A Banner Calling for a Stop to Apartheid by Israel in Palestine.
Luke Sekera-Flanders Spoke of Using Water as a Leverage for Dominance in the Gaza Strip. In the Background are Some of the Participants in the Rally Today.
Retired Newspaper Editor Joan Grant Attended the Rally With a Quote from the Great South African Leader Nelson Mandela.
Muntaha Mohamed Addressed the Crowd at City Hall Today, Urging Public Boycott of Businesses Based in Israel or with Strong Ties to that Counry.
Mainers from all over the state came together at Portland’s city hall urging the Feds to revise its policies toward Israel. The well-attended event was organized by “Portland for Palestine”, a newly formed organization that saw a vacum the seven women organizers decided needed to be filled.
The plan for the rally was to listen to ten speakers, then march down Congress Street and return to Lincoln Park on Congress Street where a candle light vigil would be held according to Sarah Brajtbord, one of the seven organizers of the rally.
Speaker after speaker called for reduced funding to Israel because of all the injustices happening in Palestine. Muntaha Mohamed said: “We are here to protest the way Palestinians are treated.” She urged the public to boycott businesses based in Israel or with strong ties to Israel. “Boycott and divest” she urged.
“Gaza is facing a water shortage,” said Luke Sekera-Flanders, a volunteer with Community Water Justice. He recalled that Israel has instituted numerous water shutoffs on Gaza. “The inequitable distribution of water used as a tool of imperialism used by Israel over Gaza needs to end. It’s used as a political weapon to gain leverage and dominance over countries.”
“America’s top diplomat came to the seat of the Palestinian government on Tuesday with promises of additional aid, a reopened consulate in Jerusalem and a broad sympathetic pledge to rebuild ties that had been severed by the previous administration in favor of Israel,” according to a front page article – “US IS LOOKING TO REBUILD TIES TO PALESTINIANS,” in The New York Times, May 26, 2021 issue. The Gaza Strip suffered greatly during the eleven day conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Rebuilding ties with Palestine carries risks for the United States, however. “The Biden administration says it will help finance an enormous reconstruction effort in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas, a militant group considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel and many other countries.” the article continued. The risk is in offending Israel, the US’s ally in the region.
Neither Mayor Kate of Portland nor anyone from the City Council attended the rally in support of Palestine today. No reporter from the “Susan Collins Press Herald” was seen at the rally either.
Please see previous post herein dated May 22, 2021 on another pro-Palestinian rally at city hall. Mayor Kate of Portland did not attend this rally nor did any members of the Portland City Council.