Green Party of Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
CONTACT:
GPPA Communication Team
Chris Robinson, 267-977-0570 and [email protected]
or
Tina Olson, [email protected]
PA Green Party Denounces Israeli Violence
In response to the Israeli killing spree in the Gaza Strip, many Green Party activists came forward to stand with Palestinians in their continued struggle for the right to exist. Members of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) joined in pro-Palestinian rallies that were held throughout the state on May 15. The Green Party joined other activist organizations such as Black Lives Matter; Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Coalition; Drexel Students for Justice in Palestine; New Afrikan Independence Party; Pittsburgh Anti-Imperialist League; and Jewish Voice for Peace, in solidarity to end the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Reports of Palestinian civilian casualties were flooding in from major media outlets and social media. The continuous bombing and arbitrary slaughter of civilians had been carried out by Israel since May 7. On the 73rd anniversary of Nakba Day, May 15, one such airstrike was aimed at the media itself, the high-rise building in Gaza housing the offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Associated Press (AP) and Al Jazeera.
Chris Robinson, a member of the Green Party of Philadelphia, attended the rally there and described the following scene, “Support for the liberation of Palestine was vigorous in Philadelphia. More than 800 people paraded from Rittenhouse Square, chanting militant slogans and singing liberation songs. People understand that Israeli apartheid has lasted too long. It is our job to explain this to the U.S. corporate duopoly.”
“One of the Ten Key Values of the Green Party calls for nonviolent methods of resolving conflicts while respecting the right for people to defend themselves,” explained GPPA Co-chair Tina Olson (Hellertown). “In particular, the decades-long conflict in the Israeli-Palestine region has been unfairly financed and supported by countries like the U.S. From the Green Party Platform we learn, ‘Our Green values oblige us to support popular movements for peace and demilitarization in Israel-Palestine, especially those that reach across the lines of conflict to engage both Palestinians and Israelis of good will.’”
Connor Mulvaney, 2021 Green Party candidate for Pittsburgh City Council, expressed his support for the Palestinian peoples’ plight, "An end to all hostilities is not possible until the oppressor-oppressed system the Israeli government uses to subjugate Palestinian Arabs ceases. Our campaign stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and supports the movement for the U.S. to boycott, divest, and sanction the Israeli government."
“As activists protest and petition against the inhumane treatment of Palestinians, the Biden Administration continues to evade confronting the cries for change in U.S. policy backing Israel’s criminal overreach,” continued Olson. “Additionally, it has not taken any measures to reverse the policies that former president Donald Trump enacted. The bloated funding for the Pentagon is astronomical. Then add another $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel, and it’s clear that the war hawks in DC are once again profiting from misery. There are no real divisions between the two corporate parties when it comes to the oppression of people for profit. Their lack of interest in helping to change the tide of the conflict by weighing the situation with some conscience also reminds us that when then-candidate Joe Biden said, ‘Nothing will fundamentally change,’ he meant it.”
The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org. Please follow GPPA on social media:
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/,
Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/ and
Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA
For more information please see:
“We Stand in Solidarity with the Palestinian People,” news release, Green Party of California, May 16, 2021, https://www.gp.org/solidarity_with_the_people_of_palestine;
“One Secular, Democratic State for Palestinians and Israelis,” Green Party of the U.S. Platform, March 28, 2019, https://www.gp.org/israel_palestine;
“Why Does the Green Party in the U.S. Support the Palestinians’ Right of Return?” Green Party of the U.S. International Committee, undated, https://gpus.org/why-does-the-green-party-in-the-u-s-support-palestinians-right-of-return/;
In the photo: Emily De Ferrari, Green Party of Allegheny County, speaks during the Solidarity with Palestine rally in Pittsburgh on May 15. Photo credit: Matt Nemeth, Allegheny Greens.
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