Palestine Solidarity rally organizers expose the cowardly lack of action by the Kent County Democratic Party

Last night, about 75 people showed up to the Kent County Democratic Party headquarter on Fuller NE to demand that they do the following:

• Call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the West Bank
• Call for an immediate end to US military aid to Israel, which is $3.8 billion annually
• Publicly oppose the Biden Administration’s proposal to send an additional $14.3 billion in US military aid to Israel

During the rally people marched and chanted along Fuller, but several times marched along the side road where the Democratic Party headquarters are located and looped around the parking lot, chanting loudly in front of the main entrance in order to disrupt their monthly meeting. 

Several individuals Democrats came out to “talk” with those protesting, but when they were confronted with the Party’s unwillingness to call for a ceasefire and the Biden Administration’s unconditional support for Israel, the conversation ended. Another Democratic Party member told rally organizers that if the crowd became larger than 70 people, that he, “was legally obligated to call the Sheriff’s Department.” 

Despite efforts on the part of individual Democratic Party members to make nice with rally organizers, it was clear that they were irritated by the presence of the protesters. 

The rally lasted a little more than an hour, but the energy was high the entire time, especially when they were prompted by a rally organizer with the Comrades Collective.

I was talking with one of the organizers about the rally and said that the disruptive tactics were important, since there were lots of people who are newer to movement organizing and anytime they see that people can escalate tactics challenge systems of power, it provides space for people to do the same, eventually becoming more comfortable with disruptive actions.

Another conversation I had was with a local Palestinian American, who told me that 18 members of his family have been killed over the past two months of the Israeli assault on Gaza. This was an emotional gut punch and a sobering reminder that US complicity in Israeli war crimes obligates all of us to resist what is happening. Palestinians are having to deal with the trauma of losing family members, and we just need to sit with that fact for a moment…….and then figure out how to respond and to be part of any resistance efforts that are taking place right now in our communities. #FreePalestine, #CeasefireNow, #EndtheOccupation!