With the death toll in Gaza growing closer to 30,000, a small group of Palestinian and human rights activists from RACCOON the (Radical Anti-Capitalist Collective of Outrageous Noise) assembled outside of the Israeli Consulate today to demand an immediate ceasefire and in ending U.S aid to Israel.
Using a variety of media including that of noise making instruments utilizing trash can lids and airhorns accompanied by pots and pans, the group also engaged in stamping bloody red handprints on the sidewalk accompanying chalked messages and in taping letters written by them to Netanyahu and the IDF expressing their outrage and grief while condemning Israel’s genocide.
Their goal today was to curtail consular operations during their protest along with advertising the consulate’s presence and expressing their demands to passersby.
Chanting loudly over the drone of passing traffic, they vociferously avowed “Israel, Israel, come outside, we charge you with genocide” and in challenging staff at the consulate by asking “Consulate employees-what is your pay? How many children have you killed today?” Followed forcefully with noting their desire “Israel consulate-shut it down. We don’t want you in our town!”
Bay Area activists are also credited with their overwhelming support for the recent passage by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors of a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Mayor London Breed had initially threatened to veto the resolution in a letter to Board members on January 19, but later changed her position after having met a great deal of resistance by activists who rallied in demanding she endorse the will of the citizens.
As reported by the Council on American Islamic Relations, CAIR, San Francisco Bay Area Executive Director Zahra Billoo in speaking to the passage of the resolution was quoted as saying “… we congratulate the thousands of people who advocated for the city of San Francisco to demonstrate moral leadership and join the global call for a ceasefire in Gaza. As the genocide in Palestine continues, so too we must continue to speak out.”
Elliot Helmon of Jewish Voice for Peace, Bay Area, characterized the resolution as one that “is reflective of San Francisco’s progressive values” going on to note that, “We are proud that San Francisco stands on the right side of history in this moment despite attempts by right-wing and pro-Israel advocacy organizations to circumvent the democratic process.”
While Netanyahu persists in his entrenched refusal to consider the growing worldwide demand for both an immediate ceasefire and a two-state solution, activists continue mounting daily protests and demonstrations around the globe by demanding that those goals are met.
Phil Pasquini is a freelance journalist and photographer. His reports and photographs appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Pakistan Link and Nuze.ink. He is the author of Domes, Arches and Minarets: A History of Islamic-Inspired Buildings in America.
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