Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of January 24
It has become clear that the Israeli government will continue their assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. We will also provide information on local events and actions that people can get involved in. All of this information is to provide people with the capacity of what Noam Chomsky refers to as, intellectual self-defense.
Information
Biden’s support for Gaza genocide is fueling bigger war
FOR PALESTINIANS, U.S. TALK OF A “REVITALIZED” PA IN GAZA IS CODE FOR OUTSOURCED OPPRESSION
Some Palestinians in Gaza Turn to Animal Fodder for Food as Starvation Sets In
Backed by AIPAC, 62 Dems Join GOP in Condemning Genocide Case Against Israel
Gregory Shupak on Gaza and Genocide
Ironclad Support For Starving, Blinding, Shattering Children
Analysis & History
The Historical Roots of Israel’s Purge and Purify Strategy
Gaza: A Ghastly Window into the Crisis of Global Capitalism
Solidarity During a Time of Genocide: Why Gaza Matters
Local Events and Actions
Thursday, January 25 from 6 – 8pm
Documentary Night – And There Was Israel
Details at https://www.facebook.com/events/1232847551005134?ref=newsfeed
Michigan’s minimum wage is now $10.33: Why minimum wages in the US are insultingly low and the failure of partisan politics
On January 1st of this year, the minimum wage in Michigan went from $10.10 and hour to $10.33 an hour. Imagine trying to live off of this insultingly-low of a wage.
For those who are 16 or 17 in Michigan, the minimum wage is worse, landing at $8.78 an hour. For tipped wage earners, their hourly wage in $3.93 an hour, adding new meaning to the term exploitation.
The fact is that individuals and families who are paying for rent, utilities, transportation and food, cannot live off of the minimum wage in Michigan. Actually, most people can’t live off $15 an hour. And, according to the Low Income Housing Coalition, for people living in the Grand Rapids/Wyoming area, they need to earn $25.50 an hour to afford the average cost of rent in this market.
The above data helps us to properly put the housing crisis into perspective. While groups like the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce created Housing Next like to frame the housing crisis around zoning or supply and demand, the fact is that the income of most working class individuals and families is completely inadequate to afford most rental costs and the capacity to purchase a home.
What is needed in Michigan is not just more housing units, but for people to be able to earn a living wage. In addition, we need to remove housing from the free market and move towards social housing. This is one of the components of what the Rent is Too Damn High Coalition was proposing last fall, when tenants and other groups came together to make demands of state policy makers. And while Michigan Democrats were in control of state government, they fundamentally ignored these demands (listed below, with more details in this link) by not even holding a single hearing on the housing crisis last fall.
- Rent Control – Remove the state-wide ban on rent control so municipalities can take action to stabilize rents and protect tenants.
- Social Housing – $4 billion for social housing in FY25 state budget.
- Housing First – $1 billion for people experiencing and at risk of homelessness in FY25 state budget.
- A Renter’s Bill of Rights – Renters around the country are insisting on more protections against landlord abuse and empowerment of renters as a class
In 2024, Michigan Democrats are not likely to embrace the list of demands from the Rent is Too Damn High Coalition, in part because this is an election year, along with the fact that the Democrats no longer control a majority of the State House.
What the Rent is Too Damn High Coalition is proposing for 2024 is to keep pressuring the State Legislature to meet these four demands, while simultaneously hosting Tenant Assemblies across the state, with one scheduled in April right here in Grand Rapids. Right now there is an interest in building tenant power in order to achieve housing justice, especially without relying exclusively on partisan politics.
In addition, Michigan might benefit from having a state ballot initiative to dramatically raise the minimum wage. People in other states are realizing the importance of such campaigns, since partisan politics has utterly failed the public around wage increases. For nearly twenty years there has been a push to make $15 an hour the new minimum wage. However, while $15 an hour might have worked in 2000, in 2024, $15 an hour is grossly inadequate.
Right now there are currently 22 campaigns across the US to raise the minimum wage. Communities in Michigan should seriously consider such a campaign in this state, not only because of the effectiveness of the Abortion Rights ballot initiative in 2022, but primarily because most people would embrace having a livable wage and a minimum wage of no less than $25.00 an hour.
When the Democrats took control of the Michigan Legislature in 2022, they talked a great deal about wanting to put more money in the pockets of working class residents. However, for Democrats that meant adopting minor reformist economic policies, which have had little impact to create economic security for the majority of Michiganders. A $25 minimum wage ballot campaign would actually put more money into the pockets of working class people in this state and is something for organizers to seriously consider in 2025, since the minimum wage in Michigan will only be a measly $10.56 an hour. People deserve better.
Both Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow vote against a resolution that would scrutinize future US military aid to Israel
On Tuesday, the US Senate voted to table a resolution introduced by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, which would put conditions on any future US military aid to Israel. The proposed resolution is an update to the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act.
The primary question within the resolution that Sen. Sanders put forth was, “Do you support asking the State Department for information on whether human rights violations may have occurred using U.S. equipment or assistance in Israel’s current military campaign?”
The resolution, linked here, provides some political leverage that Congress could adopt. However, the resolution does not go far enough. In a statement released by Sen. Sanders he states. “This resolution is not prescriptive – it does not alter aid to Israel in any way. It simply requests that the State Department report on how our aid is being used…I hope it is not controversial to ask how U.S. weapons are being used.”
Interestingly enough, even though this resolution only shines the light on how US military aid to Israel would be used, most members of the Senate voted to table to resolution in a 72 – 11 vote. Both Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow voted to table the resolution.
Part of the reason for tabling the vote is summed up well in an article from the Roll Call:
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., made the motion to table Sanders’ motion, averting a floor vote on an issue that many Democrats wanted to avoid. Though many of them acknowledge the civilian cost of Israel’s effort to eliminate the Palestinian militant group Hamas from the Gaza Strip, they also don’t want to be seen as critics of Israel’s response to Hamas’ deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
The last sentence in Sen. Cardin’s comment underscores what is at issue here…….the fact that most Democratic politicians do not want to be seen as critical of Israel. The unconditional support for Israel in the federal government is so powerful, that politicians want to avoid even the appearance of being critical of Israel. This fact is reflected in the data below, provided by Open Secrets, which shows that since 1990, the Democrats have always been the larger recipient of Pro-Israel PACs.
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of January 15th
It has become clear that the Israeli government will continue their assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. We will also provide information on local events and actions that people can get involved in.
Information
How Israel Uses an AI Genocide Program to Obliterate Gaza
Israel blocking aid, fuel to Gaza hospitals
100 Days Into Genocide, Nearly 100,000 Palestinians Killed, Injured or Missing
ISRAEL BOMBED AN AL JAZEERA CAMERAMAN — AND BLOCKED EVACUATION EFFORTS AS HE BLED TO DEATH
Analysis & History
Watch: A collection of breakdowns and analyses of resistance videos from Gaza
Local Events and Actions
See graphic included in this post for protest at GVSU.
Direct Action/Civil Disobedience Training for Gaza
Sunday, January 21st, beginning at 2pm. Details in the link.
A military contractor in the Grand Rapids area was called out for their role in the Israeli genocidal campaign in Gaza
We are now into the fourth month of the Israeli assault on Gaza, which began immediately after the October 7 attack from Hamas.
Since that time, GRIID has posted two articles about the Israeli-owned military contractor in Walker, Michigan, known as Plasan North America.
In early November, GRIID posted a piece about the Israeli company, with information about the kinds of military contracts they have, the parts they manufacture for military vehicles, the company’s relationship with The Right Place Inc., and the company’s involvement in the statewide group called the Michigan Israel Business Bridge (MIBB).
Then in December, GRIID posted a follow up story with information on research done by the American Friends Service Committee, which published a report on military contractors that are profiting from the current Israeli 
assault on Gaza. The report included the following information for Plasan North America:
- A private Israeli military vehicle manufacturer that makes the SandCat light armored vehicle for the Israeli military. At least some of these vehicles are manufactured at the company’s factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Since Oc. 7, Plasan has delivered dozens of SandCat Tigris armored vehicles to the Israeli military and has produced “hundreds of ballistic plates every day” for its use.
- The company also makes the armor for Oshkosh’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs). According to the section in the AFSC report – “In October, Israel requested to purchase 75 Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for its 2023 attack on Gaza.” In addition, Plasan makes AM General’s Humvees and JLTVs, which are included in the AFSC report. The Israeli military has used all of these vehicles in its 2023 attacks on Gaza.
- On Dec. 6, a U.S. cargo plane delivered Plasan-armored Humvees to Israel.
The photos that GRIID obtained from an anonymous source shows the front of the Company’s building, with a sign that says, Plasan = Genocide, paint in their windows to symbolize blood, two items wrapped in bed sheets to symbolize how Palestinians are burying their dead children, and watermelons, which are a symbol of the Palestinian resistance, a symbol that has been in use since the 1967 war.
Virtually every politician you know will misrepresent and bastardize the legacy of Dr. King today
Today we honor the legacy of the great civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Well, some of us will try to honor this legacy. However, the reality is that most people who have economic and political power will not authentically honor Dr. King. In fact, most of them will misrepresent his legacy to fit their own political agenda or worse, they will bastardize his legacy in the most banal ways.
For example, on Friday, January 12th, Michigan Senator Gary Peters released a video statement ahead of the federally recognized holiday Dr. King, which is today, January 15th. Here is what Sen. Peters says in this video statement:
“As we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it’s an important time to honor and reflect on the causes he dedicated his life to. Through his words and in his actions, Dr. King led a movement across America, inspiring us to stand up to injustice and live a life of service to others. Despite every obstacle, he held an enduring love for his country, and he believed in a better future for America. Dr. King’s lessons continue to be just as relevant today. As we live through another period in which basic rights and freedoms are under attack, we must always remember to lead by his example. On this MLK Day, let’s recommit ourselves to his cause by doing what’s right: taking action, serving our communities, and standing up for the rights of all people.”
Like virtually all politicians, Peters uses words like justice, rights, freedoms and service to others. These are warm and fuzzy words, but they are meaningless unless they are attached to actions and context, which Senator Peters fails to address. In fact, the only thing that Senator Peters provides a definitive statement about regarding Dr. King is this, “Despite every obstacle, he held an enduring love for his country, and he believed in a better future for America.”
This is a perfect example of what I mean by the bastardization of Dr. King’s message. Peters makes it seem as if after everything the civil rights leader endured – the persecution, the beatings, the arrests, the constant death threats, government surveillance, jailing and his eventual assassination, that Dr. King was committed to loving the USA. Therefore, what I would like to do is a simple comparison to what Dr. King was all about in words and in actions, then compare that to what Senator Peters is all about in words and actions, by looking at major themes that both men were committed to.
Militarism
Dr. King was fundamentally opposed to militarism and violence. In his famous 1967 speech at Riverside Church, he came out against the US war in Vietnam, stating: “As I have walked among the desperate, rejected, and angry young men, I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems… But they asked, and rightly so, ‘what about Vietnam?’ They asked if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government.”
Senator Peters is deeply committed to militarism. He sits on the Senate Armed Forces Committee, has voted for every Department of Defense Budget since he became a Senator, has unconditionally supported the US sending billions to Ukraine since the Russia invasion, and has unconditionally supported the US role in perpetuating the Israeli occupation of Palestine, along with the current genocidal campaign against Gaza and the West Bank. These are just two examples of US militarism that Senator Peters supports, although the list is much longer.
Capitalism
Dr. King’s view of Capitalism evolved during his lifetime, especially after he shifted his emphasis from the South to the North, moving to Chicago. While working on a housing campaign in Chicago, Dr. King stated:
“You can’t talk about solving the economic problem of the Negro without talking about billions of dollars. You can’t talk about ending the slums without first saying profit must be taken out of slums. You’re really tampering and getting on dangerous ground because you are messing with folk then. You are messing with captains of industry. Now this means that we are treading in difficult water, because it really means that we are saying that something is wrong with capitalism.”
In addition, it is important to note that Dr. King always discussed economic priorities and structural poverty. In his Beyond Vietnam Speech, Dr. King stated the following two points:
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
“On the one hand we are called to play the good Samaritan on life’s roadside; but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”
Senator Peters is fundamentally committed to defending the system of Capitalism, by supporting the massive tax breaks for the billionaire class, by supporting corporate welfare/subsidies, and by not fighting to pass a livable wage law in the US. Sure, Senator Peters has provided moderate support to some of the more mainstream unions, but that support has been primarily rhetorical and he has no problem accepting campaign contributions from rich people and private corporations that exploit the working class.
Policing in the US
Dr. King was often the subject of arrests, based on the number of marches, sit-ins and other protests he engaged in over the years, from the Montgomery Bus boycotts of the late the 1950s through his support of the Memphis Sanitation workers strike. Dr. King was arrested dozens of time for deliberately violating laws that protected and propped up systems of oppression. During his 1963 March on Washington Speech, King said, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” While sitting in a jail in Alabama, Dr. King also made an astute observation about the function of policing, stating, “ It is true that the police have exercised a degree of discipline in handling the demonstrators. In this sense they have conducted themselves rather “nonviolently” in public. But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation.”
Senator Peters has always been a defender of policing in the US, even after the massive national uprising against policing in the summer of 2020, culminating in the riots after the police murder of George Floyd. In 2021 and 2022, Senator Peters pushed for legislation that would provide more funding to police departments across the country, along with incentives for police recruiting. Senator Peters had the full support of the National Fraternal Order of Police, one of the largest and most notorious police unions in the country.
How to work for change?
From the Montgomery bus boycotts right up to his assassination, Dr. King put most of his emphasis on how to make change by active participation in social movements. Dr. King historically centered his work within what is often called the Civil Rights Movement or the Black Freedom Struggle, but he also was part of the economic justice and the anti-war movements as well. Dr. King engaged in marches, sit-ins, boycotts, worker strikes, civil disobedience and numerous ways of disrupting business as usual, even shutting down highways.
For Senator Peters, as a politician, primarily has focused on encouraging people to vote and to make campaign contributions.
As you can see, just from the examples I have provided here, there are virtually no similarities between Senator Peters and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We should put all politicians to the test and make comparisons to what they say and do, with what Dr. King did and said, especially beyond the I have a Dream rhetoric.
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of January 9th
It has become clear that the Israeli government will continue their assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. We will also provide information on local events and actions that people can get involved in. Lastly, it is important to note that this is one of most important and urgent human rights issues that those of us in the US can impact. Get informed and take action!
Information
US uses humanitarian aid to prolong Gaza genocide https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/us-uses-humanitarian-aid-prolong-gaza-genocide
It’s Not Just Bullets and Bombs. https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/its-not-just-bullets-and-bombs/
A ‘Genocidal Maniac’: What is Netanyahu’s Ultimate Goal in the Middle East?
Biden’s selective humanity https://electronicintifada.net/content/bidens-selective-humanity/43521
STATE DEPARTMENT: ISRAEL “MUST NOT” PURSUE “MASS DISPLACEMENT OF PALESTINIANS FROM GAZA” https://theintercept.com/2024/01/03/state-department-mass-displacement-palestinians/.
500 Jewish Californians and Allies Shut Down the State Capitol, Demanding Ceasefire in Gaza
Suppliers of the Israel Defense Forces Are Doing Profitable Business Throughout the US https://jacobin.com/2024/01/idf-arms-suppliers-contractors-bds-gaza
Biden Sticks by Israel as Bloody War on Gaza Threatens to Expand https://truthout.org/articles/biden-sticks-by-israel-as-bloody-war-on-gaza-threatens-to-expand/
Analysis & History
Palestine, the Harvard Controversy, and Attacks on Academic Freedom https://znetwork.org/zvideo/palestine-the-harvard-controversy-and-attacks-on-academic-freedom/
The myth of Israel’s ‘democracy’ w/Ilan Pappé | The Chris Hedges Report https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1PKlV1JMBU
Local Events and Actions
See graphic included in this post.
Direct Action/Civil Disobedience Training for Gaza, Sunday, January 21st, beginning at 2pm. Details in the link. https://www.facebook.com/events/3625704801046874?ref=newsfeed
West Michigan group to host Palestinian Speaker Series
The Holland-based group Kairos USA is hosting three Palestinian speakers virtually, specifically to address the current Israeli assault on Gaza and the larger context of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
The three speakers are:
Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian physician, activist, and politician who serves as General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI). He has been a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council since 2006 and is also a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council. In 2007, Barghouti was Minister of Information in the Palestinian unity government. January 11, 2024, at 1:00 p.m.
Register Here For Mustafa Barghoti (Deadline January 9)
(Registrants will receive a link on January 10.)
Omar Razzaz, a Jordanian politician who served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Jordan from June, 2018 to October 12, 2020. Born in Al-Salt, Razzaz began his schooling in Amman, later continuing his studies abroad. He has been director of several national and international institutions and Minister of Education before his designation as Prime Minister. January 17, 2024, at 1:00 p.m.
Register Here For Omar Razzaz (Deadline Jan. 15 -Registrants will receive a link on January 16.)
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, a former member of the PLO’s Leadership Committee, serving as the official spokesperson of the Palestinian delegation during the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991. In 1996, she was appointed as the Palestinian Authority Minister of Higher Education and Research. Hanan was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council representing Jerusalem in 1996 and was re-elected in 2006. She was elected as member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 2009 and 2018, becoming the body’s first female member. January 18, 12 Noon
Register Here for Dr. Ashrawi (Deadline Jan. 16)
(Registrants will receive a link on January 17.)
GRIID received the images used in this post by an anonymous source. Both of the messages emphasize the message of Free Palestine, with one of them calling for a Ceasefire Now!
Israel has been brutally assaulting Gaza and the West Bank since the Hamas attacks on October 7, with more than 20,000 Palestinian deaths, over 8,ooo of which are children.
The anonymous photos also came with a statement:
“During the National Week of Action for Palestine, the People of Grand Rapids refuse to be complicit in genocide. Two banners of solidarity were flown this week to demand that the city of Grand Rapids adopt a resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in occupied Palestine and an end to US military and financial aid to the Israeli government.”
Such messages, specifically the banners, are important, since the local news media has done a poor job of reporting on the significant public opposition to the Israeli assault on Gaza.
The banner drop at the top appears to be at the 6th Street Bridge.
I was fined by the courts for non-violently resisting US complicity in Israeli’s war crimes against the Palestinians
On November 7th, I and two of my fellow resisters, went to Rep. Scholten’s office in the Gerald R. Ford Federal building to demand that the Congresswoman call for an immediate ceasefire with in Gaza and vote no of any future US military aid to Israel. ($3.8 billion annually).
The three of us were arrested and charged with trespassing. I have been posting updates of my court case on social media, where our three cases have been separated, even though we originally wanted to be tried in court together. Despite our desires to be tried collectively, the court decided to deal with me separately and had me attend a settlement proceedings on December 27th, followed by another court appearance this morning.
Since the court would not allow me to enter a motion for consolidation of our cases, and because I did not want to seek a jury trial alone, I plead guilty this morning to the trespass charge.
The Judge ruled that I am to pay a fine of $375. Therefore, I have to pay $375 because I sat in Rep. Scholten’s office, had a conversation with her staff about the brutal Israeli assault on Gaza, then refused to leave because she would not meet out demands. Rep. Scholten’s failure to meet our demands means that she is complicit in Israel’s war crimes, since she has repeatedly refused to call for an immediate ceasefire and will not opposed any future US military aid to Israel. The killing of civilians is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention.
There is a certain sense of irony, where I get arrested and then have to pay a fine for simply trying to prevent Israeli war crimes, which Rep. Scholten has repeatedly supported. Trying to stop the killing of civilians, including children, is a crime, while providing diplomatic and military support for Israel’s war crimes are protected within the US legal system.
Of course, none of this is surprising, since the US was founded on genocidal policies against Indigenous people, which included the theft of their land, along with the other foundational piece upon which this country was founded, chattel slavery. I mean, I was arrested in the Gerald R. Ford Federal building and Gerald R. Ford was complicit in numerous war crimes as a member of Congress, as the Vice President and as President – Vietnam, Chile, Cambodia, Argentina and East Timor, just to name a few.
Therefore, we should not be surprised by these facts, but we sure as hell need to start acknowledging them, and then resisting the perpetuation of US Imperialism and its commitment to Neoliberal Capitalism and White Supremacy. The system is working exactly the way it was designed to. #ceasefirenow #freepalestine
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 