e e River to the Sea palese will be free palese will be free from the river to the sea from The River To The Sea pales will be free pales will be free from the sea to the River from the sea to the river Palestine will live forever palese will live forever from the sea to the River from the sea to the river Palestine will live forever Palestine will live forever thank you so much for coming [Applause] everybody we're going to get started all right now we're going to invite Catherine up Catherine Cather Cunningham thank you Cather cam I'm doing okay appreciate and they're going to MC for us hey thank you for [Applause] coming I want you to know that the organizing of this event reflects the great diversity of this entire community and all of those voices need to come together asking for a SE fire immediately a release of all Palestinian and Israel hostages all of them not just a few an immediate stop to Us weapons to Israel that 5 billion that just happened and that the United States Senate follow its own laws the Ley law on military aid that there be a free flow of humanitarian Aid to Palestinians in Gaza a free flow and not truck by truck tons and tons and tons going in and that we become part of the rebuilding that we have caused to be destroyed that we end Israel's military occupation of Palestine and the occupation and the occupation and the occupation and the occupation an immediate end to the siege imposed on Gaza by land sea and air free Gaza now free Gaza now free Gaza now now an immediate stop to the genocide of Palestinians stop stop the genocide stop the genocide stop the genocide and we want a free and liberated Palestine W free Palestine palese so thank you all of you from for coming out today we are actually awaiting um some of our speakers who uh were coming from up near uh Patterson to join us but we want to get this going so we're going to do a few more [Music] [Applause] chance few more chance and then we'll start with our speaker so who's gonna Matt Jules you want another round you got another got another would love to hold our Representatives accountable Cory Booker you can't hide Booker You Can't Hide You support genocide you support genocide Cory Booker you can hide Booker you can hide you support genocide you support genocide Chris Smith you can hide Chris Smith you can hide you support genocide you support genocide Christmas you can hide Christmas you can hide you support genocide you support genocide Frank bone You Can't Hide Frank bone You Can't Hide You support genocide you support genocide great alone you can hide alone you can hide you support genocide you support genocide B bid you can hide B Bing You Can't Hide You support genocide you support genocide bid bid you can hide bid bid you can hide you support genocide you support genocide free free Palestine free free Palestine free free free Palestine free free free Palestine free free palestin free free Palestine free free free Palestine free 33 [Applause] paltin we're gathered here on federal property but our city council our city government for us in Asbury Park is across the street and we would like all of you to know that there's been a concerted citizens group that has been speaking with the city council asking for them to consider a ceasefire now resolution and we thank the representatives from the council who have been in those conversations with us and have been very good listener so hopefully in the coming weeks we will have Asbury Park signing on to those communities in New Jersey and across the country which have already signed a cease fire now agreement because one by one by one the message has to keep being delivered not only to Washington but to the world that we don't want any more killing no bombing children without food and schools and places of safety people without water without medicine this is inhumane stop the genocide genocide children without parents children without parents yes and help and all of those children who will be living without their parents because of the bombs and the the snipers and the destruction which has happened throughout Gaza and not only friends in Gaza it's happening in the West Bank now and if we think it's going to stop at the Gaza border we're wrong we have to stop this madness we have to and we as Americans have to keep saying we will not fund this kind of Destruction and inhumanity it is time to stop this is no longer selfdefense this is Vengeance it is worse than War it is a desire to destroy a people and it's got to stop stop the genocide stop the genocide stop the genocide so while we are waiting for my good colleagues from the Palestinian American Community Center up in Clifton New Jersey to arrive I think we're going to start with our speakers and so we're going to have a slightly rearranged order and when the PAC folks arrive then we will get going and so I'm looking over at you Moana and would you like to go first Mo [Music] [Applause] green my name is Mo green I represent vet for peace which is a National Organization we originally came out of veterans against the Vietnam War and every war since then we we're against and we're veterans we know the deal you know what I mean CU When I was a Vietnam vet I was drafted right out of high school after that they elimated the draft wasn't because I got caught up in the gun hole BS but with I was drafted so therefore we take a stand against Wars and the cause of wars and if we have things that we organized around the country around that and I'm proud to be down here part of the Asbury Community to be part of help organizing that originally I'm from New York and up north and stuff but I've been down here and I want to um say a few words about what the vet of piece is about the main thing the statement first we are better veterans will hereby affirm a greater responsibility to serve the cause of the world peace to this end we will work with others both nationally and internationally number one to increase public awareness of the causes and C of War number two restrain our government from intervening overtly and converted in the internal affairs of other nations three to resist racism repression in our home and our communities to oppose the militarization of law enforcement five to end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons six to seek Justice for veterans and victims of war and seven and not end to abolish War as an instrument of national policy we stand with that at veterans and we know the deal it's ain't like I read about it like that this is what real and what happens and me as an older veteran I'm here to be proud to stand in front of the people and say we the people must make it happen because we swear on the Constitution and the first world are we the people not we the government not we the flag not we the president We the People peace down in Palestine we the people will make it happen thank you thank you we're also very fortunate this afternoon to have Katie helper with us is Katie okay please come forward Katie I'm GNA have you introduce yourself but Katie is also a member of Jewish voice for peace [Music] thank you thank you hi everyone thank you so much for coming out um I am indeed a member of Jewish voice for peace uh I also host two podcasts um and I was fired from one of my jobs because I made a video calling Israel an a partie state so not to brag or anything um but okay so um um forgive me I'm reading off my phone but for over six months Israel has been engaging in a genocidal Onslaught against the people in the besieged territory of Gaza illegally limited food Aid bombing hospitals and residential neighborhoods widespread destruction of schools refugee camps and other civilian infrastructure the official death toll at 34,000 is almost certainly an undercount over 14,000 children have been killed and many many more have been named and [Music] patients including children are enduring amputations without anesthesia just think about that for a second a term has been invented by doctors in Gaza WC NSF wounded CH child no surviving family journalists are being targeted because they are documenting Israel's crimes against humanity in December cameraman Samir Abu Daka was shot by the IDF he could have survived the shooting but the Israelis forbade the Medics from reaching him they even shot to death a medic who tried to so this journalist was forced to bleed to death over the course of hours this is a Warr journalists aren't just killed in the line of duty as they report they are also targeted with their families as they sleep and it's also writers and Poets who are being targeted we all remember the assassination of poet and Professor rafat aler also back in December well Israel just this week killed rat's daughter her husband and her two-month old child child rat's grandchild in an air strike how has the United States government responded to Israel's actions in addition to the regular $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel the Biden Administration has been approving arm sales and fing through additional military aid packages over4 billion in November another $26 billion was just approved by the house this week the US do anyone have a tissue I'm really sorry nap or tissue thank you so much sorry about that great thank you [Applause] solidarity okay the US government stopped funding the largest Aid organization in Palestine unra the United National relief and work agency for Palestine refugees based on lies put out by Israel that were debunked about this or a after the lies were exposed as lies uh other governments had the decency to reinstate funding of monra but not our government they double down and have stripped this life-saving agency of funding for an entire year our government has vetoed multiple un Security Council resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire only reducing it to an exstension allowing it to pass late last month and then lying and stating it was a non-binding resolution I want to read an exchange between a reporter and a state department spokesman reporter evidence at Gaza Mass Graves show torture and signs of being buried alive Palestinians called for an independent investigation what's wrong with that state department we're asking Israel reporter you're asking the accused to accuse itself State Department we're asking Israel luckily the people if not our government are on the right side of History they're shutting down Bridges holding rallies speaking out so eloquently they are speaking out so fearlessly at Biden campaign events that the president has been forced to hide from his own constituency which is probably better for him honestly so he doesn't have to talk more about how his uncle was you're projecting now Biden can talk less about uh how his uncle was apparently eaten by cannibals I don't know if you heard that so we're doing him a favor by shutting him up and now we are seeing nonviolent encampments on college and university campuses across the country president president baroness shafik asked the New York Police Department to arrest anti-war demonstrators encamped on the Columbia University Lawn New York police chief John Chell disputed shafi's description of the protesters as a clear and present danger saying the police found the students peaceful and cooperative when you're being out when you're out policing the NYPD you have a problem nonetheless over 100 were arrested instead of quieting the demands the protests have grown over a 100 including faculty were arrested Monday night at New York University and the protests have spread to Yale Harvard the University of Michigan Minnesota Texas I have the latest and we even had a sniper did you hear this there was a sniper spotted on the uh on the top of a building I believe uh in Ohio the media's coverage of these protests has put much focus on the theme of anti-Semitism in Jewish safety these protests virtually all with heavy Jewish presence have been smeared as anti-semitic the New York Times decried virulent anti-Semitism at the Columbia protest while protesters held a Passover seder within the protests that's how anti-semitic it is that's how unsafe it is that Jewish students are celebrating Shabbat and Passover anti-Semitism and is is real and must be combed but what we are seeing is not anti-Semitism because anti-Semitism is not anti-zionism and anti-zionism is not anti-Semitism in fact those who conflate the two are the anti-semites they're the ones engaging in the anti-semitic dual loyalty Trope which suggest that all Jews are a monolith who all blindly support Israel think about the people who use the term Jew and Zionist interchangeably they're raging anti-semite David Duke types KKK types and then the government of Israel and the ADL and apek you know if you're getting your talking points from the KKK something's wrong and many Zionist themselves are anti-semitic some Christian zionists want us Jews to go back to Israel where a few hundred of us will be allowed to accept Christ as our Lord and savior and the rest will uh burn for all of eternity so thanks but no thanks for many Jews myself included our Jewish identity and Jewish values compel us to speak out and act for Palestine the lesson of the Holocaust is never again for anyone how can we as people who survive programs and genocide side with those committing programs and genocide right now this is truly a betrayal of our history and our values it is an abomination and it is shameful and it makes a mockery of the Holocaust and comp conflating anti-Semitism and anti-zionism makes a mockery and trivializes the fight against anti-Semitism if you care about Jewish safety be up in arms about how the Jewish protesters are being treated they along with their Palestinian brothers and sisters and fellow protesters of all backgrounds are being banned from their own campuses expelled evicted and brutalized by the police if you care about Jewish safety you should also be up in arms as I am about how Israel far from making Jews safer puts us in danger by broadcasting their crimes and saying they're acting in the names of Jews but not in our name not in my name what's happening to students here who are standing in solidarity with the people of Gaza of course pales in comparison to what's being done to the people in Gaza but there is a connection that's why Biden as he sends arms to Israel brags about being a Zionist also supports the Draconian attacks on students that's why Netanyahu recorded a video saying anti-Semitism on campuses in the United States is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s how dare this monstrous genocidal leader who was calling for police repression and a Crackdown on Free Speech compare those fighting against genocide to [Music] Nazis many have noted that fascism is colonialism turned inwards and there is no question that the war in Palestine is a colonial war just look at the rhetoric and actions of the Israeli government so we must fight against fascism here at home and fight against colonialism in Palestine alongside our brothers and sisters our Palestinian brothers and sisters and other allies for peace and Justice the battle to stop ethnic cleansing has been multi-racial Multicultural intergenerational and is only growing Jews in the United States has not have not been silent hundreds with Jewish voice for peace and organizations such as if not now came out immediately to demand a [Applause] ceasefire and it was this week it's Passover which is a holiday of freedom and Liberation and we know that none of us are free until all of us are free that's right so as a human being and as a Jew I say never again as now free Palestine and shame on Israel and shame on the United States you have blood on your hands Katie thank you so much for that courageous [Applause] [Music] [Applause] statement I now have the great honor and I mean honor of introducing members of the Palestinian American Community Center from Clifton New Jersey some of you may know that there is a whole section of the Patterson Clifton area known as little [Applause] Palestine and the pal indan American Community Center is now celebrating 10 years of their Vision their witness their education about Palestine about Palestinian culture their celebration of all things Palestinian art food dance music and the deep deep tradition of honoring freedom and people living on the land so I am going to introduce someone I have come to know over the last couple of months as an amazing leader and someone who helped us shape this event today so basma Bashar and your colleague from TC welcome to asur par thank you so much Catherine three free Palestine free free Palestine free free Palestine free free Palestine free free Palestine free free Palestine thank you to everyone that came today and thank you for the warm welcome Catherine I hope that I am up to it um I I am the Palestine education director at Pac I actually started this year but I was a part of Pac my whole life and I am a Palestinian American who spent my life visiting Palestine and seeing firsthand what happens there today I join you from pack and um from Clifton I'm here as a community member as an ally and as a friend and as one of so many of you as a person of conscience here standing together in the name of Justice w this week we have marked and gone past 200 days of an unrelenting oppressive violent genocide against Gaza against all of Palestine and in fact now it has reached our own universities as we reflect on this Grim reality we cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized or to turn away from the daily atrocities faced by Palestinians throughout Palestine that include the ongoing massacres in Gaza that include the recent disturbing discoveries of mass Graves deliberately concealed by the Israeli military imagine even in death Palestinian bodies have been Unearthed with organs stolen and harvested from them families are desperately searching body parts in attempts to just be granted proper burials in North gazda 7,000 Palestinians are grappling with the outbreak of infectious disease compounding the already dire humanitarian crisis in the area and as we've all been hearing the long awaited threat of ground invasion in the densely populated area of Rafa is apparently now beginning as Israel continues to deny desperately needed humanitarian Aid many Palestinians have been turning to fundraising through gofundmes as they make the difficult decision to try and evacuate their homes in Gaza today we stand here to demand that the asre park city council join the growing call for a desperately needed ceasefire in GDA but I urge each and every one of you to remember the core issues here we want a ceasefire today but that is not enough the recent deadly raid on the um camps that resulted in the loss of 14 Palestinians stands as a stark reminder of the brutality perpetuated by the Israeli occupation forces the the Lenin Institute for genocide prevention has ACT has issued an active genocide alert across the West Bank reinforcing what Palestinians and allies have been emphasizing since the current Onslaught began that the issue we're facing did not begin this year it may have been recently heightened but the root causes of this violence have been ongoing for 76 years and Beyond since the movement to establish the Zionist state of Israel began Palestinians have been targeted and attacked as the state of Israel has long been ethnically cleansing the people in its campaign for total control of [Applause] Palestine not only is this apparent throughout throughout Palestine but the oppressive and brutal response by University administrations here in the US in response to Peaceful protesting by un University students stands as a testament to what we all should remember the hands of violent Empires extend well beyond Israel the inhumane and violent efforts to silence our students is proof of just how important our fight [Music] is we are up against an an Empire of corruption and Injustice but despite the immense challenges we're facing the resilience of the Palestinian people remains unwavering and serves as a guiding Beacon to the rest of us in the last few days we have all been moved and all inspired by college students that are standing for justice the people of gazda are seeing it they are seeing us and they are telling us not to give up they are telling us to keep going while we mourn the lives love lost and acknowledge 200 days of an ongoing and horrific genocide we recognized that we are also 200 days into Awakening the world we are Awakening the world to the plight of Palestine we are 200 days into a Relentless fight for justice dignity and freedom not only for Palestine but for all of us as we stand in solidarity we call upon the international Community to heed our Collective voices and take action to end the genocide and occupation of Palestine the occation and the occupation now we call upon local institutions like the Asbury City Park City Council to join the fight and stand on the right side of History the time for justice is now and we will not rest until Palestine is free thank you we now free free Palestine free free pales hi I think you're going to lead us in a chair aren't you here you go awesome hi everyone thank you so much for coming out um I for coming thank you I want to start out with the classic from The River To The Sea Palestine will be free The River To The Sea palese will be free free free Palestine free free Palestine free free free Palestine free free free Palestine free free Palestine free free Palestine free free free Palestine free free free free free free free free free free free from The River To The Sea Palestine will be free from The River To The Sea palese will be free we will free Palestine we will free Palestine within our lifetime within our lifetime we will free Palestine we will free Palestine within our lifetime within our liftime free free Palestine free free Palestine Long Live Palestine Long Live Palestine free free Palestine free free Palestine Long Live Palestine Long Live Palestine from the river to the sea from the river to the Sea Palestine will be free Palestine will be free free free Palestine free free Palestine free free free Palestine free free free Palestine thank you so thank you hey let get let's let's lift another yell and an applaud for the folks from the Palestinian American Community they have an amazing website by the way and on that website is a toolit which is about Palestinian advocacy and I would recommend that you go to pacc and look it up it's terrific W that's I am I would like now to invite Catherine and Daisy to come forward there they are Catherine another [Applause] Catherine okay introduce your and your mom and tell us something [Music] [Applause] hi everyone my name is Katherine my mom is a little shy so she's in the back I just I just want to say that as a Muslim I am so happy and blessed to see so many Americans so many people from different nationalities CU I have been attending Palestinian protests since I've been in middle school and we always see people Muslims I believe that regardless of how the media try to change the narrative into anti-Semitism holw or racist or people that are against the Jewish people this is not the truth and I am happy that I see so many people who can see the truth as a speak the truth yes speak the truth as a Muslim we are not against the Jewish people this has nothing to do with the Jewish this is against the a sist so I want to make sure that we get that clear that's all I want to [Applause] say daisy come up here so we can just recognize you come on daisy as your daughter has so wonderfully said part of Why We Gather here is for a free Palestine is to free Gaza but it is also to end discrimination it is also to end the anti-muslim bias which is so deep in this country and call an end to islamophobia and we are here with you in and we love you hi my name is I'm Spanish mus and like my daughter said yes we just come here to know to to I'm happy and to let the world know that this is not against Jew this is against the genocide that is happening in Palestine and it's not something new it's been for so many years but what's happening right now seeing videos with so many death without our head is is horrific and thank you we cannot stop we can not stop until Palestine is free and this genocide has to stop and we have to let the government to stop funding Israel crimes that's what we need no more money for Israel crimes that's what we have to tell Biden no more money one of the things that happened throughout Palestine is land theft Israel was created after the second world war and the Holocaust for Sanctuary but it didn't become a shared land it became a system of continuing to grab land to enlarge a Zionist project we who are Americans also need to understand that that lies deep in our history too Y and that we are standing on unsurrendered land of the lape people and specifically that's why and specifically the Sand Hill people so as we [Applause] so as we call on the World to be about freeing Palestine we need also as Americans to look deeply into our history and understand that we have a responsibility not only to repent but we have a responsibility for reparation and that is part of the Palestinian project as well and Palestinians remind us of this all the time when we go visit there some of you have signs that say Zionism is a parthe others of you have been talking about how becoming anti-zionist doesn't mean that you are anti-semitic and so in the spirit of that I would like to invite another one of our Jewish partners and allies to come forward and to speak [Applause] [Music] hello good afternoon I'm part of Jersey Shore food not bombs and various yes right over here and some various anti-zionist stsh and queer organizations I'm very grateful to be here today and it's very inspiring to see all of you out here you look beautiful we acknowledge this land upon which We Gather to resist the colonization and occupation of of Palestine is the traditional territory of the Lenny lape called lape huling from lape huling to Palestine we stand in solidarity with indigenous people who continue to face Colonial violence under imperialism that we stand in solidarity with people across the world resisting at least nine genocides happening today across the world in Gaza in Congo Sudan Ethiopia n Kaba West Papa new guini ethnic genocide of ugar in China Myanmar hate crimes against black and Indigenous people worldwide queer and trans siblings and youth and all oppressed people this week [Applause] [Music] yes this week Jews around the world continued the tradition of gathering for saders to those celebrating Passover I want to wish you h this year more than ever many of us are continuing to fight for Liberation and freedom for all also this week Amnesty International concluded that the International System is collapsing despite the promise that it would happen never again Israel is pretending that international law either has no meaning or does not apply to them the outcome is the weakening of the Geneva Convention of the genocide Convention of the universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international court of justice the Security Council is completely useless I'm going to take a deep breath because it's it's hard to it's hard to say this it is as the grandchild of a holocaust Survivor I as Holocaust Survivors I refuse to allow the Holocaust to be weaponized against the Palestinians the systems I just named Were Meant to prevent genocide and they are eroding in front of our eyes and this is terrifying despite this zionists around me believe unwavering support for Israel ensures Jewish safety and are continuing that their conflating protest with anti-jewish sentiment let me be clear it is out of and not in spite of my Jewish values and family history and my actual Holocaust Education that I am anti-war and anti-occupation we were taught to ask questions we were taught to be critical we were taught to olum which is Hebrew for repairing the world we were taught to celebrate Passover which is about freedom and liberation we were taught you shall [Music] love free free pal free pal free free free Palestine free free free palestin free free Palestine free free palestin free free free Palestine free free free Palestine all right we needed a little chant intermission right thank you thank [Music] you it's okay I'm a teacher so if you can hear me clap clap twice thank you okay so back to my Zionist education we were taught you shall love your neighbor as yourself the Jewish organization called if not now organize a freedom for all seder if you're interested in seders you can look this up if not now is freedom for all seder they reframe the word Israel or Israel in the blessings when we say the word Israel in the blessings or we tell of the Israelites when we celebrate Passover this week we are not referring to the modern state of Israel rather we are connecting to our history as a people who Embrace Mysteries and contradictions with the traditions we inherit with systems of power and with Injustice you can even extend this to be one who wrestles with God we say if our freedom is dependent on the oppression of another people we will never truly be free I grew up hearing the phrase never again but we must say never again for anyone last summer I went to Poland and I walked through aitz and the Nazi Munitions Factory that my grandmothers and my great aunt were imprisoned in I have been doing research about my family's history so that I can teach about it to fight anti-Semitism and hate all while being told I am anti-semitic when I was in college I was in students for a just peace which preceded students for justice in Palestine I went to the West Bank and witnessed the occupation with my own eyes a Palestinian met in heon said the most important thing you can do is to go back to America tell them what you learned in the West Bank tell them that Palestinians just want peace tell them that we are not terrorists I I joined their weekly action in billene at the apartheid wall I went with Israeli women and their cameras to a military checkpoint we were recording the abuses there I went with rabbis for human rights and Israeli Coalition against home demolition and we sat with families trying to Simply protect their homes the work between Palestinians and Israelis is was and is inspiring now moving forward we can listen to the decades long call from Palestinians to join the boycott divestment and sanctions movement you can you can even take out your phone right now go to your app store you can download the app called no thanks there's also a website called dis occupied you can actually it will help you make ethical choices with the things you buy okay I'm going to switch gears and talk a little bit about food and lead us connect you with food not bombs where did the banner go I was about to point to it okay where that Banner was okay um okay so Switching gears a little bit so food blockades are being used as a war tactic and this is leading to mass starvation in Gaza we are capable of feeding each other but the US government and Military only address crisis with violence and even with that they waited 6 months to drop Aid and still they failed at that what has been sustaining me through this nightmare is is to stay in close communication and mutual support with my friend in the West Bank she wants me to extend this message to you all she appreciates you she loves you for anyone standing for Palestine and speaking the truth she said keep fighting and that they watch us they see that the support is there and here and we should continue we support the students at the 40 plus 40 plus universities in America that have set up en [Applause] camps we see how the violent arrest of an Emory Professor highlighted police brutality in Georgia where cop city is being built not surprising they think they are suppressing us when actually this is radicalizing even more people and more people are coming into the streets that in the Jewish tradition you must not mourn alone and I think this is an important reminder for us all in fact we need to gather 10 adults in order to say the prayer for mning so to wrap up this speech I'll share with you how we would wrap up a service so we we extend our prayers for the wounded who are dying from preventable diseases starvation and dehydration you can even take a moment now if this feels comfortable for you close your eyes you want to think of people we wish for a whole healing whole body whole Mind and Spirit we're sending our our prayers of healing for a whole and full healing to those that are wounded we're also praying for the martyrs the loss of life in Palestine and Israel May their memories be for a blessing free Palestine let Gaza live okay we have a few more speeches uh [Applause] Mary hi everybody my name is Mary voni I've been a journalist for a little over a decade I have lived in Palestine I have lived in Jordan I have traveled through the area as a journalist and I would like to share with you one of the worst tactics that Israel enacts to distract people from what they're doing and that is pink washing so last year the United States Marine Corps uh put a photo on the internet to celebrate pride month and it was I kid you not a military helmet with rainbow colored bullets as though rainbow bullets save the lives of lgbtq communities that are being colonized oppressed and murdered the only thing is those very rainbow colored bullets are the ones colonizing oppressing and murdering queer communities overseas if you don't know what's called pinkwashing is an effective tool for Israel and the United States to deflect the atrocities and war crimes that they're committee by exploiting the pain of queer communities to justify their overseas work Israel and the United States have convinced us that they're saving lgbtq lives from places that we colonize when they won't even save the lives of queer communities here right zionists tell you that Israel is a Haven for gays when in fact the Israeli government still does not recognize samex marriage in 2024 two people of the same sex still can't legally marry in Israel but politicians wear their little Rainbow flags and they think we won't notice it's time we notice in 2009 I lived in Palestine in 2010 I lived in Jordan working with Palestinian Syrian and Iraqi refugees after that I spent time in Lebanon and turkey as a journalist and I wrote about queerness in Lebanon before I moved there people told me it wasn't safe in the Middle East for people like me I was told that women and fem were assaulted that gays were murdered that I would be looking over my shoulder every day because a Muslim might attack me for who I am it is a lie zionists wanted me to fear for my life so I wouldn't notice all the lives that they were taking in 2009 I was a teacher and one of my students was a boy named jahad Al Jafari he hoped to become a chef and years later he studied hotel management with plans to do just that but in 2015 when Jihad was only 19 years old he was murdered by an Israeli soldier the IDF raided TOA refugee camp in the middle of the night they broke into jahad's home and brought him in brother to their roof they accused him of throwing stones earlier that day and then they shot and killed him and cold blood in front of his little brother and his mother this beautiful boy that I once knew is dead he's murdered for being a teenage boy for being a Palestinian teenage boy but the government is going to tell me that his death makes me safer I never feared for my life living with Palestinians the way I fear for my life here according to the FBI's federal crime report last year there were there was a 13.8% increase in hate crimes based on sexual orientation here in the United States it gets even worse there was a 32.9% increase 32.9% increase in hate crimes in the United States against people of a different gender identity are crimes based on someone's gender identity they are murdering queer and transgender people here while murdering innocent children in Palestine and then the government says they did it for us the government doesn't protect us here they have never protected us here why do they why do they think will believe them when they say they'll protect us overseas I speak to my former from I speak to my former students in the West Bank every day just to check in just to make sure they're still alive my student Osama is a teacher and he lost one of his students to the IDF in November Israeli settlers are encroaching more and more in the West Bank and they're encouraged to act violently to drive Palestinians out I was talking to one of my my for former students Morad who still lives in the West Bank and yesterday he gave me this message to share with everyone that I'm going to read mad said after today I don't want to just thank you I want to tell you that you are part of us free free Palestine free Palestine free free free Palestine free free free Palestine free free Palestine free free Palestine free free free Palestine free free free palestin thanks everybody I'm going to share I'm going to share what Morad said to me he said after today I don't just want to thank you I want to tell you that you are part of us because you expose yourself to the dangers of Oppression for the sake of our Justice you are Fighters now you are Palestinians now and you're our last true hope if the matter remained in the hands of the government alone there would not be a single Palestinian left in the land of Palestine and he's right about that we are the ones still standing up to the government here we are the ones still trying to hold them accountable we can't let them dup us and to thinking they protect lgbtq here when they murder our communities overseas Palestine needs us but we also need Palestine we are in this together we owe it to Palestine and we owe it to ourselves to protect one another and we cannot back down thank you Mary Ty where Ty oh there you are what I'd like to say is every person here is valuable every life on this planet is valuable or you would not be placed here on this planet how does somebody decide that war has now changed war no longer you sit in a row you put your gun on the eyes of someone and you take their lives now war is waged by a button or algorithm that a missile comes through a family's dinner table home and destroys not just the guilty person but everyone down to their children there are family there that have lost 100 family members let's say this all together above the rubble above the rubble what's below the rubble what's below the rubble the secrets of War we have to look at the only winners of any War are the arms dealers and the greatest arms dealers are America and Israel they are showing the weapons that they're using now and taking the effectiveness of those weapons videotaping them and then sending them out to the countries that determine that their enemies have to die in that same way I stand Here representing those representatives of the aparti analistic aspect of death in America the fact that we have somebody that can Define us and we are steadfast ready to defend that title that definition who here is not a human being who here did not come from a mother who here does not have a right to exist Palestine has a right to exist and our voice our voice should never be the guilty party to push the button and exterminate anyone not in our name not in our name not in our not in our name [Applause] there is someone here who has been working on the uncommitted uh referend or uncommitted ballot initiative is he still here maybe I don't see him okay he may have may have gotten uh the sign's not here so I think he's left um so if you are one of those individuals uh who wants to know more about the uncommitted movement I suggest you start doing a little bit of uh wandering around the internet and see that as one option for how you can express your voice in the upcoming primary about Palestine [Applause] almost there I was gonna I think BMA BMA bosma has bosma left I think they had I was going to ask them if they wanted to come up one more time and say something before we ended so we are just about done and uh I'm going to ask Matt who is one of our organizers to come thank you and Derek who's in the plaid shirt in the middle if another one of our organizers if you would like to leave your contact information and become part of a larger community that will continue to protest which will continue to work on ceasefire which will seek a free Palestine and work on Justice please leave your contact information and we'll be in touch with you and now I'm turning tur it over to Matt for the final [Applause] word don't respond don't respond y'all don't respond people will drive by and they're not here doing the work that you're doing for their cause it takes a lot of energy a lot of time a lot of patience to do the work that we're doing for our Cause And if someone wants to co-opt that we will not let them co-opt that all right we stand United Here We Stand United here and reminds me to speak of the encampments that are going on not only uh across this country or yeah oh not only across this country but in six different countries and some of those images that I've seen that we've seen that are as horrific as they can be one of those images that I've seen is one of the encampments Locking arms right we lock arms and we unify and we do it so that they do it so that they cannot be taken away from it but from sorry let me finish that statement they cannot be taken away from it by police that are trying to take them away from it but within that looking at that I believe there's a deeper picture and a deeper message and that deeper message is that this is all interconnected that everything that we are doing is connected from here to Palestine from from this sort of democracy quote unquote that we have here to what's going on in Gaza when we pay our taxes as I will assume I'll just assume don't tell me don't no one say anything I W say any words here all right that we all do when we pay our taxes and we ask for health care we ask for better infrastructure we ask for our houseless to have shelter with these with these dollars that we pay and instead they go and they fund the murder of men women and children and people over in Gaza well it's very hard to not see this as interconnected but I know that I have heard many a time what does this have to do with us here what are we doing here why are we here we are here because we are human free Palestine that's right people that drive by that see this plight that see this cause and that yell out free Palestine they do it because they are human and because they are in touch with their humanity and they realize the humanity of those that are suffering over in Gaza now it is important for me to State although not easy by any means that we need as many humans as we can get here it is very hard it is very arduous it is very frustrating to go over to someone like that on that corner and try to talk to them do I know that they're wrong hell yeah I know they're wrong yeah I don't they wrong I going to hold y let me stop I but but BL but they're human do they see the humanity I do not think they do I do not think they see their Humanity of themselves and I do not think they see especially the humanity of Palestinians it it's our job as the people that have attended this rally that do the work that once we're done with this rally our work is not over it's not done it can't be it didn't start here it doesn't end here right to connect to live the truth don't connect in falsities don't capitulate don't step off of what you know is right but for so long we couldn't even have this conversation for so long we have been silenced and to that we say no more to that we say enough is enough enough is enough we will have these conversations we will take action we will hold our leaders accountable for the money that they send over to Israel and for wasting our time since I have this beautiful demographic in front of me thank you too very much and I would like everyone here to read this demographic and to read this this these signs because I know that I am still learning and that history is deep and that if we're not open to learning if we don't open our minds to the fact that we need to educate ourselves which it seems like everyone here has done but I would like to encourage you to continue to do then we cannot tell anyone else to do so so we are in no place to do that if we cannot do that but as I look at this these signs from an occupation that spans before 1948 almost a decade y'all if not some would consider a decade from uh 1999 or 1919 excuse me sorry and our inability to be able to talk about what we need to talk about as human beings as people if we take all of that and we compare it to the amount of time that we've been able to talk about this now it seems massive it seems insurmountable it seems like we cannot do it and that's how the wants it to see they want us to believe that we cannot do it they want us to believe that we are individuals that we are separate that's right but people driving by see us and they're connected to us and we are not separate we will never be separate we will always be unified and our numbers will grow the cause will grow our heart will grow and our Humanity will grow because it needs to yes otherwise thank you thank you thank you otherwise we will go backwards if we do not connect if we do not take further action if we do not continue this momentum that not only we are a part of but the encampments are a part of and the protest before us are a part of then it will cease and that's not the ceasefire we want we want a ceasefire we want an end to the occupation we want an end to colonialism it's all connected y'all here abroad sedan cono we yeah give it up for them every time every time every time we need that positive re uh reinforcement and encouragement we need an end to that this is a Nexus this is a point in our life and each time we have these points in our lives we can regress or we can go forward but we have a new beginning here in which we can talk about it and which we can coales and which we can continue to take take action if you have not gotten a QR code or taken a QR code or taken a picture about further action that you can take it's okay you can cheer for them you should and you also should take one of those if you have you can see Derek right there they're holding it up because this is very important this rally is immensely important but as we've said before we will regress if we do not carry the momentum that we need to carry if we do not take the action that we need to take we're all here and we're all a community we all got each other's back and I want you all to leave here knowing that and talking to your community members I thank you guys for taking the energy and waking out of our Slumber so that Palestinians can finally sleep well this will happen in our lifetime as long as we do the work make sure to get your emails to Derek to get home safe continue the action that you are doing I am so damn proud of each and every one of you yeah yeah we're going to do some chance to uh end this off because remember we're not ending we're just continuing on that's right the people United will never be defeated the people United will never be defeated the people United will never be defeated the people United will never be deated not another ni not another time no more money for Israel's chist not another Israel's another money for Israel's another not another time for Israel's PR there is only one solution there is only one solution inde a revolution a reevolution there is only one solution there is only one solution reolution a reolution palestin free free palese free free free Palestine free free free pales free free Palestine free free palese [Applause] [Music] freeee pal two words any of you who are in Asbury Park as a resident please email the members of the council and ask them to pass a ceasefire resolution and Katie helper has asked that the very last word belong to a palesi everyone and by the way when all these people say talk about um human Shields or whatever just tell them Israel uses human Shields that's been documented and also tell them that Israel has killed more hostages than the free so even for we know they care about Palestinians but they don't even know how to do their job uh which is caring about apparently Jewish life because they are more committed to killing Palestinians than saving Jewish lives or else they'd be negotiating and get posage release okay but that's not that's not what I wanted to to say I uh so I I on my I I host two shows one is called useful idiots and one is called the Katie Halper show and I was able to on one of them interview rafat Aller and the the late rafat Al who was as you know was murdered by Israel um in December and it was targeted they targeted his sisters building they knew where he was he had just left a a center because he didn't want to put people at risk because he knew he was being hunted and they targeted her apartment so they didn't bomb the entire building they just bombed her apartment because they wanted to kill rafat Aller because he was such a powerful voice and as I said earlier his Grand daughter uh and daughter and son-in-law were just killed this week so when we were corresponding over uh email uh this is from October I said is there anything we can do from what we're here and he said thank you for offering more pressure on the media more coverage more Palestinian voices more protests hopefully Israel is curved ASAP and so we're here we're protesting and I also wanted to um read uh his poem because he said Palestinian voices and so I wanted to leave us with this if I must die this is by rot Oliver if I must die you must live to tell my story to sell my things to buy a piece of cloth and some strings make it white with a long tail so that a child somewhere in Gaza while looking heaven in the eye awaiting his dad who left in a blaze and bid no one farewell not even to his flesh not even to himself sees the kite you made flying up above and thanks for a moment of an Angel is there and than for a moment an angel is there bringing back love if I must die if I must die let it bring hope let it be a [Music] town thank you all of you for coming out this afternoon for your voices for your commitment for your Unity do not stop that's right and we will not stop there will be more opportunities to gather and protest and thank you for braving the chilly weather and keeping one another warm with your passion and commitment thank you and as you walk back to your cars make sure people see your signs e e e