Washington, DC — Protesters marched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol building on Wednesday in a demonstration aimed at linking the Black Lives Matter cause to the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment movement against Israel.
The march, led by Christian Tabash, the oldest at Harvard University, drew about 200 people carrying signs with messages supporting the Palestine Liberation Organization or Black Lives Matter. The event, although independently organized, was held in conjunction with a series of “Day of Wrath” protests against Israel’s land claims in the West Bank.
As the march progressed, Tabash led his followers to sing alternately about Israel and racial justice.
“Israel, we know you, you kill children too,” the crowd sang at one point.
The crowd immediately followed that chant with alternate shouts of “Black lives matter!” and “Palestinian lives matter!” Many more shouted criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A woman waved a sign that she was carrying the Palestinian flag on one side and the phrase “Black Lives Matter” on the other.
Tabash also led the group in the poetry reading detailing Israel’s crimes against Palestinian Muslims. A poem titled “Mr. War” denounced the Israeli government: “Damn you, the corrupters of Zion. F — this occupation!” The poem later referred to the Jewish state as the “puppet master of the continents,” a reference to a centuries-old conspiracy that the Jewish people secretly rule the world.
As Tabash walked in front of the protesters, he stopped several times to say that the Palestinian movement is “intrinsically linked to Black Lives Matter” and calls for the dismantling of police departments. Tabash said “American capitalism” and the Israeli state were built on the same principle: repression of minorities.
“And that is why we say that the Palestinian police to Mexico and the United States, the police as a whole, must go! He yelled.
When the group paused to sing in front of the Capitol building, Tabash reflected on the “dark options” faced by people within his movement as the 2020 elections approach. On the one hand, President Trump is unacceptable, said. And on the other, he added, former Vice President Joe Biden is a “rapist” and the author of the 1994 crime bill criticized by liberals.
Tabash also criticized former President Barack Obama, saying he “locked up” Black Lives Matter activists and “dropped 8 times more bombs on black and brown people around the world” than former President George W. Bush.
“And Bush was a war criminal!” Tabash screamed.
The event ended after several more people read poems and Tabash asked the crowd to follow him on Instagram.
