San Jose holds emergency rally demanding “Hands off Lebanon”
San Jose, CA – On September 28, about 50 people gathered in front of San Jose City Hall to protest U.S. involvement in Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. People joined together demanding end all U.S. aid to Israel and for San Jose to divest from companies directly tied to Israel.
Signs bearing the slogans “All victory to the Palestinian resistance,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “End U.S. aid to Israel” were carried by the crowd.
San Jose Against War activist Jay Marcos described how Israel is using “the same lies that the United States and Israel have propagated to manufacture consent for their genocide in Gaza, to now justify their crimes against humanity on the people of Lebanon.”
Elle Maíz, an organizer with San Jose Against War, stated, “I’m so proud of every single person here because together we are all standing up to these evil empires and saying, ‘Enough!’ We will never be defeated and we will never be silent!” Maíz ended by giving the crowd a call to action: “Together we will continue escalating and demanding better because we all deserve better!”
Thai Nguyen of San Jose Against War noted, “One look at history tells us that an empire in decline will commit its most heinous attacks before collapse. But for those of us living in the imperial core – the belly of the beast – what can we do to meet this moment?” Nguyen reminded the crowd to support San Jose Against War’s divestment campaign for the city of San Jose – which has upwards of $50 million in investments in companies with direct ties to Israel.
San Jose Against War, along with eight other local organizations, has called for rally and march at City Hall on October 6, 12 noon to answer the national call from the Anti-War Action Network to mark one year of genocide, and one year of resistance.