The media—always soft on AIPAC—evidently blacked out yesterday’s protest, making Dan Handelman’s report
especially valuable.--MM
REPORT BACK: "No War on Iran: Occupy AIPAC" rally While you wouldn't know it from the mainstream media, a boisterous crowd of about 80 people flanked the sidewalks by the Mittleman Jewish Community Center Sunday evening to protest the American Israel Political Action Committee dinner being held there. AIPAC's terrible track record on Palestinian human rights and its current push for war on Iran were the main topics of signs and chants facing the folks heading into the dinner. The protest started at 4, the pre-dinner at 5, the dinner at 6, and the last folks left the protest site at 8 PM though the event was not quite over. The protest signs, in coordinated red and black, said "Occupy AIPAC," "No War on Iran" and "Stop Funding Israeli Apartheid." Many, many drivers and passers-by honked and gave the thumbs up or a peace sign. A smaller number of folks used profanity and swore at the protestors, who generally responded by blowing kisses or otherwise "turning the other cheek." While the protest has been going on for five years now, three things made this event different: 1) the organizers asked community members to contact elected officials ahead of time to propose that they not accept an invitation to the dinner; 2) the threat of war on Iran made for an arguably more focused and more broad message; and 3) along with the gatherings at the entrances and across the street from the Mittleman Center, there was a 12-foot tower of peace about 300 feet down Capitol Highway. Here are photos facing east (1) and west (2): http://www.pjw.info/occupyaipac1.jpg http://www.pjw.info/occupyaipac2.jpg http://www.pjw.info/occupyaipac3.jpg Two people expressed interest in attending the dinner in order to get first-hand information about what was actually being said. But, like a secret society of sorts, the AIPAC folks rejected both the people despite their willingness to pay for tickets and go through the security checkpoint (metal detector and ID presentation) on the way in. Among the elected officials spotted going into the event despite the contacts from the citizenry were: --Sen. Ron Wyden, who reportedly hid his face on the way in, making him resemble a wanted criminal heading into court (though he did wave at the tower-sitters as he left at 7:10 PM); --Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who, like Wyden, reportedly made remarks to the crowd; --Secretary of State Kate Brown; --Mayor of Beaverton Denny Doyle; and, --presumably (confirmation pending), City Commissioner Amanda Fritz. (You may recall that organizers invited Fritz to the protest when she said she was attending the AIPAC dinner because she goes to any event she's invited to.) It may be worth contacting those folks to let them know of your disappointment in them, as well as to ask what was talked about and whether they could let you know what they said if they spoke. If you'd like to contribute at all, FYI while PJW was able to recoup most of the costs of building the tower, we came about $60 shy of breaking even when including the costs of building a temporary roof rack to transport it to the site. It was quite the eyeful, visible coming up the hill from Portland or down from the West side, people got the message: No War on Iran! Thanks to all who helped make "Occupy AIPAC" a success. --dan handelman Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group PO Box 42456 Portland, OR 97242 (503) 236-3065 (Office) iraq@pjw.info http://www.pjw.info/Iraq.html visit my website www.michaelmunk.com |