Coast To Coast Support For Gaza: Travis AFB To Yankee Stadium To Maine Colleges

Photo of Travis AFB in California gate closure from IndyBay.org

So much going on every single day demanding an end to genocide in Palestine that I just can't stop sharing. Send me your reports!

PEACE ACTIVISTS DEMONSTRATE at MAIN GATES of TRAVIS AFB THURSDAY, PROTEST U.S. SENDING WEAPONS to AID ISRAEL GAZA GENOCIDE

* UPDATE * UPDATE * UPDATE *

As of 9:30 a.m. Thursday, at least a dozen peace activists were arrested after blocking gates to Travis AFB, starting at 6 a.m. All four gates were eventually closed to all traffic entering the base. Misdemeanor charges allegedly are "unlawful assembly" and those arrested taken to Solano County Jail in Fairfield. More information to come.

FAIRFIELD, CA – Dozens of activists representing a diverse solidarity coalition from SF Bay Area to Sacramento and the Foothills supporting the people of Palestine will arrive at the main gates to Travis AFB Thursday, Dec. 28 in the early morning hour of 6 a.m., to demand Travis AFB stop sending U.S weapons to Israel, aiding a near 3 month long ongoing genocide.

Activists will use chants/banners like “STOP TRAVIS, NO US WEAPONS for GENOCIDE!” and “SEND FOOD to GAZA, NO WEAPONS TO ISRAEL!”

Members of Youth4Palestine-Sacramento, SF Bay Area CODEPINK, Nevada County Peace & Justice Center, Veterans For Peace, and many other organizations are expected to participate. List of Sponsors and Endorsers HERE

Where:  Main Gate, Travis Air Force Base,  Air Base Parkway, Fairfield, CA
What/When:  PROTEST/RALLY: 6:00 am - 9:00am
What:  Bannering & Signs, Street theater, Chants and Song and other diverse tactics will be used.

Some people may choose nonviolent resistance to impede 'business as usual’ to express their strong grievances for the US government's complicity in the unspeakable crimes and devastation being committed in Gaza.

At a time when 70% of Americans polled, including 80% of Democrats, support a ceasefire resolution, it is appalling  that the vast majority of Congress and our Democratic president are inhibiting a ceasefire, and continuing to send military aid to Israel.  

Experts on genocide have been claiming that Israel’s actions are a textbook case of genocide and ethnic cleansing.  “We have very few choices left, but to call on our own military to act out of conscience, and stand up for basic human rights of the Palestinian people,” says Toby Blomé, one of the organizers.  

"We’re pleased that so many people are planning to join us at Travis on Dec. 28, to express our united support of Palestine and our opposition to sending more weapons to Israel,” says co-organizer, Eleanor Levine.

Background:  Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, CA, is the largest transport AF base in the U.S. and is actively sending military supplies directly to Israel, to aid and abet in Israel's ceaseless bombing of Gaza.  Travis is complicit in genocide.

Over 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, including 8,000+ children. 1/2 to 1/3 of homes in Gaza have been destroyed. Hospitals, as well as ambulances, hospital workers and patients, many in critical condition, have all been targeted. Healthcare services for survivors with serious wounds are almost non-existent, due to severe shortages of essential medical supplies and medical workers.  In addition, mass displacement of Palestinians amidst severe shortages of food, water, fuel, and shelter is aggravating an already dire situation.

Press Contacts:
Noor Hariz, Youth4Palestinians-Sacramento:  (916) 502-2900
Toby Blomé, Bay Area CODEPINK, 510-501-5412 Toby4Peace@sonic.net <Toby4Peace@sonic.net>
Jeffrey Gottesman, Nevada County Peace & Justice Center, (510) 414-0196

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Last night (December 29) the Bronx Anti War Coalition projected messages in solidarity with Palestine at Yankee Stadium and Bronx County Civil Court on 161st street.

 

https://twitter.com/BXAntiWar/status/1740914656565432792

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Maine Students for Palestine (in occupied Wabanakiya) is forming statewide and just published this statement on their new social media accounts.

What's next? Find an action near you!

Shut It Down For Palestine: Holiday Roundup

Happy to report that there were several actions I missed prior to yesterday's post about both Maine's senators hearing from constituents the demand that they Stop Funding Genocide.

At dawn on Christmas morning protesters headed to the homes of Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and later National Security advisor Jake Sullivan in the Washington DC area. Some of the many protesters are seen above with holiday-themed messages. 

Both LAX and JFK, the big international airports in Los Angeles and New York City, saw road blockages on Wednesday morning. Pictured above is the JFK group using cars and people to block an access road.

Pictured above is an aerial shot of the road blockage at LAX using construction debris, tree branches, and other found materials.

Italians saw an opera performance interrupted by the demand to end genocide in Gaza.

Feel like you're missing out on opportunities to oppose your government conducting genocide in your lifetime? This could be an action for you:

From American Muslims for Palestine:

We invite you to endorse and be part of the March on Washington for Gaza at the National Mall on Saturday, January 13th, 2024. You can find the march demands and endorsement form here: https://bit.ly/gazamarch

Also in my inbox:

The ANSWER Coalition is reserving buses for January 13 from cities around the country. Sponsoring organizations from the American Muslim Task Force for Palestine have already reserved hundreds of buses.

We hope you will join us for the next national, massive outpouring on January 13.

Let your government know: they have lost the consent of the governed over supporting Israel's genocide in Palestine! 

U.S. Senators Don't Represent The Public On Gaza Genocide

Pictured above is my friend Ridgely Fuller outside Senator Angus King's home in Brunswick on Christmas Day. She made a sign, wrapped a baby doll in a keffiyeh, and called for a vigil that drew a baker's dozen of people and two dogs.

Back in the day, senators and others in Congress used to meet regularly with anti-war constituents to hear their concerns. At various times I've met with Senator Susan Collins via video from her office in Maine's capital and in person with the 2nd congressional district rep about U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This type of constituent access ended around the time one-term Rep. Bruce Poliquin ducked into a women's bathroom to avoid questions.

Now, even the town hall is a thing of the past and the only way you're going to be able to speak with the people who allegedly represent you and spend your taxes is...by accident.

Kudos to Jack a polite, insistent, well-informed constituent who made a video of Susan Collins spouting talking points and avoiding conversation about genocide in Gaza at Panera Bread in Augusta. The one aide accompanying Collins appears to push Jack, but he remains undeterred.

Those of us who gathered in response to Ridgely's call left messages for King all over his lawn and front porch as a dog barked inside with nobody home (one in the know said the family was likely at their "ski palace" in Sugarloaf). Earlier in the month King sent a fundraising email with the subject line: I've got BBQ on my mind (and received the reply: This makes you a monster).

Congress critters can go on raking in cash and ignoring the people, but they appear to be rapidly losing the consent of the governed. One manifestation of this is the fact that the imperial forces are having even more difficulties recruiting amid "a general disinterest or even distrust of the US Armed Forces following decades of wars predicated on dubious pretexts." 

U.S. senators serve those they consider to be their important constituents: war profiteers.

A report of a recent action at one of General Dynamics' profit centers in Maine may be found here. 

Hey senators, our message is loud and clear: stop funding genocide!

Mighty Little Yemen

While the rest of us are marching, rallying, blocking, calling, boycotting, and organizing to demand an immediate permanent ceasefire in Gaza, mighty little Yemen is putting effective pressure on Israel to halt their genocide in Palestine. Per the map above, they are exceptionally well-positioned to do so.

World response? Find other routes or stop shipping to Israel completely. For example, BP aka British Petroleum announced this week that it was suspending shipping in the Red Sea. Within 24 hours, both ruling class parties in the UK began calling for a ceasefire.

U.S. response? Rush warships to the area for policing waters that are thousands of miles from its own shores. Also, browbeat a coalition to help. According to Democratic Party-aligned media corporation CNN, "The multinational operation includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain." Hmm, looks like they were not successful at enlisting that other outpost of the Anglo-American empire, Australia. 

https://twitter.com/SpiritofHo/status/1737622849236390344

Israel, busy salivating over the nifty coastal settlements that are planned for an ethnically cleansed Gaza, is experiencing disrupted shipping not just in the Red Sea but throughout the globe. As I write, Israel continues bombing the border area between Gaza and Egypt after having forced Gaza's population into that small area. Unsurprisingly, they continue to kill journalists who report on their genocidal behavior.

Historians have referred to Israel as "America's unsinkable aircraft carrier" in other words a permanent military installation in oil and gas rich Western Asia. A good hint at why the Pentagon brain trust has named the campaign to thwart Yemen "Operation Prosperity Guardian" (I sure hope they're not paying their writers much for producing this dreck).

What's the context when the U.S. feels compelled to send actual aircraft carriers to defend Israel's "right" to kill 20,000 in Gaza (including 4,000 children) and destroy all health infrastructure still standing? From the If Americans Knew Israel-Palestine News:

Doctors are stepping over the bodies of dead children to treat other children who will die anyway - Day 73..  

“The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. And day after day, that brutal reality is reinforced,” today said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder

 

It's a lot more feasible to claim you stand for international shipping security than that you support genocide. Here's the latest UN attempt to pass a ceasefire resolution with only Canada, Micronesia, Nauru, and Palau joining the U.S. and Israel to vote no.

The days of imperial dominance by the U.S. and its posse are ending. Ansarallah-led Yemen was just about to sign an agreement ending years of war with powerful neighbor Saudi Arabia, one that produced scenes of destruction similar to what we're seeing in Gaza in addition to famine and epidemic disease. That's on hold for now.

Shut It Down For Palestine Wherever You Are

Yesterday I had occasion to join about 50 people at a rally for Gaza in Lewiston. It's a city in Maine with a large Muslim community and many New Mainers spoke or performed and read poems. I was getting cold when the emcee announced that we would march to Rep. Jared Golden's office a few blocks away to demand he support an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. That opportunity was all I needed to get fired up again!

Here's my tweet sharing a short clip of some of the people marching at Golden's office.

Actions demanding an end to U.S. support for genocide in Gaza are more or less nonstop these days. Which ones will you be joining?

In the Blue Hill area, all can join a weekly rally for CEASEFIRE IN GAZA,

12:30 to 1:00 every Saturday on Main Street near the Town Hall.

 Responses from passing cars have been largely positive.

For questions, contact Bob Jones bobjonesinnz@yahoo.com 

If you're more motivated by disruptive actions to communicate that there will be no business as usual until a permanent ceasefire is achieved, maybe this item from my inbox will inspire you.

Photo credit: Mike Hastie

Last night in Portland, Oregon, Jewish Voices For Peace completely

blockaded the Burnside Bridge, one of the busiest bridges in the entire
city of Portland. They did this for 3 straight hours, without one police
officer showing up to stop the action. The time frame was from 3:00PM
until 6:00PM. There were about 250 people there wearing mostly all
black, who sat down in the middle of the bridge, and heard several
speakers speak about the genocidal crimes being committed by the Israeli
Government and the U.S. Government against the Palestinian people in
Gaza. One speaker emphatically stated that Zionism does not define
Judaism around the world. She also stated that Judaism was 4,000 years
older than Zionism. At dark, the Menorah was lit up with nine battery
powered lights. After each light came on, which celebrated the eight
days of Hanukkah, a blessing was recited. The 9th light, or candle, is
called the Shamash, or helper, which is used to light the other eight
candles. The ceremony and singing was incredibly moving, as one could
feel the profound solidarity and love for the Palestinian people. It was
a perfect peaceful action, an overwhelming night to remember.

Mike Hastie

Also in the news this morning: the UN Security Council passed a resolution for an immediate ceasefire which was unanimous except for the U.S. veto and a UK abstention.

The city of Cambridge, Massachusetts failed to pass a resolution for ceasefire. Here's a report back on that from a local resident.

Editor and Friends,

It is more than disappointing that the Cambridge City Council recently failed to endorse Ceasefire on Gaza. Most citizens testifying urged “Yes” (ceasefire). No councilmember voted “No”, but 7 out of 9 voted “Present”, thereby defeating the Order (the mayor and one other voted “yes”).

Out of order, at the end a citizen shouts “Cowards! Cowards! There’s a genocide happening!” Are the seven “present” (nonvoting) councilors cowards? Is there something wrong with this 300-year-old procedure? Perhaps expert testimony regarding the situation of these councilors should be routine---beginning with the councilors themselves, revealing the cognitive or social conflicts they have regarding this issue. Perhaps a political scientist, a sociologist, and a psychologist should hold a closed preliminary group conference with the councilors, and anonymously summarize the conflicts they face before the hearing is held and final vote taken. 

(Some likely factors of conflict may include threats from wealthy campaign donors, threats from university and corporate leaders, tips from personal investment advisers and lawyers, tips regarding campaigning for higher office, Israeli or Palestinian lobbying, dirt and slander about ceasefire advocates, bias of media editors, known trolls on social media, bleeding hearts of fellow councilors, and so on. The result may be summed up as inadvertent “corruption” and its dangers.)

..

Dave Lewit ‘47

Boston, MA

Finally, if you still need more motivation, consider the gargantuan military spending bill that passed both houses of Congress this week. After the Senate's version of the NDAA passed, AIPAC sent out this self-congratulatory press release detailing all the "aid" for Israel contained in the multi-billion dollar spending package.

I'll leave you with this ad and a translation I can't check because I don't read Hebrew. If you do and you want to correct the translation, please advise.

https://twitter.com/EpshtainItay/status/1735950943995265504

REVISED Dec 18 to correct a date discrepancy and fix a broken link.

Where Does Your Alma Mater Stand On Genocide?

There, I fixed it for you. 

An airplane towed the original distorted message through the skies all week, including over the Army-Navy football game in Boston and several campuses besides Harvard. Because narrative control that began with the NATO proxy war on Russia in Ukraine has grown exponentially with the need to whitewash genocide in Gaza by the U.S. and Israel.

In the topsy turvy world of status quo message management, those who oppose Zionism are now deemed Nazis. So, Hasidic Jews, gen Z Jews, secular Jews who did not fall for Israelism -- are all Nazis. Got it?

President Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania fell to the witch hunt and has resigned following charges in Congress that her fealty to free speech no matter how odious makes her a Jew-hater.

My own alma mater, tiny little Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, was working overtime on narrative management last Saturday as hundreds of students and supporters gathered demanding alumnus Sen. Angus King work for a permanent ceasefire now. Photographers and media were told by campus security that no photos and no reporting would be allowed.

But an open air rally on the steps of the art museum ought to at least be reported in the Orient, right? As the oldest student newspaper in the U.S., the Orient has lately become hampered in its ability to report the truth if that truth is deemed inconvenient by the wealthy who serve on its board of directors (think Jes Staley of Barclay's who stepped down over allegations that he enabled Jeffrey Epstein's child rape and blackmail scheme). I know because, while the Orient used to publish my occasional op eds or letters to the editor, that all came to a screeching halt over my dissent from the official Ukraine narrative i.e. Russia bad, Ukraine not infiltrated by literal Nazis.

The compare and contrast between Friday's rally at General Dynamics and Saturday's rally at Bowdoin reveals very similar messaging but a subdued tone at the college up until the march began. 

In a nutshell, Bowdoin speakers said things like, "according to the New York Times" as if they lack the understanding that the NYT and NPR (also cited) are part of the problem of genocide whitewashing. There was little if any crowd response except, interestingly, when a speaker mentioned the name of Gaza journalist MoTaz.

In Bath, the crowd responded continuously until hours in the cold and then gathering darkness quieted them down. The final speaker was well-informed but most of us oldsters thought it was TMI; I noted from my spot on the pavement that they actually got a cheer from the crowd for using the phrase "historical revision." In other words, my kind of people.

At Bowdoin, the similar sized crowd of about 300 finally got loud as they marched with scrolls recording the names of the first several thousand people killed in Gaza. 

https://youtu.be/qdEa1K79YQI

My friends who went on the mile and a half march reported the energy remained high throughout a reading of a letter to King signed by 1,500 members of the Bowdoin community (me among them). The marchers also left the scrolls with names of those slaughtered on King's doorstep -- in other words, right where they belong.

King has voted for funding genocide in Gaza before, and he probably will again. May he not know a moment's peace when he's at home a few blocks from campus in a house with a Ukraine flag out front in the small town of Brunswick.

Hundreds Rally At General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works To Kick Off Stop Arming Genocide Campaign in Maine

Photo credit: Robin Farrin

Yesterday a mass rally took over the street in front of General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works shipyard and a die-in held the space for about an hour. Especially gratifying: seeing my old activist friends, many of whom came from far away to lay down and risk arrest, together with the much younger demographic of the Maine Coalition for Palestine. 

While Penobscot speaker Lokotah Sanborn drew parallels between land theft in Palestine and land theft in the unceded territories of Wabanakiya, a small handful of counter protesters modeled settler colonialism shouting "Get off our lawn!" from the union hall steps adjacent to the protest. There is no line of demarcation between the post office side lawn where speakers were gathered and the AFL-CIO property, and a scuffle that broke out when someone strayed onto the union's lawn was the only police intervention witnessed by legal observer Mark Roman yesterday. No one was injured, and no arrests were made.

Photo credit: Robin Farrin

There was considerable outreach to the union prior to the event and not all workers at BIW were hostile, but some predictably disagreed with our analysis on Palestine and/or were angered by our presence at their workplace. Also, it's hard to be told that your work supports the slaughter of infants.

Happily, no basketball bats were observed.

I did witness some protesters chastising a t.v. cameraman and reporter for interviewing the two very vocal counter protesters who spent most of the rally inexplicably chanting "Gaza to the sea!" or calling protesters "commies" and "Nazis" in the same breath. The reporter told those objecting that newscentermaine wanted to give coverage to "both sides" but the ratio of  250 pro-Palestine voices to about 10 pro-Israel voices wasn't clearly reflected in any of the mainstream news coverage I saw. The camera operator ended the confrontation by snarling, "How about you get out of the way and let us do our fucking job?"

Local police attempting to do their job simply closed the street for a couple of hours and declined to arrest anybody. The Chief told our police liaison Bruce Gagnon that the Bath PD was short staffed and when Gagnon asked if he planned to call the county sheriff for backup he replied, "They only have a couple of guys, too."  I did see the (warm) sheriff's van often used to transport arrestees from BIW but eventually it departed without being used.

Here's news coverage we've seen so far:

'Die-in' held outside Bath Iron Works to protest US military support of Israel | WGME

More than 100 protest at BIW over support for Israel's war in Gaza (bangordailynews.com)

Pro-Palestine Protestors Block Road Outside Bath Iron Works, Demand Shipyard Stop Arming "Imperialist Genocide" - The Maine Wire

Hundreds rally outside Bath Iron Works to protest U.S. military aid for Israel (pressherald.com)

The Maine Coalition for Palestine is waging an extensive campaign to support people in Gaza and the West Bank right now, with many more events and actions planned. Today, folks can join Bowdoin SJP on campus in Brunswick to demand alumnus Sen. Angus King support a permanent ceasefire now.

As a Bowdoin alum myself, I am happy to see our mascot wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh. Go Polar Bears!

REVISED: Updated to include photos just in from Robin Farrin.

How Are U.S. Warships Supporting Israel's Genocide In Gaza?

Gaza has been under military blockade since 2006. Its one harbor, in Gaza City, was heavily bombed by Israel recently. Repeated attempts to reach Gaza with boats carrying humanitarian supplies have been thwarted by Israel with U.S. backing and we've seen activists beaten and even killed for trying to deliver cargo like medical supplies.

Bringing this question closer to home, How is the genocide in Gaza supported by General Dynamics and Bath Iron Works?

General Dynamics is the world’s fourth largest weapons manufacturer and Bath Iron Works (BIW) is one of its many locations for building weapon delivery systems. In this location in Maine shipbuilders historically profited from building slave ships.

Today, both destroyers and cruisers are built to be nuclear-capable meaning they are designed to be able to deliver first-strike attack nuclear Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-3 'missile defense' interceptors which would take out an enemy’s defenses following a first strike by the U.S.

Currently there are multiple Bath-built warships in the vicinity of Gaza including the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. The USS Kearny, an Aegis destroyer built at BIW, is deployed there as is the USS Mason, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer which on 27 November engaged in a firefight with Yemeni forces on behalf of an Israeli merchant ship it was sent to rescue. U.S. ships have been reported as routinely shooting down drones launched from Yemen that target ships in the vicinity.

Map dated May, 2020 Source: https://iranpress.com/infographic-military-assets-in-eastern-mediterranean

On 15 November Aljazeera published a video report, “What does the Western naval build-up in the Middle East look like?” with this comment: “The Middle East is witnessing a Western naval build-up that hasn't been seen there for decades: aircraft carriers, destroyers, missile cruisers, amphibious assault ships, a nuclear-powered submarine, and many more.”

U.S. warships are deployed to deter resistance forces in the region -- such as Hezbollah -- from intervening to stop genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. So far they’ve been apparently unsuccessful, however, their presence increases the likelihood of escalation as in the case of the USS Mason fighting Yemen on behalf of Israel.

Since the resumption of Israel's bombing of Gaza on December 1, these confrontations have indeed escalated.

https://twitter.com/BTnewsroom/status/1731400524962861406

https://twitter.com/LumpyLouish/status/1731391459478180288

Treating U.S. warships as inherently different from Israeli warships is mythology. The two nation states have never been in closer lock step as they do the bidding of their corporate overlords.

Israel has been described as "America's unsinkable aircraft carrier" but the U.S. and Israel have never been so reviled in world opinion as they are today. Their collective reputation is sinking like a warship that's taking on water.

Join us in Bath this Friday if you're able. Help us communicate to workers that we know Bath Iron Works only has one customer -- the U.S. Navy -- but it wasn't always like that. So many useful things could be built there and even more good union jobs generated, like hospital ships to provide relief for the bombed out children of Gaza.

Injured Palestinian kid receives medical treatment at Al-Nasr Children's Hospital after an Israeli attack in Khan Yunis, Gaza on November 18, 2023. Abed Zagout/Anadolu via Getty Images

If you have the courage, watch or read: "A harrowing video shows decomposing babies in a Gaza hospital after they had to be abandoned amid Israeli attacks."

Then, wherever you're located, get out in the streets to demand an end to genocide in Gaza and to the military blockade that supports it.