[News] Civil disobedience at Seattle Boeing office in protest of Gaza war

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Jewish and Palestinian activists are currently blockading the Tukwila 
Boeing office in protest of that company's support for Israel's war on 
Gaza. Nine activists have blockaded the entrance while 40 others conduct 
a "die-in" nearby. A press release for the action is below and attached.

As the war in Gaza enters its third week, we hope you will be able to 
cover this nonviolent civil disobedience now underway in Seattle.

Please contact us for interviews, images.

Sincerely,
Dan
Seattle Jewish Voice for Peace
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 28, 2014*

*Jews and Allies Lock Down in Civil Disobedience,*

*Demand Boeing Cease Arming the Israeli War Machine*

Washington Jews and Allies Stand Against Israel’s Brutal Assault on Gaza

*July 28, at 8:30 AM. At 9725 East Marginal Way S Seattle, WA 98108*

July 28, 2014—While Israel’s offensive in Gaza enters its 21st day, 
deeply concerned Jews and allies from across Puget Sound are engaging in 
nonviolent civil disobedience to stand against Israel’s massacre of the 
Palestinians in Gaza and demand accountability from the corporations 
that are profiting off this war on civilians.

Nine activists have just locked together to blockade the main entrance 
to the Tukwila offices of Boeing in an act of civil disobedience. At the 
same time, forty other members are staging a silent “die in” across the 
sidewalk representing the Palestinians killed in Israel’s latest 
offensive in Gaza. Members of Jewish Voice for Peace will read the names 
of the more than 1,000 Palestinians that Israel has killed since July 8.

Boeing Defense, Space and Security, part of which is located at the 
Tukwila facility, is a unit of Boeing responsible for weapons 
manufacturing. Boeing (NYSE:BA) has been a major supplier of weapons to 
the Israeli Defense Force, including missile systems, F15 software, 
Apache Helicopters, and Joint Direct Attack Munitions, a guided 
air-to-surface weapon. Israel is using weapons such as these on civilian 
targets including homes, mosques, hospitals, and schools.

Demonstrators demand that the truth be told about the horrendous 
violence being perpetrated by the Israeli government against 1.8 million 
Palestinian people. Participants in the protest point to the hugely 
disproportionate use of Israeli force in Gaza. “We are engaging in civil 
disobedience at Boeing because they are profiting from the Israeli 
government’s systematic and ongoing brutality against Palestinians,” 
said Eitan Isaacson, a participant in today’s action and an Israeli 
member of Jewish Voice for Peace – Seattle. “The Palestinian people, who 
have been stateless for decades and many of whom who are being held 
captive as prisoners inside of Gaza, are being bombarded with some of 
the most advanced weapons in the world, including those made here at 
Boeing. Palestinians in Gaza have no shelters to run to and no way to 
leave. “

Samira Shifteh, a participant in the action and member of Queers Against 
Israeli Apartheid, another co-sponsor of today’s demonstration,  points 
to one of the fallacies of the Israeli hasbara (propaganda) spin: “The 
Israelis claim they are not targeting civilians but the  Apache 
helicopters and F-15A jets provided by Boeing tell a different  story. 
Israel is using such weapons of war to destroy hospitals, schools, water 
and electrical lines. Such targets are clearly intended to create 
widespread suffering among the entire population.”

Sallie Shawl, of JVP – Tacoma, another of the action’s organizing 
groups, added: “Last week, 15,000 Palestinians in the West Bank risked 
their lives to hold one of the largest demonstrations there in decades. 
Here in the US, people are flooding to the streets to hold the 
corporations that profit off the brutality of the Occupation 
accountable. All of us, across the world, say to the Israeli government 
that there can be no ceasefire without addressing the root causes of the 
violence in Gaza: Israel’s ceaseless war against Palestinian freedom and 
equality.”

The activists risking arrest today call upon Israel to end its brutality 
and call upon American Jews and all Americans to stand against Israel’s 
military occupation of Palestine. The Jewish groups protesting today 
make clear that, despite claims to the contrary by the Israeli 
government, they and thousands of Jews vehemently oppose Israel’s 
behavior and stand firmly with the Palestinians of Gaza during this time.

“As a Jew, I am outraged that Israel’s one-sided war of choice is being 
done in my name,” said Eliana Horn, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace 
and a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. “My Jewish values compel me 
to stand with those who face violence and oppression. As such, we call 
on all people of conscience to divest from Boeing and all companies 
profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine until Israel’s brutal 
war against Palestinians ends. If we want real peace, we have to take 
the profit out of violence.”

The call for an immediate end to Israeli state violence and the call for 
human rights and justice for the Palestinian people are reverberating 
across the globe. Calls for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) 
against Israel and companies that profit from the Israeli occupation of 
Palestine have intensified and are now more important tha­­­­­n ever.

###

Today’s action was sponsored by the Seattle and Tacoma chapters of 
Jewish Voice for Peace and Queers Against Israeli Apartheid - Seattle.

/Jewish Voice for Peace is a national, grassroots organization dedicated 
to achieving a just and lasting peace that recognizes the aspirations of 
both Israelis and Palestinians for security and self-determination. 
Jewish Voice for Peace has over 180,000 online supporters, 40 chapters, 
a youth wing, a Rabbinic Cabinet, and an Advisory Board made up of 
leading U.S. intellectuals and artists. /

/Queers Against Israeli Apartheid - Seattle is a multi-racial group of 
queer and trans* folks working to cultivate solidarity for Palestinian 
liberation among LGBTQ communities and communities who stand against 
homophobia and transphobia. Queers Against Israeli Apartheid supports 
the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions as a 
strategy for ending the racism, apartheid, and colonial violence of the 
occupation of Palestine./

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org


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