Tag Archives: Gaza

Uhuru Party holds vigil in St Pete FL on anniversary of Aaron Bushnell’s sacrifice at the Israeli Embassy.

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On the 25th of Feb 2025, vigils were held in many places for Aaron Bushnell. One of these was in front of City Hall in St Petersburg FL, hosted by the Uhuru Party which calls St Pete one of their two home bases. Activists from many groups showed up from as far away as Ocala.

A representative of the American Indian Movement (AIM) spoke as well, emphasizing that the US occupation of Turtle Island and the US-funded Israeli occupation of Palestine are basically the same thing. The term “Manifest Destiny” is just as valid describing Netanyahu’s brutal ambitions as it was for describing Andrew Jackson’s murderous anti-Indigenous ways.

One year ago on Feb 25, active duty US Airman Aaron Bushnell showed up at the Israeli Embassy and set himself on fire, yelling “Free Palestine!” Before doing so, he said the “extreme act of protest” he was about to carry out was not extreme at all compared to the suffering imposed on Palestinians by Israel.

Now, with so many Palestinians coming home from Israeli dungeons in the Flood of the Free bearing marks of extreme torture, we see this is clearly the case. There are also the thousands of Palestinians burned alive by Israel’s white phosphorus and similar bombs. High explosive bombs usually kill by blast, fragmentation, and by collapsing buildings onto their occupants but can also start deadly fires as well.

Compared to this, Aaron is right: there is nothing extreme about his martyrdom, recognized as such by multiple fighting resistance groups in Occupied Palestine.

Protesters oppose Netanyahu’s meetup with Trump, resulting call for US occupation of Gaza

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On the 4th of February, Israeli dictator Netanyahu visited US dictator Trump in Washington DC. Outside protesters deployed to oppose the genocidal intentions of both dictators.

Trump’s call for the US to “take over” Gaza and possibly commit US troops was met with outrage by protesters and no doubt the entire Palestinian disapora.

The protest featured three mock IOF soldiers dragging a chained Lady Liberty this way and that as she tried to escape. Behind her was a giant shackled Netanyahu.

Protesters vowed there would be no peace with genocide, and that Intifada would continue until total victory.

For the moment open protest against Trump remains possible. Although Trump is blustering about deporting IN STATUS students from other nations for pro-Palestine protests, the cops did not assault this protest. There were some menacing maneuvers on their part but nothing came of that. Iin one case the cops left a bunch of cop bikes unattended, I’m thinking these were bait. Nobody took the bait. There was no attempt at a kettle and I did not see or hear any snatch-and-grab arrests

2024 in activism-and in war

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Video of protests and direct actions through the year against genocide in Gaza, against both political parties, and against Trump. Intercut in places with a few clips of war footage from Occupied Palestine and Lebanon. Much but not all of the DC and Florida stuff I “saw with my own hands.”

Three big DC Palestine protests in this, including the humiliating defeat for the Park Police when Netanyahu showed up in DC. Both of the police attacks on protesters near Lake Eola in Orlando, FL and the leadup to them. The wave of university encampments and the fighting to defend them is also here.

War footage includes a drone bombing near the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, the pager explosions in Lebanon, and the Oct 1 storm of warheads raining on an Israeli airbase that destroyed much of the IOF’s F-35 fighter jets. That clip is followed by Palestine Action’s successful direct action strike on a UK Elbit plant’s clean room. That strike disable the manufacture of at least one component without which no new F-35’s to replace the ones the Iranian missile strike blew up.

As the year comes to a close, Trump becomes President-elect and open street protests slow down as people prepare for the brutal times ahead. Other things start to happen though.

Closing with two inspirational scenes: Cops being bonked with water jugs at a University protest for Palestine, and protesters outside the US firing a multi-barreled Roman candle at riot cops and a water cannon as though it was a Vulcan revolving cannon.

Black Friday protest against genocide, repression, and Trump held outside Tampa shopping mall

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On Black Friday (AKA Buy Nothing Day) 2024, protesters showed up outside the International Plaza shopping mall in Tampa near the airport.

The protest called out US bipartisan support for the genocide in Gaza, and pointed out that on that issue and several others, Trump will be continuing and intensifying Biden’s policies. That said, Trump’s larger agenda was then called out by speakers as “a declaration of war on the working class.”

One speaker emphasized the success of abolitionist Vigilance Committees after passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, notably in Springfield, Ohio, the town later slandered by Trump. There, vigilance committee members successfully blocked all of the slaveowners by force of arms from recapturing their escaped workers once they got up and running.(This portion not on the video as it is long and it can take many hours to cover all faces on a long video segment).

Speakers also emphasized that neither party has any intention of doing anything about issues like rising prices or anything else harming the general public. Thus we have the cop cities being built across the US after the Uprising, the RICO charges against protesters there, and all the rest of the recent and very heavy repression.

In my judgement, the true message sent by the repression is to “go big or go home” while they ensure fewer and fewer have a home to go back to.

This protest got heckled a couple times, in both cases by presumed Christian nationalists, who are quite common in Florida. Wasn’t nearly as bad though as at the Nov 9 anti-Trump protest at Tampa City hall though.

National day of action: pro-Palestine marchers take to the street in Tampa

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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.”

Protesters set up Tombstones and children’s shoes in memory of those killed by Israel since Oct 7

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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.

Orlando Palestine Solidarity activists kick off week of action around Oct 7 anniversary

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On the first of October, protesters gathered at Orlando City Hall to begin a week of actions culminating on Oct 7 for Palestine. Speakers informed the media about the horrific genocide at Israel’s hands, the well over ten thousand prisoners (HOSTAGES!) taken by the IOF, and the current escalation of the war to Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.

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.