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News & Opinion About Palestine, Israel & the United States
Charges against Israel Victory Caucus protest show dissent is being
criminalized under Trump
US Politics
Ariel Gold on May 11, 2017
Ariel Gold being arrested outside the launch of the Israel Victory Caucus.
I arrived in court on Wednesday expecting the charges against me to be
dropped. Instead, two additional charges were added to the case against me
for my April 27th actions in the House of Representatives Rayburn office
building during the launch of the hate-filled Israel Victory Caucus.
The Israel Victory Caucus, a hateful endeavor initiated by the Middle East
Forum and headed up by representatives Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Bill Johnson
(R-OH), aims to have the U.S. encourage Israel to take an even more extreme
militaristic approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the
Middle East Forums press release for the launch of the caucus, Israeli
concessions and negotiations prevent a resolution to the conflict. It is
only through pure military might and total defeat of the Palestinian people
that we will see a lasting peace. This will allow Israel to flourish and the
Palestinians to become a normal people. Middle East Forum director Gregg
Roman, who demanded my arrest in the House of Representatives building,
describes the strategy simply as, Israel must win and the Palestinians must
lose.
The Middle East Forum, while hiding behind an innocuous name, is a hateful
islamophobic organization. Describing themselves as a 501c3 tax-exempt
organization that, protects western values from Middle Eastern threats and
emphasizes the danger of lawful Islamism. they are the behind such things
as Campus Watch, a McCarthyite website that publishes dossiers on
professors who are critical of US policy in the Middle East. Founder and
director Daniel Pipes, who was a panelist at the Israel Victory Caucus
launch event, is is infamous for such statements as:
Palestinians will have to pass through the bitter crucible of defeat, with
all its deprivation, destruction, and despair as they repudiate the filthy
legacy of Amin al-Husseini and acknowledge their century-long error
there is
no shortcut.
I registered ahead of time to attend the launch of the Israel Victory
Caucus. I received an email saying it would take place on the third floor of
the Senate Hart building. Upon arriving, it became clear that the meeting
had been moved. After 30 minutes, I tracked it down in the House of
Representatives Rayburn building. I showed my government ID at the door,
walked in, and quietly went to take a seat. No sooner was I seated than
Middle East Forum director Gregg Roman recognized me as a CODEPINK
protester. He told me I was not welcome and ordered me to leave (it should
be noted that so far I had done nothing resembling protesting, but was
seated quietly). Recognizing that I was going to be evicted from the event
regardless of what I did or didnt do, I removed a Free Palestine from my
bag and began a statement. Israel is an apartheid state. It was founded on
racism and ethnic cleansing. We need equal rights for Palestinians. I was
escorted from the room and to my surprise put in handcuffs and charged with
Unlawful Entry. I was released from police custody around 3 ½ hours later.
I expected the ridiculous charge against me to be dismissed. Instead,
additional charges have been added. I should not have been surprised. Last
week, CODEPINK activists Tighe Barry, Desiree Fairooz, and Lenny Bianche
(who also had additional charges added), were convicted for their actions
during the confirmation hearing of Jeff Sessions. Desiree Fairooz received
widespread media coverage for her unintended laugh upon hearing Senator
Richard Shelby (R-AL) say Mr. Sessions record of treating all Americans
equally under the law is clear and well-documented. The more than 200
protesters who were arrested in police sweeps during Trumps inauguration
are now facing felony rioting charges.
Before the Trumps administration, cases like mine were usually thrown out.
But now, even greater efforts are being taken to quash dissent. However,
just as we cannot acquiesce to state and federal legislation criminalizing
the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, we also cannot stop
expressing our dissent in the halls of congress. The Israel Victory Caucus,
with its violent and colonialist agenda, must continue to be spoken out
against and protested.
