About 40 people gathered on the Pentacrest on Tuesday afternoon in Iowa City, days after Israel began striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
The group included members of Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine, Veterans for Peace, and others. Many of the attendees attend weekly Friday afternoon meetings to call for peace.
Tuesday’s meeting was described as an “emergency protest” encouraging “Hands off Lebanon,” SJP said on Instagram.
Deadliest period since 2006 war
Israel began bombing Hezbollah targets in Lebanon Monday morning, just days after exploding pagers and walkie-talkies killed tens of people and injured thousands. Through Tuesday, the conflict represents the deadliest period between the neighboring Middle Eastern countries since the 33-day Israel-Lebanon war in 2006.
Signs in Iowa City asked to “Stop U.S.-funded ethnic cleansing,” and urged awareness that “Israel spends your tax dollars on terrorism.” Another sign said, “We remember all the martyrs. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters.”
The escalation between Israel and Hezbollah comes two weeks before the anniversary of the deadly Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that kickstarted the Israel-Hamas war.
More: Iowa Poll: Democrat Rob Sand again tops GOP’s Kim Reynolds, Brenna Bird in job approval
Syrian-American activist warns of expansion of Israel’s war
Iowa City resident and Syrian-American Newman Abuissa said Israel’s government continues to act as though Israel and Hamas are close to a ceasefire. He said Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, continues to direct the bombing of hospitals, schools, and other areas in Gaza that Palestinians believe are safe.
“They’ve bombed all they can bomb in Gaza. Now they are moving their brigades to the north,” Abuissa said. “They are trying to expand the war into Lebanon. And they want to expand the war, ultimately, to Iran.”
Abuissa also said Israeli leadership has used the same “excuse” to conduct “mass bombings” in Lebanon and Gaza, claiming they are targeting Hamas and Hezbollah while “killing thousands of innocent women and children.”
“This is the way Israel wants to live in that neighborhood,” Abuissa said of the region. “And they are trying to create friends, they say. They are trying to create an environment that allows them to sustain themselves because they want to stay in that neighborhood. They need to change their behavior. They need to be more accepting to the people around them as human beings.”
More: Fired Johnson County Supervisors director Guillermo Morales announces write-in campaign
Attendees rail on U.S., Israeli governments
Israel’s actions over the past few days are also an indication of the weakness of the U.S. government, Abuissa said. He specifically singled out President Joe Biden, calling him “weak” and identifying him as the culprit.
Abuissa was one of many speakers to disparage Biden and his administration. He led a chant: “Biden, Biden, you can’t hide. You support genocide.”
“I don’t think there are any real tears being shed by Democrats or Republicans,” Iowa City resident Dan Phillips, who has previously told the Press-Citizen he is part of Doctors Against Genocide in Palestine. “This concept of progressive except Palestine is ridiculous.”
Phillips said he cannot be silent when his “tax dollars are helping fund, in part, the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and now, in Lebanon.”
That money, he said, is “just going back to important, rich people and weapons manufacturers in the United States to create the weapons being used by the Israeli Defense Forces.”
More: Farnhamville, Iowa missing girl found dead identified, suspect charged with hiding body
UI professor attended Tuesday’s rally
University of Iowa professor and Palestinian-American Deema Totah said on a recent trip to visit her family in the West Bank, she received a different visa than her non-Palestinian husband which forbade her from driving while in Israel.
She said this system is “apartheid” and encouraged continuous conversations with the area’s elected officials, including 1st District candidate Christina Bohannan and others up for election this fall.
“We all know that our liberation is intertwined,” Totah said.
From January: An Iowa prof. recalls Israeli soldiers occupying her childhood home.
Now, she’s asking for peace.
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66f49ad569764ace992ae10f0bf9619c&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Flocal%2F2024%2F09%2F25%2Fiowa-city-protesters-continue-calls-for-peace-as-israel-strikes-hezbollah-lebanon%2F75369870007%2F&c=8485283208468069968&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-09-25 03:39:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
