huge at that precise moment. By the end of the day, my feet ached something fierce and I’d almost entirely lost my voice, but once I heard that the protests had essentially shut down the city, the satisfaction I felt cured all my ailments. But it’s not for my satisfaction that I’m fighting for.
This conflict is so much more than saying this is a war between Israel and Hamas. Hamas is a political party whose weapons must be smuggled in, and the Israeli government is funded by the US government, to the tune of almost $4 billion every year. Hamas does not represent all Palestinians, nor does the Israeli government represent all Israelis. If we are to call Hamas a terrorist government for its attack on Israel, then the same must be true for Israel and the US government. The only difference is the violence committed by Israel is state-justified violence. Israel is the more widely recognized state and therefore its actions are not called terrorist attacks, they are called military operations or strikes. The attack by Hamas on Oct. 7th killed about 1,200, the attacks on Gaza since then have killed almost 10,000 and counting, 4,000 of which were children. And many of those children have never known life without an ongoing war. This war, between two controlling political parties that have woefully neglected their constituents, has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory.
Here’s why I’m fighting for Palestine and being so insistent about it. National Public Radio (NPR), one of the largest and most reputable news sources in the world, reported that we were protesting a “genocide.” Direct quote: “At the rally, speakers’ chants and messaging centered on calls to end U.S. funding for Israel in the war, accusing President Biden of backing a ‘genocide’ of Palestinian people.” We’re not protesting a f*cking “genocide,” we were, are, and will continue to protest a current, ongoing GENOCIDE. Period.
I honestly don’t expect you to do a lot with this information. I’m not asking you to boycott businesses, though if that is meaningful to you, feel free. I’m not even asking you to buy T-shirts or stickers or anything. What I am insisting that everyone do, counterintuitively, is not research the conflict via the news. There is simply too much disinformation out there. Instead, start with the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Specifically, read Article II, to make it easier, here it is.
Article II
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Now, look at the facts that have been acknowledged by reputable news sources, ideally looking at sources such as the Human Rights Campaign or the UN General Assembly resolutions. Israel has cut off food, water, electricity and is heavily blocking humanitarian aid. Israel has bombed hospitals and refugee camps, stating that there could be Hamas fighters hiding in there. There weren’t any fighters there. All they did was kill several hundred children. All those actions are textbook genocidal actions.
I am officially calling on the EMU administration to make a statement regarding the genocide in Palestine. Standing with the Palestinian people does not mean you are standing against all Jews—quite the opposite. By supporting Palestine, you are fighting against the tyranny of the Israeli apartheid state, which everyone, including the Jews, Muslims, Christians, and all citizens of Israel, suffer under. The Israeli government is vilifying and dehumanizing the Palestinian people to decrease resistance to the settler-colonial state being established. If you don’t believe me just look up any member of Netanyahu’s cabinet and listen to their statements regarding this conflict. To be clear, the continued violence is only possible through the tens of billions of US tax dollars going to the Israeli military. The best thing for large institutions to do is to put pressure on the US government and Not. Stand. By. And. Watch. Genocide. Happen.
I want to end this article with a passage from 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Weisel, also a Holocaust survivor, who won for his work as an activist and his role as Chairman of The President’s Commission on the Holocaust. He stated, “Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices. We could not prevent their deaths the first time, but if we forget them they will be killed a second time. And this time, it will be our responsibility. …And then I explained to him how naive we were, that the world did know and remain silent. And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.”
Grow a spine, take a stand, and support the liberation of Palestine. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.
