Peace activists braved the March drizzle outside the Israeli embassy in DC in conjunction with millions across the world on Saturday to demand a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Resistance and an end to the genocide which Israel is carrying out against Palestinians. Present from Virginia were members of the Northern Virginia Club of the CPUSA, the DC branch of the IWW, the Virginia Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 (whose workers for the Fairfax Connector bus service are currently out on strike).
The DMV-SJP Coalition (representing Georgetown University, American University, and George Mason University) spoke, talking about starving Gazans eating animal feed and rocks to stop hunger pains, hospital workers in Khan Younis kidnapped by Israeli soldiers (and at least one crushed by a tank), and people being funneled into allegedly safe Rafah and then bombed. He went to say universities are not just places of learning, but places of struggles for liberty, giving examples of FBI collaboration has occurred to spy on Palestinian students, IDF/Mossad speakers coming to universities, and university collaboration with weapons manufacturers. He said every university has been destroyed in Gaza and called on students to demand their schools and universities divest from Israeli companies and their supporters. Overall he remained hopeful for a free Palestine in our lifetime.
The next speaker was more blunt, saying, “150 days in, 1 week from Aaron Bushnell’s sacrifice, don’t talk to me about November.” He called moderates who haven’t taken a side as complicit in the genocide, but said even 150 days into the genocide, Palestinians are closer to liberation than ever before.
Jews United Against Zionism spoke (through a non-Jewish proxy due to Sabbath restrictions on electronics use), saying they are embarrassed Israel is doing atrocities in the name of Jews and that, “Israel neither represents world Jewry nor Jewish religion.” They added Israel regularly commits acts contrary to Jewish religious law, saying there is a great difference between Judaism and Zionism, and to merely be anti-Zionist is in no way antisemitic. They also extolled the great warm relations between Jews, Muslims, and Christians before Zionist colonization.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation spoke, called for all power to the Palestinian Resistance. They said the equivalent population of San Francisco is at double the density of NYC within Gaza at present and that 70% of all residential buildings are destroyed. All Palestinians left in northern Gaza haven’t received any aid since the end of January. Biden claims he can’t support Netanyahu’s plan to bomb Rafah unless he presents a plan to protect civilians, which is impossible in a place with 60,000 per square mile. They added Israel represents US interests in the region as its client state. They also reminded the crowd that the DC area action today alone has 65 endorsing groups. They also related imperialism as a necessary part of capitalism and calls for building socialism.
The Palestinian Youth Movement spoke, saying masses across the world call for end to the siege and genocide against Palestinians. They hope to build a world without imperialism. They say every Palestinian will remember the sacrifice of Aaron Bushnell. Additionally they remind us all hospitals are out of service in Gaza and many families have been entirely removed from the registers. They called special attention to the recent Flour Massacre, where an aid drop of flour to Palestinian civilians was ambushed by Israeli tank and sniper fire, saying this was punishment for resistance but Palestinians will continue to resist. They end, saying, “the Palestinian people are undefeated and will continue to be undefeated.”
Maryland to Palestine spoke, demanding an end to the genocide. They said having seen five months of the most traumatic imagery daily, including babies killed before their first breaths, Israeli soldiers parading their cruelty for entertainment, people crushed into pulp, children starved until they look like skeletons, they can’t expect liberation from people like Biden or Trump.
The rally moved into a march, with the crowd moving past the rows of embassies on Van Ness Ave NW and onto Connecticut Ave NW past the University of the District of Columbia campus and student housing. The march leaders led people in chants from a pickup truck and students ranging from the merely curious to the outright supportive came out to see the march and join in chants.
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