支持巴勒斯坦聯盟7/20將上波士頓廣場抗議以色列總理Netanyahu到訪

BOSTON PROTEST AGAINST NETANYAHU’S DC VISIT 

Saturday, July 20, 2024 at 2 pm - Boston Common Bandstand. Station, Boston 

Boston - The Boston Coalition for Palestine is rallying in protest of Netanyahu’s planned speech to Congress on July 24th. For over 9 months, Netanyahu has led the genocidal assault and blockade of Gaza, which has been enabled by our politicians and public funds on the local and national levels. Public funds could and should be used for the benefit of people and communities here in Massachusetts and the United States as opposed to causing the unimaginable pain and suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. 

Netanyahu has repeatedly acted in bad faith during ceasefire negotiations and has been accused of intentionally prolonging Israel’s war on Gaza for personal and political gain. Recent media reports also indicate that arrest warrants are expected to be issued against Netanyahu and others in his government in connection with war crimes they have committed and continue to commit in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 

President Biden and other U.S. officials, including Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, have committed the genocide in lock step with Netanyahu, approving arms deal after arms deal, despite promising the people that the invasion of Rafah - which has been ongoing for over two months - would be a red line. Instead of condemning Netanyahu’s brutal assault on Gaza and refusal to allow humanitarian aid to reach those who most need it, our politicians invited and are welcoming Netanyahu to our country’s capital to deliver a speech to congress and continue to vote, including Senator Warren and Senator Markey, to send billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to Netanyahu. The contradictions between the will of the people - who do not favor US funding of Israel  and the actions of the US government have never been more clear. Simultaneously, the conditions of massacre, starvation, and rampant public health catastrophe in Gaza could not be more urgent.

 Although the official death toll in Gaza has been hovering around 45,000 for several months now, a recent report by the Lancet, a respected medical journal, estimated that the actual death toll in Gaza is closer to 180,000 or about 8% of the population. These figures, along with Israeli officials’ rhetoric promoting violence against the Palestinian people, backed by the use of starvation as a weapon of war and the complete destruction of any civilian infrastructure is clear evidence of Israel’s genocidal intent in Gaza and against the Palestinian people. 

A portion of the U.S. aid to Israel is funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which alone sends over $130 million to Israel every year. These funds could (and should instead) be used to provide housing for over 15,000 families or free or low cost healthcare to over 45,000 children. 

 On Saturday, Boston Coalition for Palestine will be rallying against Netanyahu’s visit to D.C. and U.S. aid to Israel and in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Despite the sweltering heat, the people of Massachusetts are taking a stand to let the world know that Netanyahu is not welcome in our country's capital.