By Michael Bielawski
The Pro-Palestinian event at the Statehouse Saturday, December 2 featured several speakers who made statements condemning not only Israel but also the fundamental values of America and capitalism. Crowd estimates were at least 250 people attended.
Michelle Eddlemen McCormick, a chief officer of Cooperation Vermont as well as a worker-owner at the Marshfield Village Cooperative, spoke at the microphone.
“I understand that the exact same forces of oppression are at work there and here,” she said. “When we allow our police forces to receive IDF training, which is being employed all over the country, they are applying the exact same tactics of oppression there that they are applying here, and they have every intention of ramping that up.”
She also included capitalism among these alleged systems of oppression.
“It’s absolutely the capitalist ruling class that is behind all of this, we have to wrench power from the capitalist ruling class back to the workers where it belongs. None of our communities will have the resources that we need until we do that.”
Ashley Smith of Burlington, a socialist writer and activist, was the host of the event. He also joined in the fiery rhetoric.
“We rally in the shadow of Israel restarting its genocidal bombing campaign in Gaza. We rally in the shadow of the political establishment united in support of Israel. Through the Biden Administration the U.S. is supporting, funding, arming, and advising Israel to carry out the collective punishment and ethnic cleansing of Gaza,” Smith said.
Smith implied that all Americans who want a cease-fire in the region are also on the side of Palestine. He said, “We are the majority in this country, 80% of Democrats are for an immediate ceasefire, 66% of people overall are for an immediate ceasefire.”
He also led chants stating “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” numerous times throughout the event.
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Jayna Ahsaf of FreeHer Vermont, an organization that advocates for less incarceration of women, also spoke.
“The oppression that is faced by the Palestinian people transcends countries, and we can see similar struggles manifest here in the United States. Imperialists and capitalists interests have created an intricate web of oppression and control which has seeped into every corner of this world,” she said.
She continued, “Black and brown community members have been ringing the alarm that the presumed exceptionalism of Vermont is not accurate. From the vicious assault of the Meli brothers by the Burlington Police Department to the white supremacist who brought an AR15 to a Black Lives Matter rally to the everyday vilification of black and brown leadership, this is not the first time we have seen violence waged against oppressed groups in our state.”
Israel supporters counter-protest
About a dozen supporters of Israel were across the street in front of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Lynne Caulfield of Monkton was among them.
“It sounds like all these gatherings that are happening all over the country and world have been parroting the same ideologies, ‘from the river to the sea Palestine will be free’ and really what they are saying is from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, they want the world free of Jews and they don’t want any Israel to exist.”
She noted that Hamas as a terror group is not going to respect any peace agreements.
“And I think we all want peace and we all want justice for all, but if Hamas laid down their weapons there would be peace and if Israel laid down their weapons they would be annihilated,” she said.
Steven Stringer of Colchester was also there and he commented on some of the anti-capitalism rhetoric.
“I believe that capitalism is what God would have, that capitalism is accountability, that people rise and fall on their merits,” he said. In contrast, he said that “socialism and communism I believe is demonic.”
The author is a reporter for the Vermont Daily Chronicle