End Aid to Israel! Solidarity with Gaza!

Speech given by “Karen Sullivan,” Anti-War Committee member, at a Gaza solidarity demonstration on June 12, 2010

The past few weeks Israel has been trying to play the victim of the “poor misunderstood victim”. They claim this recent massacre is really just an “accident”. They claim that they are just trying to protect their borders, that they are really just trying to protect themselves from “terrorists” trying to supply weapons to Hamas. But we know they are not the victims, they are the murderers, the occupiers and the prison guards of Gaza!

This massacre was not an accident. This was one of many deliberate actions upon the part of the Israeli government to keep international solidarity from connecting with the Palestinian people. I can speak to this personally. Last summer I was invited by the Palestinian Women’s Union to come to the West Bank, but I never got past the airport in Tel Aviv. I was held and deported by the Israeli government. They did not want me or anyone associated with the peace movement to see the conditions they inflict on Palestinians. I am not alone. Thousands of activists have been denied entry into the country and deported. American academic and activist Noam Chomsky was detained and deported just the other month. George Galloway and his caravan was denied access to Gaza on their last attempt.

We need to demand justice for the murdered activists on the Gaza floatilla. They are people just like us – activists in solidarity with Palestine.

If the Palestinian cause isn’t just, then what does Israel have to hide? Why won’t they let members of the media or the peace movement meet with the leaders of the social movements and see the impact of the wall, curfews, aerial bombings, home demolitions collective punishment and blockades?

The Anti-War Committee is outraged at the continued support from the Obama administration and our members of Congress. Please use this as an opportunity to continue to demand NO AID TO ISRAEL! Thank you.