26th March 2017 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine
Dozens of Palestinians gathered in Tel Rumeida, al Khalil, to protest against the annual AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) conference held in Washington, DC. Lacking the freedom of movement to protest in DC, the people of Hebron still want their voices to be heard.
24 May 2011 | Move Over AIPAC
During the Joint Session of Congress while Prime Minister Netanyahu was speaking, Rae Abileah stood up from the gallery and shouted “Stop Israeli War Crimes.”
From the peace group CODEPINK, Rae is a 28 yr. old Jewish American of Israeli descent. She has traveled to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza and witnessed firsthand the reality of occupation and oppression. “Prime Minister Netanyahu says that the 1967 borders are indefensible. But what is really indefensible is the occupation of land, the starvation of Gaza, the jailing of dissenters and the lack of equal rights in the alleged Israeli democracy. As a Jew and an American taxpayer, I can’t be silent when these crimes are being committed in my name and with my tax money.”
Ms. Abileah grew up on Half Moon Bay and presently lives in San Francisco. She was arrested and charged with disrupting Congress. Upon release, she can be reached at 415-994-1723.
This protest is part of the week-long series of actions, organized by CODEPINK as part of a coalition of groups gathered in Washington D.C. for a campaign named Move Over AIPAC. During Netanyahu’s speech to AIPAC yesterday, 5 individuals interrupted Netanyahu and were removed from the building (see: http://bit.ly/aipac2011).
Adam Horowitz | Mondoweiss
Today, Shimon Peres kicked off the AIPAC conference with a special address. Phil noted some observations below. Initial buzz from the speech in and around the conference center is that Peres neglected to mention the need to establish a Palestinian state as part of the peace process. This is shaping up to be an important tension between the Obama and Netanyahu administrations.
During his speech, Peres was briefly interrupted by activists from Code Pink. The photo below is of Desiree Fairooz standing on a table in front of Peres as he speaks. Below is the press release they sent out after the action:
WASHINGTON — During Israeli Pres. Shimon Peres’ speech today at the annual AIPAC (American Israeli Political Action Committee) policy conference at the Washington Convention Center, CODEPINK members raised banners saying “Want Peace? End the Occupation,” “What About Gaza?,” and “No Money for War Crimes.”
As the six activists were forcibly dragged away from the stage, they shouted similar phrases including “Tikun olam (Heal the world) for Gaza, too!”, all meant to draw attention to widespread opposition to AIPAC’s policies lobbied to Congress that include unconditional support and financing for Israel’s militaristic policies including the recent devastating invasion of Gaza, building of illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the separation wall, refusal to negotiate with the Palestinians’ democratically elected representatives, and threats to attack Iran.
“The brutal invasion of Gaza was a breaking point for me and many American Jews,” said CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin, who recently led a 60-person delegation to Gaza. “I was appalled by the devastation and the suffering I saw, particularly among the children. As a mother, I feel compelled to speak out against Israel’s bombing of civilians and the ongoing siege that is so devastating to the lives of Gaza’s 1.5 million people—most of whom are under 18.”
While AIPAC claims to represent the U.S. Jewish community, its wholesale support of the Israel government goes against the majority opinions of the Jewish Americans. According to a recent survey by the Jewish lobby group J Street, 76 percent of American Jews support a two-state solution, 69 percent support negotiating with a Fatah-Hamas unity government, and 59 percent felt the Gaza invasion did not improve Israel’s security.
“Like most American Jews, I grew up with a deep appreciation for the state of Israel,” said Rae Abileah, a young American Jew of Israeli descent. “After witnessing the attack of Gaza on TV and hearing the calls for crippling sanctions on Iran, I can no longer avert my eyes to the other side of the story most rabbis still aren’t talking about. I am joining the dozens of Jewish organizations, and the growing global movement, advocating a change in the Israeli policies of occupation and aggressive violence. It’s high time to drop the victim narrative so that we may all survive, and one day thrive as neighbors.”
CODEPINK activists inside the AIPAC conference (with its theme “Relationships Matter”) were: Medea Benjamin, 56, Rae Abileah, 26, Blaine Clarke, 29, Christianna Reinstein, 21, Desiree Fairooz, 53, and Tighe Barry, 52.
“The most important relationships for Israel to cultivate are not with U.S. Congressional allies but with the Palestinian people,” said Christianna Reinstein, a student of Middle Eastern studies who joined the protest inside the AIPAC conference today. “AIPAC’s lobbying of Congress has not made Israel more secure and has hurt American efforts to improve relations in the Arab world.”
