The following statement was issued by Boston Students for Justice in Palestine after some of its members were kicked out of a Bernie Sanders rally on October 3 for holding a sign that said “Will Ya #feeltheBern 4 Palestine?” The Sanders campaign has since said the activists should never have been kicked out of Boston rally.
On Saturday, October 3, members of Boston Students for Justice in Palestine attended the Bernie Sanders rally with a sign that read “Will Ya #feeltheBern 4 Palestine?”. We held our sign quietly and respectfully in the overflow area, and did not block any of the rally screenings or walkways. We received a warm welcome from surrounding Bernie supporters and rally participants, many of whom also carried signs.
Within minutes of arriving, we were approached by police and venue staff and told that the Bernie Sanders campaign team requested we take down our sign (see video). To our knowledge, no other individuals were asked to do the same. After we were told to take our sign down, we began filming our interaction with police and staff. We were immediately given a verbal trespass order and threatened with arrest.
We understand that in American politics, the mere mention of “Palestine” often stirs controversy, but polls show that a growing and increasingly diverse segment of the American population sympathizes with the Palestinian struggle for freedom and equality. This is especially true of young people like us. These numbers will only grow as more Americans become aware of Israeli human rights abuses and discriminatory policies and recognize that supporting Palestinian freedom, justice and equality is a progressive value.
We have discussed the incident with Sanders’s campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, who expressed regret about how we were treated and acknowledged that our sign was “appropriate” and “in the spirit of many other signs there.” We are eager to engage in a dialogue about inclusivity and the elevation of under-represented voices. Sanders speaks up for those hurt by low wages, gender inequality, school tuition, corporate power, and climate change. Recently, he released a broad policy platform to address systemic racism. We want him to also speak up for those hurt by US foreign policy and military aid: we want him to speak up on Palestine. We hope that Sanders and other presidential candidates will seriously consider our government’s role in Israel’s human rights abuses as they shape their foreign policy platform.
For more information on this story you can follow “Will Ya #feelthebern 4 Palestine?” on Facebook and Twitter.
This is an important incident. Please continue to stand up for Palestine inside the Democratic Party. We will win this battle, but it will take bravery and fortitude. And the hypocrisy of Bernie Sanders (and other lobby supporters) must be called out.
If Jewish Voice for Peace were militant, they would also be insisting that Sanders and his supporters hear from them.
Thanks MW editors. CNN has picked up the story. Bernie Sanders campaign apologizes for booting pro-Palestine activists
If you have not yet done so, one way to send a message to Sanders and his staff is by endorsing his platform and writing in “Justice 4 Palestine” in the “other” box for “issue areas of interest”. Sanders needs to know that the progressive base expects more than just lip service of “strong support for the 2-state solution.” It’s way past time for action.
Having been a volunteer at a Bernie event I can testify that Jeff Weaver’s claim is very possible. It is barely coordinated bedlam. Lots of staffers and volunteers run around making decisions and coordinating with venue staff, often contradicting each other.
But, Bernie’s position on Israel/Palestine is quite clear and consistent, although obviously I disagree with him strongly. In general, if you follow his talks out there on the stump, he doesn’t say much at all about foreign policy anywhere, focusing instead on domestic issues. While his position on Palestine might be “the same old,” his positions on just about everything else is so far ahead of anyone else I will do anything and everything I can to get him elected. I have never been and never will be a single issue voter. Just as I rejected arguments that I needed to vote for Clinton, Gore, Kerry, ad infinitum because of issues X or Y and/or SCOTUS, I will not cease supporting Bernie because he sucks on Palestine. He isn’t that great on immigration either sadly.
And unlike past elections where it is picking from the lesser-of-two-evils or not voting, Bernie is so much better than any candidate that it will be the first time in my memory that I will walk into a voting booth and not hold my nose in voting for a Democrat.