Rally Against the War in Gaza and Lebanon, Saturday October 5

Source: Western Mass Coalition for Palestine

A rally in support of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza & Lebanon, an immediate arms embargo on Israel, an end to the Israeli occupation, and in solidarity with the student peace movement locally and around the globe is planned for Saturday, October 5, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on the Amherst Town Common.

The event is sponsored by The Western Mass Coalition for Palestine (WMC4P) – a broad coalition of more than a dozen groups. It includes the UMass for Palestine Coalition, Jewish Voice for Peace, Western Mass Area Labor Federation, Valley Families for Palestine, Hampshire Students for Justice in Palestine, Hampshire Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, Western Mass Standing Up for Racial Justice, Demilitarize Western Mass, Decarcerate Western Mass, Northampton Abolition Now, Anti-Imperialist Action Committee, Code Pink, River Valley DSA, and the Party for Socialism & Liberation, among others.

Today Gaza lies in ruins. For the past 12 months the world has watched in horror as the Israeli military indiscriminately attacked Gaza with U.S.-made weapons, destroying hospitals, schools, housing, and electric, water, and sewage systems. Conservative estimates project at least 42,000 Palestinians have been killed, with the British Medical Journal The Lancet estimating that the death toll is as high as 186,000.

With weapons and direct military aid from the Biden administration, Israel has expanded its military assault to Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, escalating its U.S.-funded war and destabilizing the entire region. On September 23, Israeli airstrikes killed over 500 people in Lebanon, including at least 50 children, with another 1,600 injured and countless more buried under the rubble, overwhelming hospitals and shelters.

A majority of Americans agree that we must say no to Israel’s expanding wars. In a June CBS poll, 52% of Americans (and 62% of Democrats) said they want the Biden administration to stop sending arms to Israel.  Two thirds (64%) support a ceasefire (86% of Democrats). But despite pleas from constituents for the U.S. to follow its own laws and impose an arms embargo on Israel, lethal arms transfers continue.

The Western Mass Coalition for Palestine calls for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon along with an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. The October 5 rally & march follows 12 months of weekly local actions in support of a ceasefire in Gaza, including nearly 200 standouts across the River Valley and hundreds of other events, from student encampments to marches, teach-ins, vigils, petitions, municipal ceasefire resolutions, and boycott and divestment campaigns, such as the current Apartheid-Free River Valley Co-op campaign.

More information:
Contact: Hoang Phan
palestinecoalition@gmail.com