WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2021) Hundreds marched in downtown Washington, DC, from the US State Department to the White House in protest against Israel's occupation of the Palestinian lands, its military action in Gaza and police operations in East Jerusalem.
Ethnic Palestinians were joined by American left-wing activists brandishing Black Lives Matter paraphernalia and religious Jews from the Naturei Karta group known for their opposition to Zionism and the very existence of Israel.
"We came as a group of Jews to show our support, our solidarity with the suffering of the Palestinian people... What's happening in [disputed Jerusalem neighborhoods of] Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan, what's happening in Gaza, in the entire occupation is not only unacceptable as a crime, it's against God, it's a rebellion against God, against the Torah," one of Naturei Karta's leaders Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss told Sputnik.
At least 35 Palestinians in Gaza and three Israelis were killed, many more got wounded in an exchange of hundreds of rocket salvos and air strikes. The fiercest flare up since 2014 followed days of clashes in East Jerusalem where local Palestinians rose up against Israeli plans to evict several families from homes in Sheikh Jarrah.
"We are here to say to the State Department which refuses to acknowledge the violence of the Israelis... No more! No more funding, no more political support," one of the speakers at the rally, a young Palestinian woman, said.
The US administration calls for deescalation and pledges to work with both sides as well as other major stakeholders. It condemns rocket attacks on Israeli cities and supports Israel's right to defend itself, but also urges its chief regional ally to refrain from destabilizing unilateral steps, including evictions, house demolitions and settlement activities.
Speaking at the rally convened by 15 different political groups, Rashida Tlaib, the first American-Palestinian to be elected to US Congress, described great lengths she goes to explain the Palestinian plight to her colleagues.
"I don't even use sometimes [word] 'occupation'. Because they don't understand that. But they do understand that people die solely because of who they are, because they are Palestinians," she said and publicly accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing."
The procession eagerly embraced some slightly modified BLM slogans and chants. "Hey hey! Ho ho! The occupation has got to go," they shouted on the way to the White House. Spearheaded by rabbis and their kids, activists carried a giant Palestinian banner and pushed a dummy tank with flowers atop a plywood turret.
They were accompanied by several police cars who briefly blocked intersections to let the procession pass. A Sputnik reporter saw no disturbances, unlike in New York where a similar event resulted in minor altercations with pro-Israeli activists.
