Yesterday, I was arrested in Rep. Scholten’s office for demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Yesterday, myself and two other activists were arrested while demanding that Rep. Scholten immediately reverse her position on unconditional support for Israel, end their assault on Gaza and call for an immediate ceasefire.

Now, we all knew that this would not happen, but we believed it was absolutely necessary to refuse to leave the Congresswoman’s office and engage in an act of civil disobedience. The GRPD was called and we were arrested.

For me, the current Israeli assault on Gaza is very personal. One of my dearest friend’s, Karen Henry, who passed away after years of fighting cancer, was the person who introduced me to the Palestinian freedom struggle. As an Arab-American woman, Karen had spent decades of her life on this issue in Grand Rapids and was an integral part of the Middle East Working Group of IGE. Karen also spent several years as a journalist reporting from the occupied Palestine. If I did not do something significant to demand an end to the horror that is happening right now in Gaza and the West Bank, I would be disrespecting the memory of my dear friend Karen. 

I got arrested because engaging in an act of civil disobedience is a mild risk to take, while the US is providing weapons and diplomatic support for Israel to engage in war crimes in Gaza. Yes, war crimes. Bombing hospitals and other places that are part of civil society are war crimes under international law, as is the murder of civilians, especially children. The weapons that are being used by the Israeli military were paid for by my dollars, weapons that are killing thousands of families and injuring countless more. How can I not be outraged by what is being done in my name? 

I also got arrested, because as someone who tries to learn from history, I know that the primary strategy for social change is when people engage in direct action. Rep. Hillary Scholten, Senator Peters and Senator Stabenow have all made it clear that they unconditionally support Israel, that they have voted for the $3.8 Billion in military aid that the US provides to Israel on an annual basis, and that they refuse to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. These three politicians have taken this position, because rarely do elected officials get to stay in office if they question the relationship between the US and Israel. In additional, Scholten, Peters and Stabenow have all been the recipients of pro-Israel Political Action Committees funds.

I got arrested yesterday by refusing to leave the federal building in GR, because I believe that we need to engage in direct action, especially when it disrupts business as usual. We know from US history, that every major social movement, from the Abolitionist Movement to the Movement for Black Lives, that disruptive tactics are key to making change. We need to disrupt business as usual, because business as usual is what got us into this mess. It has been business as usual for the US government to give Israel billions in military aid for decades. It has been business as usual for every US administration since Israel was founded to ignore the 700,000 Palestinians who were displaced during the Nakba and the internationally recognized illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. This has been business as usual for the US longer than I have been alive.

I believe in disruptive tactics, because I believe they can inspire people, motivate people and create space for people to be willing to do the same. When Dr. King was arrested for pressuring people in the south to desegregate he wrote these words in response to white Christian pastors who cautioned against civil disobedience: 

“I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can’t agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by the myth of time; and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

Below is a statement that we released last night that also explains why we chose to risk arrest in support of the Palestinian people.

Statement in Solidarity with the Palestinians

Those of us who have occupied the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building do so today to demonstrate our solidarity with the Palestinian people, especially those living in Gaza and the West Bank.

The carnage being wrought by the Israeli military is completely unacceptable, with estimates of the dead now surpassing 10,000, including 4,000 Palestinian children.

We are calling on Rep. Hillary Scholten, along with Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow to demand that President Biden change course from his unconditional support for Israel to an immediate ceasefire! The international community is calling for a ceasefire, as is the United Nations. The assault on Gaza must come to an end.

We know that since the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel, that the US government, along with Rep. Scholten have passed a resolution stating that they stand with Israel. In addition, the Biden administration is calling for an additional $14.3 billion in US military Aid be sent to Israel, which is on top of the $3.8 billion in military aid that the US provides on an annual basis to Israel. 

Rep. Hillary Scholten, Senator Gary Peters and Senator Debbie Stabenow all endorse the additional US military aid to Israel. However, we say not one more dime of US tax dollars should go to support the current genocidal assault on Gaza, and no future US military aid should be to Israel until their occupation of Palestinian land comes to an end. We also demand that the tax money that leaves Grand Rapids to provide military aid to Israel should stay in our community to support the critical needs of people who live here!

The bombs that Israel are dropping on Gaza are being done in our name. The destruction of hospitals is Gaza are being done in our name. The schools and businesses that are being decimated in Gaza, are being done in our name. The Israeli assault that is happening in the West Bank and in the refugee camps are also being done in our name. We say no to all of this! Not in Our Name!

We stand with the Palestinian people, just like the protests that have been happening all across the globe, like the one that took place in Washington DC on Saturday and the hundreds that took place in countries around the world. We Demand an immediate ceasefire! An end to US military Aid to Israel and an End to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. 

Lastly, we call on the people of Grand Rapids to rise up and demand an immediate ceasefire. Join a march, take a public stand, pressure your elected officials, be part of the global BDS Movement, get your faith community to demand a ceasefire, and do whatever you can to say emphatically, NOT in OUR NAME!!!!!