Oakland Demands Arms Embargo and End to the Genocide

Photos: Leon Kunstenaar

Oakland, Oct. 4) - The rally started at Frank Ogawa Plaza where at least a thousand heard speakers demand an end to the U.S. armed genocide of the Palestinian people.

The protesters then assembled on Fourteenth Street behind a sound truck and banners. A group held aloft little Palestinian themed "sailboats" to symbolize the flotilla attempting to break Israel's blockade of Gaza. Israel is now intercepting and attacking the civilian boats in international waters, in a blatant act of piracy.

There were drummers and jugglers on stilts. The marchers went over to Thirteenth Street and headed in the direction of lake Merritt. However, with less than perfect planning, the march stopped on Oak Street, apparently undecided where to go next as the thousand or so people waited behind them. I last saw them them headed down Oak street.

While to the many outraged at Israel's ongoing war crimes there seems to be no end to the horror. Though, of course, too little and too late, mainstream opinion seems to be shifting. In an October 2nd NY Times article entitled "Democrats Pull Away From AIPAC, Reflecting a Broader Shift," the article notes AIPAC's diminishing influece.

Unmentioned remains is how a foreign power came to domiante the political fortunes of so many politicians in the first place.

For example, the TIMES notes "Last year, for instance, the group (AIPAC) spent more than $23 million to defeat former Representatives Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York, two progressives who vocally opposed unconditional U.S. aid to Israel." The source of this money remains unaddressed.

For the Times, the whole conflict remains all about Israel. With articles that have titles like "As Grim Anniversary Nears, Israel is at War with Itself (Oct. 5), the message is clear, it is Israel's internal debate that is important, the Holocaust the country is perpetrating remains incidental.

As we hear noises about a possible Gaza "deal", in view of Trump's proven incompetence in international matters and Netanyahu's cleverness, we might want to reserve judgement.

See all high resolution photos here.