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Protesting 40 Years of Occupation in Washington, D.C.

By S. Bloom, June 2007

On June 10th, 2007, thousands of demonstrators from all over the U.S. converged on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol to protest 40 years of Israel’s illegal military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights. The rally and march to the Washington Monument which followed were sponsored by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and United for Peace and Justice, two major national coalitions. More than 300 organizations nationwide took part in the demonstration; these included the Northern California ISM support group and many Jewish groups from across the country.

The following day, I and hundreds of other activists participated in a day of lobbying our Congressional representatives. I was able to join a large delegation that visited the offices of Barbara Lee, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. Of the many things we discussed, one of the main points was that ‘an overwhelming number of Americans believe in peace, justice and human rights.’

An important purpose of these historic events was to show that more and more Americans embrace world opinion, which overwhelmingly rejects the Israeli occupation of Palestine. “This day has global importance,” stated Phyllis Bennis, of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. “While we say no to US support for Israeli occupation, our counterparts from all around the world are saying the same message to their own governments, from South Africa to Brazil, from Australia to Canada, from Britain to Maylasia, Ramallah to Tel Aviv." Thousands of Israelis protested the Occupation, from demonstrating in Hebron, where Jewish settlers are terrorizing Palestinians on a daily basis, to rallies in Tel Aviv; there Anarchists add red paint to the water in two central fountains in Masaryk Square and Dizzengof Square, representing blood of Palestinians killed by the IOF.

June 10, 2007 demonstration in Washington, D.C.

2007 is also the fifty-ninth year since the Nakba, the expulsion of the Palestinians in 1948 which marked the creation of the Jewish state of Israel in Palestine. To this day, Israel denies its responsibility for the Nakba, and the refugees continue to have their right of return denied by Israel, which contradicts UN resolution 194, the UN Charter, and all relevant Inter-national Law. The growing 40/60 Campaign is focusing on this conjunction of anniversaries, and the steps needed to address the continuing suffering of Palestinians; as 4th class citizens of Israel, under military occupation in Palestine, and as internal and external refugees for the past 59 years

S. Bloom is an ISM volunteer from the Bay Area.