Madison, WI â On Monday, November 6, a group of 100 people gathered at the intersection of South Butler and King Streets in Madison to demand that U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin vote against U.S. aid for Israelâs brutal attack on Gaza, stop taking money from pro-Israel lobbyists, and end U.S. financial support for the military detention of Palestinian children.
Despite supposedly being a âprogressiveâ politician and previously promising that she would âstrengthen the essential pillars of economic security for working families,â Baldwin has called for additional funding to be provided to Israel, which is currently committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. More than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed over the last month, as Israel bombs mosques, hospitals, schools and refugee camps ruthlessly and shuts off their access to the world.
Additionally, Baldwin has received $422,990 in lobbying funds by pro-Israeli organizations â more than even Ron Johnson, the Republican U.S. senator from Wisconsin. As Baldwin rakes in money for her support for Israel, working-class families in Wisconsin are seeing none of the economic security that she initially promised.
The rally was organized by the Milwaukee Anti-War Committee (MAC) in collaboration with Jewish Voice for Peace Milwaukee (JVP-Milwaukee), Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Students for Justice in Palestine at UW Madison, Students for a Democratic Society at UW Milwaukee (SDS-UWM), and Project ReCo.
Protesters gathered at the small park on the corner of the intersection. After hearing a few speeches from participating organizations at the park, the crowd walked a short distance to Baldwinâs condominium, carrying signs with messages such as âShame on you Baldwin!â and âBaldwin has blood on her hands!â, and chanting, âBaldwin, Baldwin, you canât hide, we charge you with genocide!â Once at her condominium, they stopped to chant again and hear more speeches. At multiple points, residents of the condo and neighboring apartments stepped outside to see what was going on below.
The crowd was loud and united in their condemnation of Tammy Baldwinâs support for Israel, and the speakers re-iterated Baldwinâs utter hypocrisy.
âWhile Senator Tammy Baldwin sleeps in comfort, the people of Gaza have had more than 25,000 tons of explosions dropped on them. As a Jew, I decry Senator Baldwin for weaponizing Jewish grief to dehumanize Palestinians,â said Jodi Melamed of JVP-Milwaukee.
âA student at UW-Milwaukee lost 50 members of their family in the bombing of a residential building. 50 members. How can government officials like Tammy Baldwin sit idly by and even support the crimes against humanity Israel is committing?â asked Patricia Fish of SDS-UWM. âHow can you, Tammy Baldwin, accept over $400,000 of pro-Israel lobbying money when one Palestinian child is murdered every 15 minutes by Israel?â
Across the country, residents of the U.S. are standing up to elected officials over their support for the genocidal regime of Israel.
âWe demand Tammy Baldwin stops being so cowardly, and for her to stand up to the Biden administration on behalf of her constituents. And if she doesnât she can expect to see us again real soon,â said Sam Charnon from MAC.
The people of Madison and Milwaukee are clear in their demands. They will keep showing up so long as their tax dollars are used to fund genocide, and until Palestine is free.
#MadisonWI #Palestine #AntiWar #MAC #JVP #SDS #FRSO #MAARPR
Source: Fightbacknews.org