Wilsonville, OR – On Monday, June 24, 20 pro-Palestinian protesters rallied at the office of Collins Aerospace in Wilsonville, Oregon. The rally was called by PDX for Palestine to protest the company’s involvement in the genocide in Gaza. Collins Aerospace is a subsidiary of Raytheon, and the Wilsonville facility produces weapons components that go to the Israeli military.

The protesters formed a picket line and marched directly in front of the building next to its windows as workers inside went about their workday, chanting slogans such as “Raytheon, Raytheon you can’t hide! You make weapons for genocide!”

“We as Oregonians are here to say that we don’t want weapons manufacturers in our backyard. We don’t want them to be able to persist business as usual when they are arming a genocide,” said Catie Mohr, member of PDX for Palestine.

The rally continued on for two hours with protesters in good spirits and no escalation with police or security. The event closed with organizers committing to continuing the struggle against companies like Raytheon and all other war profiteers in Oregon.

#WilsonvilleOR #OR #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #WeaponsIndustry #PDXforPalestine

Portland, OR – On April 13, Oregon Democrats arrived in Portland for the annual Wayne Morse Gala, Oregon’s largest democratic fundraising event of the year. When representatives arrived at the Hilton Hotel, they were met with a group of 50 protesters demanding Oregon Democrats stop funding the genocide of Palestinians.

The disruption was organized by the local group PDX for Palestine, which instructed attendees to bring noise makers, pots and pans, and instruments to “Get Loud for Gaza.” This was in response to the most recent spending bill approved by every Oregon Democrat in the U.S. House and Senate that allocated another $3.8 billion to Israel.

Protesters were stationed at both entrances to the hotel for four hours to ensure that all attendees would hear their message to end U.S. aid to Israel. When confronted with the stark reality that, while they enjoyed a nice meal, the children of Gaza would be spending another night hungry, the Democrats and their donors showed no remorse for their actions. Most simply thanked the crowd for coming, while others showed outright contempt. One attendee even went so far as to physically assault a protester while trying to grab their kufiyah from their face.

Lina Aziz, a Palestinian American organizer with PDX for Palestine called out the hypocrisy of the Democratic Party, stating, “We cannot allow [the Democratic Party] to continue to claim the moral high ground while funding ethnic cleansing in Palestine. We cannot allow them to continue to present themselves as champions of social justice while implementing racist policies that harm the very communities they claim to support.”

As the night went on, the crowd grew in size and spirit. In an attempt to keep disruptors outside of the event, hotel security refused entry to attendees with purchased tickets who were deemed too high risk. They were not entirely successful in this attempt, though, and at least one disruption inside the event was able to take place.

Protesters from outside of the event were also able to make their way inside the hotel with a banner that read “Gaza will be your political grave.” They were quickly met by violent hotel security and escorted out by the police. In response, protesters began chanting, “Portland PD, KKK, IDF you’re all the same” as they pounded on the locked doors and windows of the hotel.

The demonstration continued until the end of the gala at 9 p.m. with zero arrests or injuries to protesters. PDX for Palestine organizer Omar Gill closed the event out with a reminder, “We must continue steadfast in our unrest and demand that our government end its aid to Israel! Without the U.S., the occupation will perish!”

#PortlandOR #OR #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #PDXforPalestine

Portland, OR – On March 24, at 1:30 p.m. three dozen protesters gathered at Couch Park in the Nob Hill neighborhood of Portland to show solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and their opposition to the Zionist occupation.

The event was led by local group Portland for Palestine. This protest was called in response to the attack on the Al-Shifah Hospital.

Mutaz Alshawa, a Palestinian American who has lost family members to Israeli forces, said, “Whether you are Muslim, Christian, Jew, Democrat, Republican or Independent, we are all human and should empathize with the suffering and tragedy occurring in Gaza.”

“As citizens and workers of the world, it is imperative that we challenge and struggle against the U.S. imperial machine, Israel’s number-one accomplice,” said Omar Gil, one of the protest leaders.

After more speeches, the demonstrators marched for two miles through the busy Nob Hill and Goose Hallows neighborhoods. Many people in the neighborhood showed support, including workers, shoppers, drivers and Portland Timbers Major League Soccer supporters.

Holly Brown, a member of PDX for Palestine said, “We must go beyond simply marching in the street to confronting those who profit off of and enable Zionist violence, such as war profiteers.”

#PortlandOR #OR #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #PDXforPalestine