Hundreds of people from across the state rallied and marched in Harrisburg Sunday December 10th to send a message to elected leaders that the people demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire, an end to all aid to Israel, the release of all political Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, and for the liberation of occupied Palestine [1]. Organizers and speakers expressed outrage that the UN Security Council’s favorable vote for a humanitarian ceasefire on Friday December 8th was vetoed and thus blocked by President Biden. The crowd was clearly fed up with the mainstream political establishment in general that has refused to actually represent the will of the people, who are not OK with a genocide being carried out in their name with their tax dollars.
For hours the crowd demanded an end to the nearly 100 year illegal occupation of Palestine.
Thousands of Body Bags Placed on the Capitol Steps
Convening at the Capitol Steps, rally goers laid out a display of several thousand mock body bags representing the nearly 20,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli bombs since October 7th.
Art builds were organized across the state to spread out the monumental task of building thousands of “body bags,” and constructing thousands of Palestinian flags with the names of those martyred written on them. Liberation Center volunteers organized two Art Builds at the Liberation Center in Coatesville.
After rallying on the Capitol steps, attendees marched to Governor Shapiro’s mansion, about a mile and half from the Capitol building, where chants and speeches continued. Along the route residents showed their support for Palestine standing at doorways and hanging out of windows waving flags, fists to the air and even children chanting along, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
Organizers stressed that the US support of Israeli apartheid is allowing the current genocide to be taking place. Speakers expressed strong indignation against Israeli Defense Forces blocking millions of Gazans from accessing food, water and electricity and from blocking humanitarian aid.
Susan Abulhawa, a Bucks County-based Palestinian writer, in a speech in front of the Governors’ mansion, stated that,
We are not only here for a liberated Palestine, but to restore her multicultural, multi-religious society. We are also here to liberate ourselves. And for the Congo and for Sudan. We are here for the millions who languish in the industrial incarceration system. We are here for the indigenous peoples from the northern tip of Canada to the southern tips of Chile and Argentina. This is a class war! Do not stop taking to the streets! Find ways to block commerce and this imperialist, consuming, polluting, killing machine!
A Call to Action
On the return to the Capitol steps from the Governors’ masion, undeterred by the rain, Linda Sarsour, one of the keynote speakers, called on rally goers,
To participate in the Global General Strike for Palestine on Monday December 11th. To not buy anything or go anywhere; to call out sick from work, and keep our kids home from school.
Another attendee, Olivia Pollock, from Lancaster, making the connections between US military spending and the genocide in Gaza on one hand, and the growing poverty in the United States, on the other, told Liberation Center reporters,
The rain and cold could never hold us back from coming today! I get to go back to the safety of my home with heat and electricity afterwards, but no one in Gaza can tonight. The US spends billions to make sure of that, yet doesn’t spend a dime for healthcare or literally or anything to benefit its own citizens.
Saturday’s statewide event for Palestine came on the heels of the UN Security Council vote for a humanitarian ceasefire in which the United States was the sole opposing vote of 15, allowing the resolution to fail. Despite a death toll of roughly 20,000 Palestinian civilians, with a majority of them being children, the Biden administration is still sending US military aid to Israel [2].
Another Lancaster resident, Hikmat Al-Nahhal, originally from Gaza, told us that,
When history is written, it won’t state that Biden’s administration vetoed the Gaza ceasefire. Instead, it will say the USA vetoed the ceasefire in Gaza and supported the Israeli occupation, contributing to a genocide in Gaza.
Al-Nahhal added that she attended this statewide rally and march to express her opposition to the administration’s decision, and she wants to see an immediate ceasefire. She has family, friends, and loved ones in Gaza and wants an end to their suffering.
Since the launch of the Al-Aqsa Flood in Gaza, the response in the rest of the world has been astounding. Week after week, in cities and towns large and small, the solidarity for Palestine and demand for its liberation has grown. We’ve seen massive turnouts in Istanbul, Turkey, Amman, Jordan, London, England, and elsewhere across the world. Hundreds of rallies and shutdown actions have been spreading across the United States [3].
Across Pennsylvania, in the months since October 7th leading up to Sunday’s event, thousands of people have continuously came out to rally in support of the Palestinian struggle in places as far flung as Scranton, Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley, Lancaster, Coatesville, West Chester, Pittsburgh, State College, Williamsport, and Johnstown. In Lancaster, for example, hundreds of people have poured into Penn Square outraged that the US continues to fund genocide in Gaza. In Coatesville too, neighbors have come out to express their support for the liberation of occupied Gaza.
One of the event organizers of the December 10th event in Harrisburg, Suad Sadek, also originally from Gaza, commented that,
Uniting together as a state felt surreal. To be surrounded by my community and to know they support my people filled my heart with joy. To know that I share a home with kind and compassionate humans is the best thing I could ask for. It just goes to show despite our government’s decision to veto a ceasefire, the people of the United States stand with Palestine.
The indifference or outright refusal of politicians to take action is leading to a deepening divide between them and the vast majority of people who support a permanent ceasefire, a release of all political Palestinian prisoners, and a liberated Palestine. However, continued pressure from the masses is making progress, with more politicians who are willing to back a ceasefire.
It is imperative that we continue to organize and demand the liberation of Palestine. Organizers continue calls to shut down business as usual until there is freedom and liberation in Gaza, in the West Bank, and all of Palestine. In our own state of Pennsylvania we will continue to protest companies that financially prosper from death and destruction like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. There are also other weapons and munitions production facilities that are part of the military industrial complex that profits when people die, such as General Dynamics in Scranton and Red Lion, and Israel Weapons Industries in Middletown.
The rally and march for Palestine in Harrisburg December 10th 2023 was organized by a wide range of Palestinian and socialist organizations from across the state including: CPCOM, CAIR Philadelphia, Jewish Voices for Peace-Philly, Philly Palestine Coalition, My Lehigh Valley Youth Organization, FOSNA, Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), Workers World Party, NEPA for Palestine, NEPA DSA, ICNA Harrisburg, Harrisburg Palestine Coalition, Pittsburgh Palestine Coalition, and Palestinian Youth Movement.
References
[2] https://time.com/6344440/us-vetoes-un-resolution-gaza-ceasefire-backlash/
[3] https://www.npr.org/2023/11/01/1209789324/democrats-israel-palestinians-progressive-foreign-policy