On the 5th of October, pro-Palestine marchers took to the streets in Tampa, FL to condemn Israel’s attacks on Palestine and Lebanon, and US aid for that war. This was an expllcitly pro-resistance march. With resistance fighters in Lebanon inflicting serious losses against Israeli ground attacks on to Lebanon, protester added a new chant. This chant (on the video) is “Lebanon make us proud-take another soldier down!” I think we shall hear a lot of that one going forward.
The 5th of October was a national day of action for Palestine and Lebanon. This was the Saturday closest to the Oct 7 anniversary of the start of Israel’s all-out war of extermination against Gaza.
Street marches for Palestine have been less common in both Tampa and Orlando it seems due to vicious police harassment. With the current scandal in Orlando concerning cops being caught on video assaulting protesters w no provocation, they stayed mostly out of sight in Tampa. At the end of the march, bike cops rode past the dispersal point, as though to say “we have been watching you.”
On the 2nd of October, protesters against Israel’s war agaist Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran showed up at Orlando’s City Hall for the second day in a row. City Hall is an appropriate place given that Orlando cops like Tampa cops train with IOF troops.
With rows of tombstones and children’s shoes in front of City Hall, an activist read out the names of some of the martyrs who were only ONE YEAR OLD at the time they were murdered by Israel using US-supplied bombs.
The cops mostly stayed out of sight today. Bike cops rode to City Hall, went inside (out of sight) for short time, then rode away probably to another place of concealment. Ever since those videos proving the cops assaulted protesters without provocation on Sep 21 came out, Orlando cops have seemingly hidden themselves in shame from protesters.
A reporter asked if protesters were concerned about the danger posed to protesters at Saturday’s (Oct 5) event by the Orlando Police Department, and was told activists most certainly are. The brutal behavior of the Orlando Police Department including the violent assaults of May 11 and Sep 21 was discussed, along with the harassment protesters have received all year.
Protest and direct action against capitalism, imperialism, and fascism
