Protesting Israel’s propaganda machine
By
AMHERST, Mass.--Around 50 activists with the Western Mass. Coalition for Palestine put the Israeli propaganda machine on notice: Mercenaries from the Israel Defense Force (IDF) won't go unopposed when they try to legitimize the brutal occupation policies of Israeli apartheid at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Each time they speak, they will face an opposition that demands the prosecution of Israeli war criminals.
The activists, who mobilized on less than three day's notice, were the overwhelming majority of the audience who turned out to hear Sgt. Ken Sachs deliver what had been publicized as the "true and very personal story of an American immigrant who joins the army and is injured in a terror attack in Gaza while serving in the IDF." The event was co-sponsored by UMass Hillel and the Student Alliance for Israel (SAFI).
Though the topic of Sachs' speech took place in Gaza, the description of the event never used the word "Palestinian." Instead, the word "terrorist" was used to describe those who "attacked" Sachs at the Erez checkpoint.
Sachs served in the IDF until 2003, spending time in Jenin, Gaza and Lebanon. He must have been intended to put a human face on the terror of the occupation. He obviously was not chosen because he is a compelling speaker.
Inspired by previous protests of IDF speakers at the University of Michigan and Arizona State University, Coalition activists met before the event and taped to their chests and backs the names of Palestinian children killed by the IDF in Operation Cast Lead, the brutal assault on Gaza during the waning days of the Bush administration. There were about a hundred names in all--the activists then covered their black shirts with an outer layer of clothing.
At a pre-arranged signal during the talk, the activists rose, removed their outer layer of clothing and covered their mouths with a strip of black tape in memory of and mourning for the Palestinian children who have been silenced forever by the IDF.
They then sat down and allowed Sachs to continue his droning for a few minutes. At a second pre-arranged signal, they stood again and raised their fists in a salute to the power of the oppressed--activists in the front of the room also unfurled two banners, one announcing our presence as the "Western Mass. Coalition for Palestine," and the other making the demand: "Israeli War Criminals Must Be Punished."
After standing for a minute in silence, during which the Hillel director threatened to have us removed for our "uncivil disruption," we silently filed out of the room.
"We're part of a larger movement," Emahunn Campbell said at the speak-out following the protest. "We're standing on the side of Palestinians, we're standing on the side of anti-racism and anti-imperialism all over the world. It's a beautiful thing." The only thing that could be more beautiful is freedom for Palestine.
