Chicago-area activists have kicked off a campaign challenging Illinois Senator Mark Kirk’s outrageous support for the worst of Israeli militarism (i.e when Kirk said during Cast Lead “To misquote Shakespeare, something is rotten in Gaza and now it’s time to take out the trash.”). Activists will be leafleting Chicago’s Daley Plaza today to draw public attention to Senator Kirk’s statements and positions as part of a campaign to end US military aid to Israel. The protest’s message will highlight the destructive role of military aid: “Hey Senator Kirk – U.S. military aid to Israel is bad for Americans, bad for Palestinians, and bad for Israelis.”
Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine member Caren Levy Van Slyke explained in a press release from the group:
Senator Kirk has distinguished himself from other members of Congress by the stridency of his rhetoric and willingness to involve the American military in the defense of Israel’s illegal and immoral blockade of Gaza. Our government ignores the people living without homes in the bombed and bulldozed areas of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the youth protesting housing costs in the tent city in Tel Aviv, and Illinois residents whose homes have been foreclosed. It is time to challenge these policies and bring our concerns directly to the voters.
