By North American Bureau of Resumen Latinoamericano on December 10, 2017
Protest in SF in support of Palestine. Photos: Bill Hackwell
When President Trump signed his executive order recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel he was not just making a dramatic provocation to the Arab world he was also reflecting the sentiment of all of Congress as well as the leaders of Wall Street. The dismissal of the fact that Jerusalem is the historic capital of Palestine, enduring a Zionist occupation since the 1967 war, shows that the U.S. could care less about the aspirations of the Palestinian people. When Trump signed the order he was making an emphatic statement for U.S. exceptionalism with assumed imperial authority to make such a gesture. This was a blatant act where the Zionist did not have to give up anything to receive this unequivocal endorsement, not even lip service that it would say slow settler housing construction on Palestinian lands or the releasing of some of the hundreds of Palestinians crowded into Israeli prisons.
There is no howling coming from the corporate media that this move by Trump was not just a show of overwhelming siding with Israel but also a strategy to continue to destabilize all of the Middle East to maintain geo political control of the oil rich region.
Response from the World to Trump’s declaration has been swift and universal. One hundred and fifty one countries voted in the UN General Assembly condemning Israeli’s claim to Jerusalem with only Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, the United States and Israel itself voting for it.
Large and militant demonstrations took place from Istanbul to Jakarta, all through Europe, Latin America and many more places as well. Palestine is entering its fourth day of protests resulting in 4 deaths and hundreds injured from air attacks and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). In Beirut hundreds of Palestinian refugees had to be pushed back by security forces as they approached the U.S. Embassy with more protests being scheduled for tomorrow.
Protests in U.S. Support Palestine
Protests in the U.S. against Trump and this new level of U.S. aggression have taken place in over 29 cities coast to coast. In San Francisco over 1000, mostly youthful, Palestinians and their supporters marched on Saturday from UN Plaza down Market Street through the commercial district that was filled with holiday shoppers. The action was called by the General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) and sponsored by many Bay Area solidarity groups. When asked about what Trump’s move means to the struggle for the Palestinian people, Lara Kiswani, Executive Director of AROC replied,”Trump’s outrageous announcement, which was applauded by Israeli officials, demonstrates the natural alliance between his administration’s white supremacy and Israel’s apartheid, racism, and systematic violence against the Palestinian people. The Trump administration is only more blatantly carrying out what has been the US’s long-standing policy of supporting Israeli occupation, settlement expansion, theft of Palestinian land, and routine military violence against the Palestinian population. Arabs and Palestinians across the world are united in their opposition to this recent announcement and have already demonstrated a commitment to fighting back.”
Source: International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity