Socialist Action /May 2002
Over 130,000 March on April 20 in Washington
& San Francisco
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER
On April 20, a total of more than 130,000 protesters joined forces in
giant demonstrations in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. While many
issues were raised at the two cities' events-including opposition to the
U.S. war in Afghanistan and threats of a wider war extending to the Philippines,
Iraq, Colombia, and other countries-the major focus was the struggle in
Palestine.
In both cities, Palestinian flags waved throughout the crowds, while
marchers held up signs declaring "Free Palestine!" and "No
U.S. Aid to Israel!" Some chanted, "Bush, Sharon, what do you
say? How many kids have you killed today?"
British author, antiwar activist, and socialist Tariq Ali received cheers
when he told one of the Washington rallies that "the rogues are in
the White House and the rogue state is Israel!" "The real problem
in the world is state terrorism," he added. "And the people who
organize that terrorism are in Tel Aviv and their backers are in the White
House."
The major reason why so many people turned out for the April 20 protests
can found in the widespread outrage people feel in this country at the Israeli
army's recent atrocities in Jenin and other West Bank towns. The staunch
resistance of Palestinians to the Israeli onslaught has awakened a new layer
of antiwar activists throughout the world.
In this respect, April 20 echoed the other mass demonstrations against
Israeli policies that have taken place worldwide in recent weeks-including
rallies of hundreds of thousands of people in countries of the Middle East
and Northern Africa.
Despite the huge turnout, prominent Democratic and Republican politicians
did not flock to address the April 20 rallies-as they did during the stage-managed
pro-Israeli demonstration in Washington five days earlier.
The bloodthirsty tone of the pro-Israeli event was revealed when the
crowd repeatedly booed Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, the Bush
administration's emissary to the rally, who, among his remarks praising
the Israeli leadership, made brief references to the suffering of "innocent
Palestinians."
On April 20, in contrast, tens of thousands of people-of all ages, religions,
and national origins-wore stickers proclaiming, "We are all Palestinians."
A large percentage of the demonstrators in San Francisco and Washington
were of Palestinian and Middle Eastern descent. Whole families attended,
from grandparents to small children.
Mosques and Islamic centers in several cities were among the organizations
that mobilized people to come to Washington-and which rented hundreds of
buses to carry them there. Eight buses came from Chicago alone, including
four from the mosques.
April 20 was a great advance for the antiwar movement. It punctured the
belief fostered by the big business media that virtually all Americans uncritically
support President Bush's policies in the Middle East-i.e., the dictum that
Israel's war on the Palestinians is justified as part of the "war on
terrorism."
April 20 also revealed the advantages of antiwar and solidarity groups
putting aside their political differences when necessary in order to unite
in action on key issues on which they agree. The Washington, D.C., event
was really four separate rallies joining forces in the face of an undeniable
will for unity.
In the morning of April 20, ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism),
an activist group that is close to the Workers World Party, sponsored a
huge rally near the White House, which focused particularly on the Palestinian
issue. At the same time, United We March-a coalition of student and youth
groups, peace groups, and other organizations, including the Communist Party-held
a somewhat smaller rally close to the Washington Monument.
The Mobilization for Global Justice and other activists protested outside
the scheduled conferences of the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank. And finally, the Committee in Solidarity for the People of Palestine
demonstrated outside the meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC) at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
It would have been unfortunate if these four events had remained separate.
However, after many weeks of negotiations-and barely one week before April
20-organizers were able to reach agreement on a proposal to unite at the
end of the day in one massive rally in front of the Capitol. And that is
what happened.
After their morning rallies had wound up, participants in both the ANSWER
and the United We March events marched together as they filled Pennsylvania
Avenue. As the marchers passed the Justice Department, they shouted for
repeal of the repressive USA Patriot Act, which is being used to detain
and victimize many Middle Eastern and Muslim immigrants.
The united rally at the Capitol was chaired by Amy Goodman, host of Pacifica
Radio's "Democracy Now!" and Randa Jamal, an activist with the
Free Palestine Alliance and the Al-Awda Palestine Right to Return Coalition.
Speakers included Egyptian feminist writer Nawal El-Saadawi; the Rev.
Lucius Walker, executive director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace; congressional
Black Caucus member Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.); Martin Luther King III, Ray
LaForest, representing New York City Labor Against War; Julie Beatty president
of the U.S. Students Association; and Fadia Rafeedi of the Free-Palestine
Coalition-USA.
A taped message from Mumia Abu-Jamal was read to the rallies in both
Washington and San Francisco.
According to the organizers for ANSWER, some 100,000 participated overall
in Washington on April 20. In San Francisco, where there was a single march
and rally (sponsored by ANSWER and supported by dozens of organizations,
including Socialist Action) estimates of the crowd generally ranged from
25,000 to 35,000.
April 20 protests took place in other cities in the United States and
around the world, including a march of 1500 people in Seattle.
Socialist Action /May 2002 |