Not til about 4 pm was the stage set for the chanting to begin.
(Flickr Slide show)
Early on, I was challenged as an alt-right Zionist, to which I responded, “Not alt right but I don’t support wiping Israel off the map. ” To which my inquisitor walked away with a large roll of the eyes.
Then, after some long-winded prayers by a young boy, the speakers began.
Nerdeen Kiswani, their very anti-Semitic leader, spoke with her usual animosity for Israel and all things Zionist. (difficulty filming over the crowd. what mattered were her words)
Nerdeen: “Organized by the Muslim Congress on one of the last days of Ramadan“, she continues, “… protesting for our palestinian Muslim brothers and sisters back home who are continuously denied the right to worship. Denied the right to live freely. .. as Muslims it is our moral obligation; our duty to fight injustice where ever we see it … the suffering and the plight of the palestinian people.”
“AND WE WILL FREE PALESTINE. WITHIN OUR LIFE TIME. From New York to (? ) palestine GLOBALIZE our INTIFADA.“
After the Neturei Karta rabbi spoke, she made the bizarre choice to chant “Judaism, Yes. Zionism, No. The State of Israel MUST GO.”
TheNeturei Karta shamefully allow themselves to be used at these protests, espousing their beliefs that there was never to be a State of Israel. Their presence is offensive, since the ‘palestinian‘ lobby uses them as the “Real Jews”.
(Rabbi’s video is excerpted) “On this International al Quds Day, cities around the globe are standing up in public for al Quds. For Jerusalem. For Justice. For Peace.For the legitimate rights of the palestinian people. The Zionists have not been resting. their “occupation” is continuing. Their aggression in full swing, including killing of men, women and children. Killing journalists. Settlement expansion. on going demolitions. The latest aggression on al Aqsa. This is about the whole occupation which we condemn here today. Pro-palestinian activism is not anti-Semitism. For centuries Jews lived in peace and harmony with their Arab neighbors.The State of israel is not a Jewish State. It is a Zionist State. To be against Zionism is no way anti-Semitic. In fact Jewish people and the Jewish religion are against all of this … rabbis and laymen are opposed to Zionist crimes against the palestinian people and the existence of the State of Israel. We pray for the speedy and peaceful dismantlement of the State of Israel.”
I couldn’t see over the crowd at this location, so after the Neturei Karta spoke, I moved on.
In the words of the hard-core left hosting this rally, You Can’t Deport a MOVEMENT! “There is a new stay for Ravi’s deportation […] this moment matters now MORE THAN EVER! We must stand up for the countless thousands of Ravis and Jeans and show that we are powerful together! “
“We leave no one behind! ICE cannot target our leaders OR our communities!”
Co-Sponsoring Organizations from the LEFT include:New Sanctuary Coalition, New York Immigration Coalition, 32BJ SEIU, Bronx Immigration Partnership, Copwatch Patrol Unit, Critical Resistance, Detention Watch Network, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), Democratic Socialists of America, Domestic Workers Alliance, Equality Labs, Immigrant Defense Project, Interfaith Center of New York,
mPower Change, Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP), the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, Northern Manhattan Immigration Coalition, Red Bloom / Solidarity Network, Restaurant Opportunities Center NYC, Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir, Rise and Resist, South Asian Solidarity Initiative, Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ) NYC, UnLocal, We Belong Together, WhyHunger, Workers Center of Central NY and Worker Justice Center of New York.
Video Part 1
[Face Book] “ICE is escalating its attack on immigrants and only our movement can stop them […] demand a #NEWSANCTUARYCITY”
The New Sanctuary Coalition (founded in 2007) acts as a network of interfaith congregations and organizations that stand with families and communities resisting detention and deportation.
Always encouraging to see JDL-NY giving THANKS to ICE! (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Still, [Face Book] moans from the LEFT droned on: “We need to stop the escalation of ICE and the president’s attacks on immigrant communities, including targeting dissidents for deportation…”
— “targeting” FELONS? BAD ICE. BAD U.S. Government —
“… (ICE) threatening Dreamers with detention, ICE efforts to infiltrate courts and churches and up to the racist rhetoric of the president and his office.”
“In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we’re asking friends and fellow activists to help hand deliver a message of love for all immigrants to ICE’s office by showing […] solidarity with Ravi, Dreamers, TPS recipients, workers, families and community members.”
“We’ll use messages of love and solidarity to combat the “good immigrant, bad immigrant” narrative. We resent the pressure on immigrants to prove their social or economic worth in order to justify their humanity.”
“This is a fight against this racist administration’s attempt to overstep the constitution and cherry pick who has the right to freedom and who will be terrorized into silence.”
“… this movement has deep roots and cannot be eradicated. We’re going to show them that you can’t deport a movement.”
“Justice was restored today( 2-09-18), at least temporarily, as Mr. Ragbir is now able to remain in the United States and free until the Court reviews his constitutional claims,” Ragbir’s attorney R. Stanton Jones said.
Ragbir — who has been a US resident since 1994 — has a 2001 felony fraud conviction from which prompted a 2006 order of deportation that Ragbir had successfully challenged until his arrest last month.” [NY Post]
Video Part 2 – as they did the Immigrant March
“Reps for Ragbir — the Trinidad native — also announced that they will be filing a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on Friday against ICE, Homeland Security, the Dept. of Justice and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to permanently stop officials from attempts to deport Ragbir and for relief for other immigrants rights activists who have also been targeted for deportation.” [NY Post]
“Ragbir slammed the Trump administration’s immigration policy […] calling it “ethnic cleansing.” [NY Daily News]
Their reasoning and accusations (as always) IGNORE the Rule of Law as the rail against the U.S. Government: “We are appalled by this administration’s attempt to pit immigrants against each other.”
“We’re protesting against the anti-immigrant policies proposed by the White House and the GOP legislators, especially the recent White House proposal to end family reunification in exchange for DACA legalization.”
“Legal Immigrants, DACA and every American who opposes the anti-immigrant agenda are joining hands to fight racism, bigotry and xenophobia. United we stand, divided we fall.”
“There are roughly 7.5 billion human beings on this planet. None of them came from outer space, so none of them are aliens. So I refuse to call any human being an alien.”
“Furthermore, no human being is “illegal.”
Any law that outlaws humanity is a bad and unjust law.
Apartheid was legal. That did not make it right. The human beings breaking Apartheid laws were humans fighting for justice, not “illegals.”
The Holocaust was legal. That did not make it right. Human beings breaking Holocaust laws were humans fighting for justice, not “illegals.”
“Slavery was legal. That did not make it right. Human beings fighting against slavery laws were not “illegals.” They were human beings fighting for justice.
Segregation was legal. That not make it right. Human Beings breaking Jim Crow laws were not “illegal.” They were human beings fighting for justice.”
“The earth has no lines on it.All borders are man made.
Crossing a man made line is only a crime because people have made it one.
People crossing a man made line are still human beings. They do not deserve to be detained or tortured. It is wrong to rip their families apart for any reason.
The earth belongs to all of us and we belong to it. Any human being should be able to live, with their family, any damn place they please on this planet.”
“No human being is illegal. All this deportation of human beings is wrong and racist. There is absolutely no justification for treating human beings in this way.” (This article was written by Claire Cohen.)#March4Immigrants
Support Family Reunification. Support clean DREAM Act.
[Face Book]
