A Defeat for Netanyahu and His Protectors in
Washington
Statement from the ANSWER Coalition in response to
White House and media lies
Netanyahu is parading around Washington today, meeting with
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, pretending that this visit is somehow
a victory for his genocidal policies. In truth, his address was
immediately overshadowed by the heroic actions of tens of thousands of
young people who overcame police repression to hold simultaneous mass
demonstrations in the nation’s capital. The protests received
widespread media coverage all over the world. He came to Washington to
overcome his global isolation — instead he deepened it.
History will also remember that on
July 24, 2024, the U.S. Congress gave standing ovations to an
internationally wanted war criminal as he actively prosecuted a
genocide and single-handedly blocked a ceasefire. That a globally
despised figure was given such a welcome serves as an indictment of
the U.S. government once again as a co-conspirator in Israel’s
crimes.
The disgraceful spectacle inside
the Capitol was matched by a disgraceful spectacle outside. The whole
area was converted into “Fort Netanyahu,” with massive fences and
barricades blocking all the surrounding streets so as to deprive the
people of their right to protest near the war criminal’s whereabouts.
They even innovated new ways to waste tax dollars by bussing in NYPD
officers to “serve and protect” Netanyahu for a day.
The only thing honorable about this
day were the determined people of conscience who protested powerfully
and stood up for Palestine and for humanity. People assembled in
Washington, D.C. on a Wednesday morning from all walks of life, coming
from towns and cities nationwide, of all faith backgrounds (including
prominent Muslim, Christian and Jewish organizations), from major
labor unions to small community groups, students and peace
organizations, all wearing red, to show that the politicians
shamefully applauding for Netanyahu did not speak for us.
As soon as this mass assembly began
to march towards Congress, police attacked. So not only does the
Biden-Harris administration direct U.S. tax dollars to fund the
Israeli war machine, they unleash pepper spray on people who object.
Dozens of marchers exercising their First Amendment rights were
subject to a brutal and unprovoked police attack. Now the White House
is directly slandering the protest as “violent and antisemitic.”
Everyone who was there knows this is an outright lie.
The collective organization and
expression of young people in such large numbers and from all
nationalities is significant, in particular because it is reminiscent
of the mass mobilizations in 1968 and 1969 that turned public opinion
dramatically against the war in Vietnam, and played a major role in
bringing that war to an end. The determination of young people to
intervene in and disrupt Netanyahu’s schedule at every opportunity,
from the moment he arrived, and to withstand brutal police repression
to continue protesting, completely spoiled Netanyahu’s visit to the
United States. The mild reproach of a few representatives and few
empty chairs in Congress were not enough to make an impact; the
protests and collective actions put U.S. support for the genocide on
trial, and demonstrated the inviability of the current U.S.-Israeli
occupation regime.
To try and misdirect people’s
attention, some parts of the corporate media and the White House
itself are now trying to minimize the significance of these actions.
They are attempting to demonize the protests, and focus on one
individual sign or some individual's burning of the American flag.
This is designed to distract the public from the actual police
violence yesterday, and the true mass violence that has claimed over
40,000 Palestinian lives and millions more in U.S.-led wars across the
world. But the rising of the Palestinian flag on multiple flagpoles in
front of Union Station and in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol grounds
is a clear indication that the tide has turned. Public opinion has
been transformed so dramatically that no attempt at deflection can
turn it back. Nothing can hold back the tide in favor of Palestinian
liberation and against the regime of genocide.
ANSWER Coalition https://www.answercoalition.org/
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