The largest Palestine solidarity march in US history is expected to take place on November 4 in Washington, DC. The march is being organized by a broad coalition of Palestinian, Arab-American, and anti-imperialist organizations including the Palestinian Youth Movement, the ANSWER Coalition, the American Muslim Alliance, the People’s Forum, National Students for Justice in Palestine, Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), and Maryland2Palestine. It has also been endorsed by more than 350 organizations. Ten of thousands of attendees are traveling by bus from across the United States to join the historic march. The central demands are an end to US funding of Israel, an end to Israel’s siege against Gaza, and a military ceasefire.
The United States funds the Israeli occupation to the tune of USD 4 billion each year. Biden has been attempting to push through a massive spending bill of USD 105 billion, allocating funding to both Israel and Ukraine. Congressional republicans are attempting to pass a bill excluding all proposed funding to Ukraine, while maintaining the over USD 14 billion to Israel.
US activists have argued that Israel’s heavy funding and military support from the US is due to the state’s unique position as a Western military outpost in West Asia. Current US President Joe Biden himself said in 1986, “It’s the best three billion dollar investment we made. Were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel to protect her interest in the region.”
Hatem Abudayyeh, National Chair of the US Palestinian Community Network said in anticipation of the November 4 demonstration, “The carnage from Israel’s war is unbelievable. Hundreds of civilians are being massacred every night. Bombs and missiles are raining down on hospitals, schools and residential buildings.” He added, “Shamefully, Biden signs the checks that pays for these weapons that are being used to commit a genocide. Our march on November 4 will demand an immediate end to all US funding to Israel, and an end to US legislators’ disgusting rhetoric in condemnation of our people, which has led to incitement to violence, including the murder of a beautiful six-year-old Palestinian boy in Illinois and physical attacks by zionists on our pro-Palestine protests in Seattle, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and Skokie, a suburb of Chicago.”
In his present administration, Biden has worked overtime defending Israel, even claiming that he has “no notion that Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed.”
“I have no confidence in that number that the Palestinians are using,” he continued.
Shortly after this statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry published the full list of those killed in Israel’s assault since October 7.
On October 31, Israel dropped six tons of US-made bombs on a heavily populated neighborhood in the Jabalya refugee camp, killing and wounding 400 Palestinians. This was supposedly done to kill a single Hamas militant in the area. When pressed on the massacre, an Israeli Occupation Forces spokesperson told CNN, “this is the tragedy of war.” Israeli forces hit Jabalya refugee camp for a second time on Wednesday, November 1, killing dozens. A shocking video circulating social media shows a Palestinian doctor cutting a living fetus out of a pregnant Palestinian woman killed in the first strike against the Jabalya camp.
Meanwhile, violence continues to escalate across the West Bank especially in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah. Shocking videos have emerged of Israeli forces torturing and humiliating Palestinian political prisoners in the West Bank. Prisoners have been stripped of their clothing or forced to perform Israeli solidarity chants on video. Since October 7, Israeli forces have killed 123 Palestinians, including 34 children. According to the IOF, over 1,180 Palestinians have been arrested in the West Bank since October 7.
The march in Washington DC is part of an international day of solidarity with Palestine organized by the International Peoples’ Assembly (IPA). Mobilizations and protests have been announced in dozens of cities across the world including Accra (Ghana), Karachi (Pakistan), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Seoul (South Korea), Rome (Italy), Brasilia and São Paulo (Brazil), among others.
