Several arrests were just made during a violent escalation by the Philadelphia Police after a flare was lit at tonight’s protest against the presidential candidates, the debate and Israel’s ongoing genocide on Palestinians.
Pro-Palestine/anti-occupation graffiti seen on & around the US Post Office/Passport Office after tonight’s demonstration outside the presidential debate was forcefully dispersed by riot police
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Graffiti at US Post Office/Passport Office in Philly, cont’d:
Philadelphia, PA – Protesters opposing the ongoing Israeli genocide in occupied Palestine are gathering near the security perimeter erected outside the National Constitution Center — the site of the first debate between 2024 presidential candidates Kamala Harris (D) and Donald Trump (R). A call to “shut down the presidential debate for Gaza” was announced by the Philly Palestine Coalition to rally at City Hall, which is east of the debate site.
Pennsylvania is considered the largest swing state in the presidential election. The statewide winner will take all 19 electoral votes. Street closures entered effect Tuesday morning on Arch and Market streets between 4th and 7th streets in Philadelphia’s historic Old City east of Center City. Eastbound lanes of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge are also closed. Watch our live coverage.
A flyer from the Philly Palestine Coalition circulated online
While Trump has promised he would help Israel “finish the problem” in Gaza, the Biden administration, which includes Kamala Harris as Vice President, has repeatedly gone out of its way to continue arming, funding and politically supporting Israel throughout its deliberate masskillings of displaced civilian children, women and men alongside the targeting of life-supporting infrastructure in Gaza, including the destruction of hospitals and water treatment plants and the torture of healthcare workers.
As of September 10, at least 41,020 Palestinian residents of Gaza have been reported killed and 94,925 injured, while 692 Palestinians in the West Bank were killed and more than 5,700 injured. At least 1,139 Israelis have been killed and 8,730 injured, according to Al Jazeera, based on regional agencies’ data.
Clips below from Milwaukee and Chicago highlight the scope of Palestine protests that have been the most visible element of dissension around the presidential race.
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Center City’s premiere arts university abruptly announced it’s shutting its doors, sending the entire community scrambling. Its accreditation was also pulled amid claims that a multi-million dollar budget gap had suddenly emerged. Some students assembled on the morning of June 4 to read demands:
Also the massive downtown real estate holdings are another subject of interest. Other nearby students have protested recently at UPenn and Drexel over Palestine divestment.
After a lapse of three years anarchists held their own May Day demonstration. May first is an anarchist celebration of spring, remembrance, rebellion and it’s important to me that the left doesn’t completely co-opt this anarchic holiday. I’m heartened that anarchists have organized our own way of commemorating and celebrating the arrival of May. I encourage anyone who doesn’t know the history of May Day to look up the Haymarket Affair in Chicago and how anarchists across the world have celebrated.
The May Day demonstration was held behind the Juvenile Justice Center (a prison for kids) in West Philly. A group of us walked over from a nearby meeting location, and upon arriving shot fireworks, lit flares, howled against the police, and made a lot of noise. The kids locked inside could be seen silhouetted against the frosted windows, banging in response to our loud presence. The police arrived very shortly afterward and the crowd dispersed.
The police’s arrival was surprisingly fast. Previous demonstrations at the same prison have lasted longer and were met with less police, about five police cars showed up after at most three minutes. I have some thoughts on why this may have happened. The assembled crowd was dressed in anonymous multi-colored clothing. This wouldn’t be particularly suspect if people were seen in twos or threes but a large group of masked people still draws attention. Moving from one location to another in a more dispersed way or meeting up behind the prison without all walking together could have reduced the attention we drew to ourselves on the street. The benefit of not wearing all black means that we don’t stand out in a crowd or on the street but if we are the crowd then that benefit is lost. This combined with the fact that there were a good amount of people on the street leads me to believe someone called the police on the group as we walked over. There’s no way to know for certain, but, we can learn from the situation and figure out ways to be more discreet when the situation calls for it moving forward.
Free Palestine!
Solidarity to the struggle at Rockview prison!
Down with the prisons! Up with the spring!
Happy May Day!
This May Day, Philly anarchists went back to doing what we do best….anti-gentrification and anti-prison actions. The evening started out with a demo at the juvenile detention center in West Philly. Around 20 of us walked from the meet-up spot to the parking lot behind the facility, where demonstrators can be heard from the kids’ dorms. There were a bunch of loud fireworks, flares, and anti-cop chants, as locked-up kids pounded on their windows in response. This unfortunately only lasted about two minutes, as apparently the cops’ response times to these kinds of demos has dramatically improved. Cop cruisers immediately pulled up and blocked both exits we’d been planning to use, and one cop car attempted to run over a couple of our friends on their way out. Luckily as far as we know there were no arrests and everyone got out fine in the end, if a little shaken.
Around twelve of us met back up a couple hours later to attack a very ugly new apartment building on Spruce St and 49th St. This is another classic of Philly anarchy – terrorizing gentrifiers by mobbing up to attack a new building while its residents are already living in it. At least ten of its huge windows were taken out and a paint bomb or two got thrown.
Attacking isn’t always easy; most of the time it takes a lot of courage just to show up and a lot of planning to make sure everyone gets out safely. We appreciate how carefully these two actions were organized and everyone who showed up. Let’s keep being brave and supporting each other and maybe one day we can take down Amerikkka 😉
Solidarity to the comrades struggling in and around SCI Rockview, you are not alone! Long live anarchy! <3
[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]Thousands took part in mass direct actions and blockades on Monday, in protest of the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing within the occupied Palestinian territories by the state of Israel and supported directly by the United States. The demonstrations take place against a backdrop of rising public support for a ceasefire and also represented a dramatic turn toward direct action and more autonomous, horizontal organizing efforts and away from simply symbolic mass marches and demonstrations.
Over 65 cities, 19 countries and six continents took collective risk for a liberated Palestine. This is just the beginning. Activists across the globe carried out large-scale actions Monday as part of A15, a coordinated economic blockade in solidarity with Palestine.
U.S. organizers blockaded factories and corporate offices of weapons manufacturers, including the Boeing plant in St. Charles, Missouri; Pratt & Whitney in Middletown, Connecticut; and the Lockheed Martin building in Arlington, Virginia.
Protesters took over major roads in Philadelphia and Oakland, while others rallied in front of government buildings and cultural sites. In San Francisco, activists shut down both sides of the Golden Gate Bridge in a major disruption to traffic in the Bay Area.
Activists in New York marched across the Brooklyn Bridge and rallied on both the Brooklyn and Manhattan sides of the iconic bridge. Dozens of people were arrested in the peaceful action, including reporters covering the protest.
Across multiple cities, police made hundreds of arrests and in Fremont, shot off projectile weapons in an attempt to stop demonstrators from blockading a Telsa factory. Just as they did under Trump, Republican bureaucrats like Tom Cotton called for far-Right vigilante violence against demonstrators stating, “I would encourage most people anywhere that gets stuck behind criminals like this who are trying to block traffic to take matters into their own hands [and] put an end to this nonsense.” In the face of the success of the A15 actions, many pundits on the Right and neo-liberal Center have also started a fear mongering campaign about the movement using “escalated tactics,” while student organizers continue to face expulsions, evictions, and repression.
Northeast
Philadelphia, PA: Demonstrators in Philadelphia organized blockades and marches across the city. According to Unicorn Riot, “The crowd marched to the offices of arms manufacturers Day & Zimmerman, who provides components for weapons being used by Israel against Gaza.” A report on social media wrote:
The demonstrations began at 8:15 a.m., when dozens of protesters disrupted rush hour traffic as they waved Palestinian flags during a teach-in. Simultaneously, another group led a funeral procession of cars up I-95, while a third marched near City Hall, stopping at various locations to call attention to connections between Philadelphia’s economy and Israel’s occupation in Gaza.
The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed that 67 people were arrested for obstruction of highway during the morning protests. Officers issued civil citations to 41 demonstrators, who were then released from custody, said Sgt. Eric Gripp, a department spokesperson.” Philly Inquierer: https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/protests-gaza-palestine-irs-building-university-city-20240415.html
“In Philadelphia, people across the city took part in #PhillyA15 coordinated actions aimed at disrupting the local economy and blockading major traffic routes on the East Coast to demand an end to the genocide and occupation in Palestine being carried out by the apartheid government of Israel. Key weapons manufacturer, Day & Zimmerman, and Philadelphia City Hall both went on lockdown as a result of these actions.
Over 50 people blockaded the major intersection at 30th Street and Schuylkill Avenue, effectively stopping traffic on 76 in both directions. Across town a coordinated funeral procession mourning the slaughter of more than 38,000 Palestinians—including over 14,000 children—slowed traffic on both 95 north and south bound to a near stop, while Philly Palestine Coalition took to the streets in center city with 200 people who walked out of work in solidarity with the worldwide, coordinated economic blockade #A15. Sixty-nine people were arrested.
The Philadelphia economy is complicit in this ongoing genocide. In 2023, $23,657,015 of Philadelphia’s tax dollars were sent to Israel. Philadelphia is also home to weapons manufacturers Day & Zimmerman, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, L3Harris, and Ghost Robotics who manufacture weapons of war that have been used by Israel.
It is within our collective power to stop this genocide. More importantly, it is our collective responsibility to do so. Find your humanity in the struggle! #PhillyA15 is everywhere, every day, until Palestine is Free! #a15forpalestine
Philadelphia, PA — On Saturday, April 13, local groups protested Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed 33,000 Palestinians according to the latest figures. The march gathered in Clark Park.
Organizers say that workers and unions are sending the message today. The Philly Palestine Coalition says groups involved include the Labor for Black Lives Coalition, Healthcare Workers for Palestine, Philly IWW, TNG Local 10/CWA Local 38010, SEIU Healthcare PA, Unity Caucus, Philly Tenants Union, & Workers World Party. According to the post, “Our goal is clear: to stand in unwavering solidarity with Palestinian workers and communities. Together, let’s demand more than just a ‘ceasefire now’ – let’s demand justice and equality for all.”
On April 4 a rally at the University of Pennsylvania kicked off the “Shut Down Ghost Robotics“ campaign. Pics below from the April 4 event:
Since the April 4 event we have been checking more into Ghost Robotics and have some additional information to release later. We also have a report from a March 28 protest at Day & Zimmermann, a munitions manufacturer for the IDF headquartered in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia, PA — Around a dozen protesters marched from City Hall in Center City up to 1500 Spring Garden Avenue, the headquarters of privately held Day & Zimmermann corporation on Thursday, March 28. The company says it has more than 43,000 employees and is a “leading provider of munitions,” which includes 120mm tank rounds for Merkava tanks employed by Israel’s occupation forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as 155mm artillery rounds.
The late March protest was called by Extinction Rebellion Philadelphia and supported by Montgomery County-based Montco for Palestine. Protesters briefly held positions blocking the parking lot and main building entrances — in both cases they were threatened with arrest by Philadelphia Police Department Civil Affairs officers wearing plain clothes & body cameras, although no actual arrests or detentions took place. (The city government says that Civil Affairs is supposed to lead protest responses [PDF].) While one of the officers joked to an organizer that it was a small demonstration, the event highlighted that even early on a wet day people are committed to sending a message about the lethal products made by Day & Zimmermann.
John, a retired 40-year union construction worker, told Unicorn Riot,
“It’s offensive to me our tax dollars go to murder people anywhere in the world, especially that our government is funding and arming this genocide in Gaza. It’s reprehensible, and both parties are responsible for this. This is why we need a party of our own and not subservience to Democrats or Republicans. Day and Zimmermann is a construction company but also is in the munitions business. They do business with Israel, with the IDF. They’re a legitimate target for boycott and for targeting as an accomplice of genocide. They should be in the International Court of Justice with every corporation that arms Israel.”
John, Retired union construction worker
Since the environmental group Extinction Rebellion organized the event, we asked them about the ecological fallout of the current conflict. Another participant told Unicorn Riot that “without a doubt” Day & Zimmermann is contributing to ecological problems because of chemicals in the munitions:
“These bombs are dropping and it’s decimating the ecology. The bombs release pollutants into the atmosphere, so it is happening directly in Palestine that the ecology, the environment is being destroyed and a result of that destruction is that we’re having chemicals released into the atmosphere. […] It’s measurable. It’s a statistically significant change that has been measured since this bombing campaign started in October.”
Protest participant
Another organizer told us Day & Zimmermann munitions are contributing to the ecological devastation of the Gaza Strip:
[Day & Zimmermann is] “one of the largest arms suppliers to the US military […], we’re just here to shut down for Palestine. We want to stop the genocide and we want to make sure that we’re targeting companies that are complicit in that in our local communities and Day and Zimmermann is one of them. […] The ecological devastation in Gaza is unimaginable. Environmentalists have said it’s going to take an insurmountable number of years to even be able to rebuild, to even be able to get the land back to the state that was in originally. Obviously, genocide causes mass pollution problems. Their plumbing system has completely been dissolved. There’s raw sewage that has been consistently been dumped into the sea. […] Plus, you also have the aftereffects of all the munitions being dropped. In addition to internationally banned weapons of war, including white phosphorus. […] And they’ve also obviously destroyed all the agriculture, including the animals. It is a largely self-sustaining–was a largely self-sustaining society–through the blockade. So, yeah, a lot of the trees, it’s polluted [in] forests.”
[Day & Zimmermann subsidiary American Ordinance LLC] operates the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAP), which has been the source of much of the artillery munitions used by the Israeli military, including 155mm rounds, fired by Israel’s M109 howitzer guns, and 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds, fired by Israel’s Merkava battle tanks.
The factory has been operated by Mason & Hanger since 1951. Between 1998-2007, it was operated by American Ordnance, a joint venture of Mason & Hanger and General Dynamics. Day & Zimmermann acquired Mason & Hanger in 1999, and in 2007 acquired General Dynamics’ stake in American Ordnance.
In November, Israeli tanks fired M830A1 rounds as part of their attack on a U.N. school in Gaza. The serial number on one of the rounds suggests that it was made at IAAP by Mason & Hanger in December 1990.
On January 29, Israeli tanks fired M830A1 rounds as part of their attack that killed 6-year-old Hind Rajab, her six family members, and the medics that attempted to rescue her, in the Gaza neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa. The serial number on an exploded round found inside the ambulance suggests that it was made at IAAP by Mason & Hanger in November 1996.
In December, the U.S. government used emergency measures to approve sending Israel an estimated number of 14,000 M830A1 tank rounds, without congressional review. The transfer, from the existing inventory of the U.S. Army, is worth $106.5 million, funded by U.S. taxpayer’s money.
Day & Zimmermann’s factory in Texarkana, Texas, is the current supplier of M830A1 rounds for the U.S. Army. Between 2017-2021, the U.S. Army’s supplier of these munitions was a Northrop Grumman factory in Plymouth, Minnesota.
In a statement on October 13, 2023, Day & Zimmerman Chair and CEO Hal Yoh said, “Acts of terror, oppression and the loss of innocent lives is tragic and should be condemned. This is not about specific groups, ideology, religion, or politics. We stand with those who work to protect freedom and democracy around the world.”
Israel’s demand for these munitions, particularly artillery shells, has also sapped the supply chain for Ukraine’s military, which has been attempting to fend off the Russian army since the full-scale invasion that commenced in February 2022.
Image gallery: (1) Three observers from the building containing Day & Zimmerman offices; two recorded demonstrators. CBS-3 is co-located in the building and did not cover the demonstration. (2) An observer from inside the building recorded also demonstrators. (3) Three Philadelphia Police Department officers believed to all be from Civil Affairs. The officer at right issued threats to arrest after demonstrators blocked entryways.
Comrades, on Thursday February 29th there was a vigil for a fallen comrade named Aaron Bushnell. A person whom much like the lot of us has been highly affected by late stage capitalism and unlike many of us have seen the devastation is creates first hand. We cannot imagine the pain one person’s soul must have carried and for how long before he took direct action. They say that self immolation is the most extreme form of protest and a most devastating plea and that might very well be the case as it most certainly was for this young person.
Comrades, it is with a heavy heart that that we even have to say that we feel this plea will be met with inaction and with martyr sentiments. While our comrades are giving us all clear messages about what they want to see happen, their desires fall on deaf ears. Even as this person like others before him have given a most extreme example of direct action, so called anarchists, communists, socialists and activists alike continue to fall short of direct action. In fact, the policing of peace seems to increase with each new found wave of protest.
These peace police will always have you scared of the unknown and will drown out any suspected forms of escalation with a simple or convoluted speech of “Think of the vulnerable.” These individual people, these fucking orgs will tell us not to engage with our enemies, to not “stoop to their level” so to speak. But last time we checked, our anger, and the way we and others choose to express it is NOT up to them. They would have you march in a fucking circle, yelling at buildings, begging and voting for politicians who don’t fucking care about us or the vulnerable rather than stand beside to be on the attack. They bolster stupid fucking statistics and “analysis” on when the material conditions will be in favour and somehow that day never fucking comes. Because it fucking won’t.
Dear comrades, we need not keep waiting. That was the message behind this desperate act. Our comrade Aaron has seen that the Israeli government will never stop until their genocide is complete. A while back, our comrade Tort had also seen that that the police would never stop until they devastated a forest, an natural ecosystem, and a whole population of people just play their fucked up games and become more deadly and oppressive than they already are. In a diary found, Tort had called for bigger action and most if not all response was peaceful in nature. We would say that we can’t fucking believe it, but when we look at the bullshit that is these orgs and institutions, we unfortunately do.
The link that we and others here in so called philly to Aaron and Tort is in our political viewpoint as anarchists. Both of these brave souls identified with anarchist tendencies and showed our shared interest in self determination in various ways. A facebook post from Arron which had also called the inaction, was ended with the picture of a circle A. That may mean nothing to some of you out here; but it means something to us. It tells us that very much like us; Aaron desired action. And we stand beside him in his call for that action.
And so dear comrades, we would just hope that you do not turn our comrade into a martyr or as a justification for peace when the message is simple: These states, all states, are institutions of death and violence. It should not have been Aaron that was burning, but that very building behind him. It should not have been Tort dying at the hands of the state but the state dying at the hands of all of us. We’re not begging politicians for fucking crumbs but we are begging you to stop being peaceful and start doing what we know needs to be done. It is time to meet their violence with violence. How can see babies dying everyday and not be attacking? To the peace police we have this to say: Think of our vulnerable, huh? Right now the “vulnerable” are doing more than you fucking are in response to genocide.
Fuck the peace police, fuck yelling at buildings and begging politicians, let’s take our anger and rage and put it out there in these streets. Comrade Aaron, may we never forget what you did or your name. May we not see you as a martyr but as a brave human being capable of extraordinary courage and the most direct type of action. – Anonymous
Philadelphia, PA — Several hundred supporters of Palestinian rights gathered at Washington Square Park and marched through the historic Society Hill district, arriving at the war memorial parks built above I-95 next to the waterfront Hilton at Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River for an early afternoon protest on Monday, December 11. Unicorn Riot interviewed several participants and heard from the organizers who called upon the Biden Administration to support a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Biden, on his ninth visit to the city this year, was at the Hilton for a political fundraiser with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a fellow Democrat. Earlier in the day he touted federal funding to reopen fire stations.
Protest organizer Sam Rise mentioned how student organizations have been suspended on college campuses, and “institutions and academics have been shamefully bullying and silencing” Palestine supporters. She added that members of the Working Families Party (WFP) have been introducing ceasefire resolutions in local governments. (Two WFP candidates won at-large seats last month in Philadelphia, ejecting the GOP from slots the party held for decades.) “Come November, we’ll remember” was a common chant at the event, as attendees vowed to hold the Biden Administration accountable for his support for Israel at the ballot box in 2024.
Anissa Weinraub from Jewish Voice for Peace talked about the “death and destruction at a rate that is unprecedented in recent human history” in Gaza, where the vast majority of the population is now displaced, with “so many on the brink of starvation”, referring to a “merciless military and their AI-programmed death machine“:
In a throwback to the Vietnam era chant “Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?” another organizer called out, “Biden, Biden, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today? Biden, Biden you can’t hide, you are funding genocide. Biden, Biden, you will see, Palestine will be free.”
One participant wearing a keffiyeh told Unicorn Riot,
“We are here to fight for human rights, we are here to fight for the people of Gaza, the innocent children that are being bombed day-in day-out. Our cousins, our brothers, our sisters, our mothers, our fathers, we are all humans at the end of the day. We are here to fight for their human rights to live just like we get to live here in America. We should all have the right to live, to live in peace, and the innocent children did nothing wrong, they are just being bombed, for being alive, for being Palestinian.”
Regarding Biden’s recent actions and presence in Philadelphia he added, “It’s sickening honestly. Philadelphia does not stand for this, Philadelphia stands for freedom, Philadelphia stands for human rights, and Biden does not stand for any of that. … Palestinians are people just like us. I have friends that are Palestinian, I am Palestinian. We just want to live, that’s all we want. We just want to live like everyone else, and we are not given that option.”
Protesters gather in Washington Square Park around 1:15 p.m. on December 11.
March on Pine Street in Society Hill.
A man on Pine Street in Society Hill flips off demonstrators marching for Palestine on December 11, 2023.
The waterfront Hilton at Penn’s Landing looms over Palestine protesters. A large obelisk-like monument to Christopher Columbus built in 1992 is at right.
A protest sign lampoons President Biden’s well-known love of ice cream cones on December 11, 2023.
We also found an innovative protest use of a DeWalt drill — this gizmo is known as an “impact train horn” and can make a 130 decibel racket with a squeeze of the drill trigger.
The cordless drill-powered “Impact Train Horn” easily generated noise in Philadelphia on December 11.
The Philly Palestine Coalition called for another emergency action December 3rd, two days after the ceasefire. Over the past two—now going on three—months, the mobilization around Palestinian liberation has been a lesson to a lot of us: trust people’s rage. Trust the enormity of their grief. Trust that watching colonial genocide live-streamed has fractured some of the complacency of neoliberalism. If the demo intended to “Flood Philly for Gaza,” the chants were gushing through the cracks.
It was dreary out. PPC changed their demo location the day before (and then promptly got their IG deleted). Will the crowd be big enough? Trains were all out of wack. Will everyone be late? (Yes). While we initially felt discouraged and apprehensive, we underestimated each other and the crowd. We may have missed each other at the meet-up point (a lesson here about carrying a watch, or better yet, being punctual), but once we got dressed in black bloc we found each other easily. The larger crowd was tense, energized, and grew as we moved, swelling behind two pickup trucks hauling a PA system and speakers who addressed the crowd. The march snaked north from Rittenhouse Square, then west down side streets, where the vandals among us got bolder. Darting out in pairs and trios, people began writing decolonial and Palestinian solidarity graffiti, building momentum up to and across the Chestnut Street bridge.
Throughout the demo, people in bloc distributed fliers linking Israeli bombardment in Gaza to police violence in Philly, handing these to marchers and passersby, and ticketing them to the windshields of parked cars. A Philadelphia Parking Authority vehicle got itself vandalized along the way, too.
Graffitti at demos isn’t anything new — what feels remarkable was the support and complicity of more well-behaved marchers not in bloc. People looked out for graffiti writers, blocking the view of photographers, slowing foot traffic with bikes, and using Palestinian flags to shield writers from cops’ sight.
At a Starbucks on Penn’s campus, the march paused for speeches about the franchise’s support for Israel. Meanwhile, protestors crowded around the entrance, leaving room for people in bloc to write slogans on the walls and windows. One notable example: a writer painted “FREE GAZA” on a window while the students behind the glass bent over their laptops and pretended not to notice. Teens present in the march seemed particularly pumped here, surprised (and hopefully inspired) by vandals’ audacity. Continuing further west, the march ended at 40th St and Market, where a vigil for the UC Townhomes was already gathered. Speakers linked the displacement taking place in West Philly to the ethnic cleansing taking place in Palestine.
Yesterday, numerous cities were called to do a day of “Shut it down for Palestine.” What was called for was for sit ins, rallies, actions, civil disobedience, what have you. There was a particular flier that I looked at which was calling for Philly healthcare workers to do a “Die in” and a rally. As one could expect, the whole event was a series of speeches and people laying down in a symbolic meaning. So, while I get what they were going for, it was disappointing that out of all the things that could’ve been done to answer a call to action, that’s what they chose. The most action that was seen was that after the rally ended, some anarchists went to local businesses and banged on windows, put their signs in people’s faces and threw up art on windows and doors. Hopefully more anarchists can show out for future actions and calls of these kinds.
Conditions within Gaza continue to rapidly turn into a hellscape, with hospitals shutting down due to lack of fuel and water and millions running out of a basic necessities. James Elder, spokesperson at UNICEF stated recently, “The numbers are appalling; reportedly more than 3,450 children killed; staggeringly this rises significantly every day. Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children. It’s a living hell for everyone else.” Currently Israeli forces have entered Gaza as bombings continue, such as the recent attack on the Jabalia refugee camp.
As this horror plays out, thousands continue to take to the streets across the so-called United States, Canada, and around the world. Here’s a roundup of recent mass demonstrations and direct actions.
Saturday night, October 28th, in light of the communication blackout in and increased bombing of Gaza, approximately a thousand people assembled in Center City Philadelphia for an emergency call to action in support of Palestinians.
The crowd included people responding to an additional call for anarchists and anti-colonial radical presence at the demonstration. We were among them. The call suggested attendees wear black clothes and keffiyahs or ski masks. We chose to wear both, layering keffiyahs over ski masks because the clear show of solidarity was important to us. A hot fashion tip: we were able to remove a layer and still be covered and anonymous.
Soon after the rally became a march, we and others began covering the walls with decolonial slogans. Some favorites: FREE GAZA, FUCK ISRAEL, DECOLONIZE, VIVA PALESTINA, FAUDA, FAGGOTS AGAINST EMPIRE, BLOOD$ (on banks along the way), and FUCK BIDEN WHOLE LIFE. Those in bloc were particularly good at looking out for each other as painting took place, and it felt thrilling to write on a wall, fuck up a bank, inhale the smell of fresh paint. Even more thrilling was the response from other demonstrators! Everyone had each other’s backs, whether they were in the black bloc or not. Other demonstrators pushed out snitches, shielded writers from cops and security guards, warned us vandals when the cops were looking for us, and also joined in, borrowing paint cans and markers to write their own slogans. There were some close calls with law enforcement but at the end of the night no one was arrested. We love to see it!
After a while things got hot (girl, it was 80º out) and the cops were on the lookout. People transitioned 😉 into new looks, and mixed into the crowd. Passing privilege, baby!
In Rittenhouse Square, the crowd paused, blocking the intersection and surrounding a sound truck. Activists gave speeches from the truck bed. It was cute until these two boys showed up, oh my god! They tried to put up Zionist propaganda (those “missing person” posters, you’ve seen them) in the middle of the crowd, but that wasn’t going to happen, obviously. People ripped down the only poster they got up, and then confiscated the rest. A very patient and generous activist escorted them away and down the block. This is a good place to remind you that these tactics are often a ploy to film, dox, and harass. If you’re going to interfere, go off, but like, be unidentifiable (no face, no tatts, no case).
The march had great energy and a lot of the chants were inspiring and like, literally revolutionary or insurrectionary so… Anyway, we had some fantasies after being in such an exciting environment. If this was the energy here, just imagine what could happen if this demo passed by as ugly as a military recruitment center or a weapons manufacturer’s office?
In all earnestness, people are angry, grieving, and fucking fed up with inaction in response to peaceful protest. While yes, we could have seen that last one coming, the warm reception to criminality and confrontation that night has us wondering what horizon we can reach for next. What could a more directed march be like? What can we do now, within the belly of this fucking empire? After all, the things around us are not disconnected from the genocide in Palestine – the politicians, the arms dealers, the funders, the surveillance technologists, many of them have offices, warehouses, or some physical presence here. They are real people doing things in real places, we can go to them and touch them, and it will effect their ability to collaborate on genocide.
Xoxo
Faggots for intifada
As the war continues to intensify with the complete backing of the United States government, resistance in solidarity with Palestine shows no signs of stopping, as the need for an end to the bombardment only becomes more dire for those living in the occupied territories.
Several pro-Palestine graffiti messages were tagged around Center City Philadelphia during last night’s mass protest demanding an end to mass killings of civilians in Gaza:
Other graffiti messages that went up around Philly’s downtown shopping district last night: “Free Gaza” “Decolonize” “Fuck Biden Whole Life” “Fags Against Empire”
