Photo: Half a million people participated in the largest pro-Palestine march in U.S. history on Nov. 4. Credit: Bratton Young.
Reposted from Peoples Dispatch.
A coalition of Muslim and pro-Palestine organizations are taking the overwhelmingly popular demand for a ceasefire straight to Biden’s doorstep on January 13, at 1 pm, at the Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC. The “March for Gaza” is being organized by the American Muslim Task Force on Palestine, which includes American Muslims for Palestine, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Circle of North America, Muslim American Society, Muslim Student Association-National, Muslim Legal Fund of America, Muslim Ummah of North America, and Young Muslims, alongside the ANSWER Coalition, which played a key role in organizing the largest pro-Palestine demonstration in US history on November 4.
The demands of the march are a permanent ceasefire, an end to unconditional US funding of Israel’s genocide, and Israeli accountability for crimes against Palestinians and violations of international law.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Deputy Director of CAIR told Peoples Dispatch, “We have a moral obligation to make sure that if the President is not going to listen to the cries of children being pulled through the rubble and mothers wailing over their slaughtered families, then he’s at least gonna hear from the American people marching to the White House.” He continued, “We remember the legacy of Dr. King who risked his reputation to stand up against the Vietnam War near the end of his life.”
Since the upsurge of the Palestine solidarity movement following October 7, hundreds of thousands of people have been organizing and mobilizing to demand the liberation of Palestine. Across New York City, organizers have demonstrated outside of the offices and homes of pro-Israel politicians such as Ritchie Torres, Chuck Schumer and Gregory Meeks denouncing those figures for their unwavering support for the Zionist state and calling on them to support a ceasefire resolution in US Congress. A coalition of organizations blocked three bridges and four tunnels in a highly disruptive direct action on Monday, a feat that had not been accomplished in New York City since 1995.
Later that day, a handful of protesters disrupted a Biden campaign event, interrupting his speech with calls of “ceasefire now!” Biden was then subsequently met with protesters immediately after flying into a Dallas airport. 13 protesters were arrested for blocking the entrance to the Dallas Love Field airport.
On Wednesday December 10, San Francisco became the largest US city to call for a ceasefire after the Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 in favor of a ceasefire resolution.
A crowd of 100,000 is expected on Saturday, as public support for Palestine grows among the people of the US, especially young people.
A Harvard CAPS-Harris poll, conducted from December 13 to 14, affirmed young people’s overwhelming support. In this poll, 2,034 registered voters in the US were asked what they believed was the “long-term answer to the Israel-Palestinian dispute”: “for Arab states to absorb the Palestinians, for there to be two states, Israel and Palestine, or for Israel to be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians?” 51% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 chose “for Israel to be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians.” This represents a massive change from the same poll in November, in which only 17% of young people indicated they would prefer “for Israel to be ended.”
The provocative poll also asked respondents whether they supported Israel or Hamas. According to the results, 50% of people aged 18 to 24 support Hamas over Israel. This is a notable shift from the same question posed in November, in which 45% of young people chose Hamas over Israel.
A New York Times/Siena College poll from December also found that younger voters in the US are far more critical of Israel and the Biden administration’s support of the Zionist state than older voters. Nearly three quarters of voters from 18 to 29 disapprove of the way Biden is handling the war in Gaza. Compared to older voters, this group of young voters largely denounces Israeli action, with nearly three fourths saying that Israel is not taking enough precautions to avoid civilian casualties, and almost half saying that it is intentionally killing civilians. A majority (55%) of young people oppose additional US aid to Israel.
