New Orleans, LA – On August 6, at 9:30 a.m., nearly 100 local activists and community organizations converged onto New Orleans City Hall. They gathered to stand against the New Orleans City Council adopting a “Statement of Peace,” and demanded instead a resolution for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

The so-called “Statement of Peace” was sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, an openly Zionist organization. It calls for peace while conveniently omitting Palestine or Palestinians, ignores local victims of Israeli genocidal violence such as Tawfic Abdeljabbar, and implies that local anti-genocide protests are “calls for violence.” After only a few weeks in circulation, the statement has been put forth on the council agenda.

The wider New Orleans community has been in City Hall chambers multiple times over the past half year, demanding that a ceasefire resolution be put on the agenda. A ceasefire resolution would call for a permanent and immediate ceasefire and an end to U.S. aid to Israel. It would also include condolences for Israel’s killing of New Orleanian Tawfic Abdeljabbar and kidnapping of local grandmother Samaher Ismail.

Less than ten people, not including city council members, showed up to support the “Peace Statement.”

“There is no peace in this statement when you leave the name and word Palestinian out of the statement,” said Reverend Manning, a local religious leader, in his public comment. “I see what you’re trying to do, but it's not going to work, because these same people have been standing here month after month asking you for a ceasefire resolution. You have said to them in private meetings and beyond ‘We don’t weigh in on international issues.’ Yes, you do. Yes, you do,” continued Rev. Manning.

This was in reference to the council’s long history of taking a stance on global issues, from divesting from Apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, to supporting Ukraine and putting out a statement in solidarity with Israel in October 2023. The “Statement of Peace” could also be considered “weighing in on global issues.”

“In 2006, Palestinian refugees in both Gaza and the West Bank in Palestine collectively raised $10,000 to donate to Katrina victims. The Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that while the donation was small, having come from the poorest among Palestinians, the Palestinians felt it was important to show our concern for the people of New Orleans since Palestinians know all too well the pain and hardship caused by being a refugee,” said Jack Reno Sweeney, co-chair of New Orleans Democratic Socialists of America and member of the Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee.

“Those refugee camps, where that humble donation was raised, have since been wiped off the map by Israeli bombs paid for by the U.S. with our tax dollars,” Sweeney continued.

All council members voted in favor of the “Statement of Peace,” except for Oliver Thomas, who left the room.

Additionally, the statement indirectly condemns local anti-war protests as “calls for violence and conflict in New Orleans.” These protests had enormous public support in the New Orleans area and are some of the largest ones seen locally in decades.

Organizations that planned the day of action included Masjid Omar, New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP), and Jewish Voices for Peace.

#NewOrleansLA #Palestine #MasjidOmar #NOSHIP #JVP

In recent days, our coalition has been made aware of this ‘Statement of Peace,’ being distributed to local leaders and institutions, and signed by all of the New Orleans City Council Members. This statement seeks to address the “ongoing conflict in Gaza and Israel,” and is likely to be introduced as a resolution on the council’s agenda for a vote on Thursday, August 8th. Our coalition, which has been tirelessly advocating for a ceasefire resolution to this council, was not consulted about this statement. We consider this ‘Statement of Peace’ insidious in its language, and firmly reject it.

This statement was made without consideration to any Palestinian in this city. This is especially concerning as each council member has had private meetings with Palestinian residents in their own districts to discuss a ceasefire resolution. Meanwhile, we know that the Council involved local Zionist institutions to draft this statement. By doing this, the council has shown complete disrespect to their constituents, especially Palestinians who have been most impacted by this conflict.

This statement also negates the basic purpose of a local ceasefire resolution – to pressure the White House, the US Senate and Congress to change course on their support of Israel’s genocide. The United States government has had the power to end this genocide since it began. As every credible human rights organization and international governmental organization has been outspoken about the unprecedented scale of death, disease, and destruction in Gaza, our government has continued sending billions of our tax dollars in weapons and funding for Israel, and has shielded Israel from all accountability.

While 172 cities across the country have issued ceasefire resolutions calling on the United States government to implement a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, including by ending all military aid to Israel, our city council has signed on to a statement that explicitly supports “the efforts by the United States government.” This is a statement of hate, a statement which asks the United States government to continue its policy of facilitating the genocide in Gaza.

A full list of our criticisms of this statement can be found below. We ask the New Orleans City Council to not move forward with their ‘Statement of Peace’, and to invite us to the negotiating table when drafting a ceasefire resolution.

We call on the public to show up in full force at 10am on Thursday August 8th to call this council out on their bad faith actions, and speak out against this statement.

#NewOrleansLA #Palestine #NewOrleansCeasefireCoalition #MasjidOmar #JVP #NOSHIP #VoiceoftheExperienced

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, June 29, nearly 100 community members gathered in Lafayette Square to show support for Palestine, and to put pressure on local lawmakers to pass a ceasefire resolution.

Leading up to the rally, the city’s local Palestinian coalition hosted cultural and political events from morning to evening. The day started with a cultural exchange and bazaar in Harvey. Bazaar participants then drove in a motorcade to Lafayette Square. At the Square, speakers from many local groups and one politician addressed the crowd. English and Arabic chants, such as “Free, free Palestine,” rang off the walls of the many federal and local government buildings in the area.

“We must only engage with those who want to build power with us, and that’s our primary strategy as a community is building power, before voting,” said a speaker for Palestinian Youth Movement – New Orleans. “This means that we must not think of civic engagement in terms of political maneuvering and convincing politicians to be on our side, but instead it's all part of a broader strategy to build community power,” he continued.

For the last few months, the New Orleans community has been attempting to get local politicians like Troy Carter and members of the New Orleans city council to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire. Organizers want these politicians to also actively support ending all trade and cultural ties with the genocidal state of Israel. But elected officials have refused to implement even a simple demand for a ceasefire resolution.

Protesters believe that building community power will help the over 40,000 Palestinians living in the New Orleans metro area into pressure the local leaders into helping end genocide, or electing new leaders who represent the people’s demands.

Devin Davis, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress, led the crowd in chants of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” He spoke in condemnation of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which funds his opponent.

Organizers also condemned political repression against their efforts.

“Every time the people of this country stand up against the ruling class and its various atrocities, they are met with brutal force,” said Shreyas Vasudevan, a local organizer with NOSHIP and an arrested participant in the student encampment at Tulane University. “We refuse to be intimidated. We will never apologize for standing in solidarity with Palestine, and will fight every bogus charge they lay on us.”

Vasudevan’s comments are a response to a pattern of intimidation and oppression suffered by the community for thinking that the U.S. actively supporting a genocide is wrong. Toni Jones, a local organizer with New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police (NOCOP), was arrested in March for protesting next to Tulane’s campus. That same month, NOCOP member Felix Allen was arrested for giving public comment at the Port of New Orleans board of commissioners monthly meetings in opposition to the Port’s Innovation Embassy with Israel. Multiple students and community members were arrested at the recent encampment on Tulane’s campus for not putting up with the university’s continued financial and cultural ties to Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). These acts of repression will only continue, but they will only act as a glue that will bind the community closer.

The rally was planned as a march from Lafayette Square to City Hall, with Congresswoman Cori Bush – author of the Ceasefire Now Resolution – as one of the speakers. Unfortunately, due to a death in the family, Congresswoman Bush had to postpone the visit.

Lead organizations included Masjid Omar, Palestinian Youth Movement, and AMAANA, a local Palestinian-led care group for people living with disabilities. New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP), Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) also helped organize the rally.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #MasjidOmar #PYM #NOSHIP #JVP #NOCOP #FRSO