Here are a few highlights from today:
- the Rally for Palestine attracted a sizable and diverse group of UW and community college students - Black, Asian, Arab, Indigenous, Latino, and white folks all participated. The rally was by far majority people of color. In contrast, Israelpalooza was almost entirely white. On both sides, people participated enthusiastically.
- Solidarity statements were read from the organizers of similar rallies for Palestine at New York University and the University of Southern California.
- Israelpalooza attendees were far from civil. The police allowed numerous Zionists to try and drown out, silence, shout over, and generally get in the faces of folks who were rallying to celebrate Palestinian resistance. The Israelpalooza organizers also tried to drown out Democracy Insurgent speakers with their music, and UW administrators allowed them to do it.
-Given this fact, DI members and supporters were remarkably restrained in responding- we helped keep the peace and prevented fights from breaking out. We held our ground and refused to be intimidated or silenced, but we also refused to stoop to our opponents' level. We refused to allow them to distract us from our purpose -we kept the mood lively and celebrated 61+ years of Palestinian resistance.
- the police blocked this diverse crowd of Palestine solidarity folks from entering Israelpalooza even though we had shown no signs of physically endangering anyone's safety. When asked why they were excluding students of color from attending Israelpalooza, the cops were stumped and speechless for several minutes.
- Safe from behind the police lines, Israelpalooza members cowardly shouted racist remarks, calling the crowd "swine flu" and "suicide bombers." In response to the latter comment, one of the white cops started chuckling.
-The police actions demonstrated that Israelpalooza organizers do not want the other side of the story told. They confirmed DI's statements that anyone who questions Israeli apartheid would be an univited guest at what is clearly a racist and exclusive party. They took off the window dressing of phony multiculturalism and dialogue and the underlying white supremacy that operates on this campus was revealed clear as day.
- The crowd responded by chanting "let us through - no more checkpoints" and "no more Jim Crow." We set up milk crates and started an impromptu open mic at the border. Students pointed out that a miniature Israel had been created on the HUB lawn, complete with racist cops acting like border patrol to prevent people of color from assembling on their own land.
(continued in next post....)
#1 Matthew H.
commented, on(Seattle, WA)
April 30, 2009 at 12:12 a.m.:
Here are a few highlights from today:
- the Rally for Palestine attracted a sizable and diverse group of UW and community college students - Black, Asian, Arab, Indigenous, Latino, and white folks all participated. The rally was by far majority people of color. In contrast, Israelpalooza was almost entirely white. On both sides, people participated enthusiastically.
- Solidarity statements were read from the organizers of similar rallies for Palestine at New York University and the University of Southern California.
- Israelpalooza attendees were far from civil. The police allowed numerous Zionists to try and drown out, silence, shout over, and generally get in the faces of folks who were rallying to celebrate Palestinian resistance. The Israelpalooza organizers also tried to drown out Democracy Insurgent speakers with their music, and UW administrators allowed them to do it.
-Given this fact, DI members and supporters were remarkably restrained in responding- we helped keep the peace and prevented fights from breaking out. We held our ground and refused to be intimidated or silenced, but we also refused to stoop to our opponents' level. We refused to allow them to distract us from our purpose -we kept the mood lively and celebrated 61+ years of Palestinian resistance.
- the police blocked this diverse crowd of Palestine solidarity folks from entering Israelpalooza even though we had shown no signs of physically endangering anyone's safety. When asked why they were excluding students of color from attending Israelpalooza, the cops were stumped and speechless for several minutes.
- Safe from behind the police lines, Israelpalooza members cowardly shouted racist remarks, calling the crowd "swine flu" and "suicide bombers." In response to the latter comment, one of the white cops started chuckling.
-The police actions demonstrated that Israelpalooza organizers do not want the other side of the story told. They confirmed DI's statements that anyone who questions Israeli apartheid would be an univited guest at what is clearly a racist and exclusive party. They took off the window dressing of phony multiculturalism and dialogue and the underlying white supremacy that operates on this campus was revealed clear as day.
- The crowd responded by chanting "let us through - no more checkpoints" and "no more Jim Crow." We set up milk crates and started an impromptu open mic at the border. Students pointed out that a miniature Israel had been created on the HUB lawn, complete with racist cops acting like border patrol to prevent people of color from assembling on their own land.
(continued in next post....)
#2 Matthew H.
commented, on(Seattle, WA)
April 30, 2009 at 12:13 a.m.:
(...continued from first post)
-The cops said their approach to us was "50/50" - we would get our space and Israelpalooza would get theirs. A Black student responded by saying "I thought the supreme court had ruled that separate but unequal doesn't fly anymore." A cop responded to her by saying "well I'm not that good at math."
- An anti-Zionist Jewish woman attending the Rally for Palestine attempted to enter Israelpalooza wearing a keffiya, a Palestinian scarf. The police would not allow her, showing that not only people of color but also Jews who don't tow the party line are not welcome at Isrealpalooza. The woman remarked "wow, it's just like Israel!"
- there was a general sentiment in the crowd that we will keep organizing and keep mobilizing so that next time we will have the power to prevent such an undemocratic and openly racist assault on our freedom of assembly. The Zionists can gloat all they want from behind the clubs of their racist cops but their segregated party won't last: we WILL take our campus back.
-We finished with a march across campus to the Ave. Since Israelpalooza made it clear that they only wanted to give out Arab food to white people, we went to get our own falafel and brainstorm how we can keep building this growing movement.
#3 Josh S.
commented, on(UW Campus)
May 1, 2009 at 12:18 a.m.:
"The Israelpalooza organizers also tried to drown out Democracy Insurgent speakers with their music, and UW administrators allowed them to do it." Matt, the music was part of the planned activity for the days event, the fact that you pursue the music as an attempt to drown out your protest is ridiculous, and a further proof of the radical, ridiculous and inciteful way in which Democracy Insurgent carries itself on a daily basis. I personally talked to many individuals, members of the MSA, and members of many other minority student groups, who while supportive of Palestinian Rights and Freedom, were deeply offended and upset by the way in which you carried out the protest. The job of the UWPD is to keep the peace, and if they had let in a large mob of angry protesters, there is no doubt that confrontations would have occurred, and THAT is why they COULD NOT allow you in. Not because they are racist. what you are doing is a disgrace to the cause of the Palestinian people, because it offends those who support their cause. by attacking, and trying to ruin a celebration, you have created a rift within the movement for palestinian statehood. I myself strongly doubt that you have any real knowledge of the situation in the middle east, because of the solely inciteful, and ignorant way in which you go about "fighting" for your cause. I do believe that palestinians deserve equal rights, but the way in which you are attempting to bring that about does nothing except bring negative attention to the entire movement.
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