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Protesting AIPACRecent Protests &
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Upcoming Protests? Past Protests in 2008-2009:San Francisco 12/15/2009 · Sacramento 12/13/2009 · Seattle 11/2009 Olmert Protest 10/2009 Minneapolis 9/2009 · Policy Conference 5/2009 · Portland OR 3/2009 · New Orleans 3/2009 · Los Angeles 3/2009 · New York 1/2009 · San Francisco 12/2008 · Chicago "Summit Conference" October 2008 · December 13th, Protest AIPAC in Sacramento, CA. Radisson Hotel An ad-hoc coalition of 12 groups, including Sacramento for Democracy; Sacramento Area Peace Action, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Palestine American Congress and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom held a successful protest outside the hotel. Braving the rain, over 60 people displayed panels and military towers of a mock Apartheid Wall that stretched over 200 feet. Local electeds Dave Jones, Darrel Steinberg, Roger Dickinson, Kevin Johnson, Kevin McCarty and Lauren Hammond all bought tickets to the event. Press Release. Read
this story about how the JCRC (a group allied with AIPAC) put the
kibosh on a sister city relationship with Sacramento. Here are some
background documents: Protest in Seattle, WA
November 15th
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On Sunday, November 15th, 2009, the Seattle chapter of Jewish Voice for
Peace is staging a theatrical protest outside the Westin in response to
the Annual Washington State Membership Dinner of the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and that organization`s recent work to
suppress fair and accurate human rights reporting.  |
| Shimon Peres was giving speech at the AIPAC conference when he was interrupted by Desiree Fairooz of Code Pink. |
This is the biggest of AIPAC events each year, with the largest number of Congresspeople attending. As AIPAC press releases indicate, no event attracts more congresspeople other than mandated attendance at the State of the Union or other official meetings.
April 9, 2009 Albuquerque Billboard Campaign Against Aid to Israel.
Check out press release.
Coalition of sponsors of
campaign includes former member of AIPAC, appalled at Israel's carnage in
Gaza.
March 30, 2009 New Orleans - Dozens protest AIPAC meeting on Palestine Land Day.
From The Times Picayune
Mideast conflict spills onto Canal St.
Several dozen people marched along Canal Street and into the French Quarter to protest the meeting of a pro-Israel lobbying group at a French Quarter hotel Sunday.
The protesters -- including members of local Palestinian, Arab and Jewish communities -- condemned the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which was meeting at the Omni Royal Orleans, 621 St. Louis St. The mission of AIPAC is to help make Israel more secure by ensuring U.S. support.
"We are deeply frustrated by the actions of the Israeli government, and Israel defense forces and pro-Israel lobbyists in the United States," protester Emily Ratner said. "Our tax dollars are funding the murder of innocent Palestinians, including hundreds of women and children. Our tax dollars are also funding large-scale illegal evictions and demolitions in Palestine."
Another protester, Taslima Hattium, with New Orleans Louisiana Palestine Solidarity, said the protest was to show AIPAC "they can't come into my community to lobby for money to commit genocide in my name."
The march also commemorates Palestine Land Day, the anniversary of the March 30, 1976, clash between Israeli troops and Palestinians that left six Palestinians dead.
"Hundreds of thousands of acres (of Palestinian land) have been illegally seized and stolen," Hattium said.
Three people not associated with AIPAC stood in front of the hotel door holding a banner that read "We stand with Gilad Shalit, held hostage for 1,000 days." Shalit is an Israeli soldier who was captured by Hamas on June 25, 2006.
Leo Golubitsky said Shalit's family has not heard anything about his status and that Hamas has not allowed the International Red Cross to visit him.
"As they are protesting for human rights, they have no problem supporting Hamas that is denying Gilad Shalit the most basic human rights," Golubitsky said.
March 29th, 2009 Portland Oregon - Some 90 protesters greet the annual AIPAC event of that area. A great summary and analysis of what went on inside the event is here in an article by Peter Miller.
March 8, 2009 Dozens of Los Angeles-area Jews, Palestinians and other allies erected a mock checkpoint at the AIPAC event at Universal City. See Press Release. See Pics. See Video. See this news report from the Fox-affiliate in Los Angeles.
Largest protest at an AIPAC event in years took place at the New York event on January 29, 2009. This protest was a spectacular success. I think they ruined Mayor Bloomberg's evening, and gave Howard Kohr heartburn. More about the protest here...
A protest took place in San Francisco on December 9th, 2008 More here.
Chicago, October 26-27, 2008
At AIPAC's "National Summit"
3 Days of Education, Vigils and Protest.
Details here.
Second to only the Policy Conference in the Spring, this is one of AIPAC largest gatherings, filled with politicians pledging their loyalty to support war and occupation. Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine was there to protest it. Stop AIPAC supports this effort.
Endorse this Statement of Conscience opposing the policies of AIPAC here.
Get your official Stop AIPAC postcard and spread the word. We demand peace, not war!
Below is a list of planned protests and protest opportunities. AIPAC holds membership dinners in many cities around the nation throughout the year. It holds its main Policy Conference in Washington DC every year, and that is attended by thousands, including usually most of Congress and a few heads of State (often including the Prime Minister of Israel). Even their smaller dinners are often attended by hundreds of people, including many local politicians. Isn't it time they knew attending a celebration of militarism may be controversial?
We can expose AIPAC's agenda and hold it accountable to people's desire for a fair foreign policy.
Let us know when you hear of a AIPAC meeting/gathering, and we will list it here. Let us share your protest plans, and then we can help you gather support. We also can share the results.
Get on our Updates email list.
Only nonviolent, anti-racist protests that support equal rights for all will be reported.
See below for other past Protests.
Protests from before 2009
Columbus,
Ohio, May 14th, 2007 A small but spirited group handed out
leaflets to passerby at an aipac event. See Photo left.
Sacramento, California, December 3, 2006 Over 100 gather to protest the extremist policies of AIPAC at one of its "membership events". Story from the SN&R, a Sacramento Weekly. Endorsers of the protest (not mentioned in the above story, but very significant, included Sacramento Peace Action, Sacramento for Democracy, Veterans for Peace. Jewish Voice for Peace, Sacramento was mentioned in the article, but they felt it had unfairly reduced the content of their message. (see this letter written in response to SN&R story cited above). While there were divergent views represented at the protest, some clearly objectionable, it was significant that mainstream peace groups such as Peace Action and a progressive Democratic Party organization participated, and said no to the extremist agenda promoted at the AIPAC event. Similar protests were held in Santa Clara and Oakland that same week.
AIPAC and Me- An Activist from Progressive Democrats of America protests at Boston AIPAC dinner. May 7, 2006
Young Boston Jews
hold Passover Seder outside AIPAC offices.
April 11, 2006
Note: As this example shows us, we don't have to wait for an organized AIPAC activity to protest AIPAC. The folks in Boston went to one of AIPAC's ten regional offices to protest for a justice and peace.
Propaganda for the Insipid
An opinion piece rather than an actual protest, this is an example of
the many people that are generally supportive of Israeli policies, turned
off by the extremism and simplistic propaganda of the AIPAC annual show in
Washington. From the point of view of a young Jewish High School
senior. (Outside link)
AIPAC and Me
By Bruce Taub,
Progressive Democrats of America MA State Coordinator
Friends - Last night I went to the AIPAC fundraising dinner here in Boston, specifically intending to speak out on behalf of the Palestinian people. This was not intended by me as an act of civil disobedience, but as an act of conscience. When I was in the Occupied Territories/Palestine about a month ago and asked the wonderful people I met there what I could do to help end their oppression by the Israeli state, to a person they said, "change US policy, expose AIPAC."
So when I heard AIPAC would be in Boston raising money I felt a virtually uncontrollable desire to act, to speak truth to power, to be as un-good a "good German" as I was capable of being.
The AIPAC affair itself was predictable. The room was immense, with amazing loudspeakers, twin jumbo screens, senators, congressmen and women, security, free flowing alcohol, and nearly 700 wildly applauding AIPAC toadies and sympathizers. Israel was wonderful. The United States was wonderful. The terrorists, the Muslims, the Arabs, the fundamentalists, the mullahs, the leaders of Arab nations, Hamas, the protesters outside the hotel, the sponsors of the divestment action in Somerville, were all detestable abominations. The words "terrorist," "9/11," "Islamic," "Arab," and "enemies of freedom" ran together repeatedly like the refrain of an advertising jingle.
During the incredibly jingoistic, intolerant, uncompromising, arrogant, ass-kicking keynote speaker's speech by U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-FL], lead sponsor of HR4681, the so-called Palestinian Anti-terrorism Act of 2006," (the one that will cut off humanitarian aid to Palestine until the PA halts "all anti-Israel incitement in Palestinian Authority-controlled electronic and print media and in schools, mosques, and other institutions it controls, and replaces these materials, including textbooks, with materials that promote tolerance, peace, and coexistence with Israel,") it was clear to me what I needed to say. Because believe it or not, in over two hours of speeches and declarations, the Palestinian people, the invisible people, the suffering, oppressed, subjugated, ethnically segregated people had never been mentioned once!!
"The people missing from this meeting are the Palestinian people," I called out as loudly as I could. "The issue of the Palestinian people is the painful crippling pebble in Israel's shoe. Without justice for the Palestinians there can be no peace for Israel."
Upon which I was promptly grabbed by some heroic AIPAC supporters, the plain clothes security detail I had identified earlier, and three guys who appeared out of nowhere and were each the size of an SUV.
As I was being escorted out, I placed some of the handouts I had prepared on one of the reception tables, where they were picked up by security no sooner than I had left them. I was in no position to argue. So here's a copy of that handout (below), with reference to the web site I mentioned - www.justandpeaceful.org - at the end. If you get a chance I hope you'll read it. The site was created in an effort to help advance the cause of peace and justice in Palestine and Israel and to provide some modest support to the many Palestinian, Israeli, and U.S peace activists who labor so passionately and conscientiously to realize a new vision for Israel and Palestine. Submissions to the site are more than welcome.
In peace and struggle, Salaam, Shalom, Bruce
Originally from AfterDowningStreet.org & Progressive Democrats of America
There was also a peaceful protest outside the Westin Hotel in Boston.
See
here and some photos
here.
Young Boston Jews
hold Passover seder outside AIPAC, JCRC offices
Hannah Mermelstein, The Electronic Intifada,
17 April 2006
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| Passover demonstration on April 11th 2006, downtown Boston. (Photo: Jonathan McIntosh) |
On Tuesday, April 11, at 5:00 pm, 20 young Jewish people gathered for a
seder (traditional celebration of Passover) outside 126 High Street in
Boston, the building that houses the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC) and Boston's Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).
The group expressed their support for Palestinian human rights and
opposition to AIPAC's and JCRC's unquestioning support for Israel and its
governmental policies. With a banner that read "Passover means liberation
for all. Justice for Palestine," they conveyed the message to the
organizations inside and to the media that AIPAC and JCRC do not speak for
all Jews.
The group set up a seder table and recited Passover's traditional four
questions, one of the many ways the story of Exodus is told during
Passover. The four questions include symbols and explanations for why we
use these symbols during the holiday. The group's explanations included
facts about Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes, confiscation and
destruction of Palestine's land resources for the expansion of settlements
and the Separation Wall, and malnutrition and poverty in Palestine caused
by Israeli closure and movement restrictions.
According to Marjorie Kent, one of the organizers of the seder, "During
Passover, every generation of Jewish people is commanded to remember that
we were slaves and to tell the story of the Exodus so that we can
recognize oppression that happens today and work to stop it. Today we
committed ourselves to this task."
AIPAC pushes the US government to support Israeli policies which result in
the brutal oppression of Palestinian people and denial of their
internationally recognized human rights. JCRC, while claiming to speak for
all Jews, invests enormous time and energy suppressing any voice of
opposition to Israeli policies, especially Jewish voices. "Our generation
has had enough of AIPAC's and JCRC's complicity in Israel's human rights
abuses of Palestinians," said Hannah Mermelstein, another seder organizer.
"Their support of these policies betray the libratory message of
Passover."
Not everyone agreed. One man walked briskly past the group and screamed,
"Race traitors! Religion traitors! I am a proud Jew and will not give my
homeland to the Arabs." Other passersby stopped to watch or ask questions.
Most people leaving the building did not engage with the group, but
clearly knew why the group was there.
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| Passover demonstration on April 11th 2006, downtown Boston. (Photo: Jonathan McIntosh) |
The group called on people leaving the building to take the message of
"liberation for all" home with them this Passover. They handed out
supplements for people to add to their traditional Passover seders. The
final question of the four, traditionally asking why we recline instead of
sitting straight in our chairs, asked instead: "On Passover, we usually
sit on soft chairs. Why do we stand at this seder?" The answer: "Avadot
hayinu. We were slaves. Because this year, it is time for each of us to
make a choice. Do we stand for justice? Or do we sit and do nothing as
others are oppressed in our name? Do we stand against the oppression of
our Palestinian sisters and brothers? Or do we sit and allow AIPAC, JCRC,
and others to betray our traditions? Do we act in the true spirit of
Passover, or do we remain silent and betray the meaning of our sacred
tradition? Today, we choose to stand!"
As the group left, the police arrived with specific instructions to arrest
them. An officer said to one member of the group, "Thank you for not
making us arrest you just before Easter."
Hannah Mermelstein is a member of the International Women's Peace
Service and co-founder of Birthright Unplugged. Originally from the
Philadelphia area, she now lives part-time in Boston and part-time in
Palestine.
Originally from Electronic Intifidah
Stop AIPAC! PO BOX 11311 · Berkeley CA · 94712