Jacksonville, FL – During the week of August 10-17, JPSN answered the call to action by the Anti-War Action Network for protests demanding an end to the siege in Gaza. The Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) organized a total of five events during the week of action, with various ways for the community to get involved.
From mobilizing to city council, to screening a film, to rallying, a vigil, and a volunteer meeting for the Genocide out of JAXPORT campaign, the community was activated in the struggle for a liberated Palestine.
“For the last 22 months we have watched the heroic and courageous Palestinian people refuse to surrender their homes or cower to the genocidal Zionist occupation nor its supporters like the United States. But this does not come without great sacrifice; for 678 days and counting, Palestinians in Gaza have been met with the full genocidal force of the Zionist state. A state hellbent on the destruction of the Palestinian nation, and our people, in order to fulfill the promise it made to its backers: first, the British empire and now, the United States,” said Sara Mahmoud with the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network at an August 19 rally outside of Senator Rick Scott’s office. With signs that read “Stop starving Gaza” and the chant, “Open Rafah crossing now!” resonating through downtown, people of conscience in Jacksonville demonstrated a fierce objection to the ongoing siege.
After public comment at a Tuesday, August 12 city council meeting, the community attended a vigil outside of city hall, where members of JPSN read aloud testimonials from Palestinians in Gaza.
Attendees at the Genocide out of JAXPORT All Call on Saturday, August 16, learned about the campaign and participated in two workshops that included power-mapping local forces and a discussion on how to answer the call for an arms embargo within local conditions. Members of JPSN were able to get input and feedback directly from the community to help inform the campaign. People who attended the film screening of Gaza Survivors on Thursday, August 14 also learned about the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) during a teach-in part of the program for the night.
Altogether, the week of action advanced the local struggle for Palestine in Jacksonville, with many ways for people to get activated in the movement and to make their opposition against the ongoing siege loud and clear.
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