Over 300 activists in Seattle, WA sent a strong message condemning the Israeli Apartheid Wall on Sunday November, 9th, 2003 in response to the grassroots Palestinian Call to Action. A coalition of voices joined together in the call for an immediate end to the Apartheid Wall. A towering model of the Wall was erected in Westlake Park while passers-by were issued an Announcement of Closure symbolic of the oppressive reality Palestinians endure daily under the Israeli Occupation.
***image4***A program of activities that included passionate speakers, dramatic street theater, and information sharing and networking continued throughout the day. A highlight of the event occurred when a wall puppet smashed homes, trampled olive trees and demolished ambulances, schools and hospitals to portray the daily destruction in Palestine as a result of the Wallâs construction. Simultaneously, a group in white masks crying red tears remembered Al Nakba and denounces the deplorable conditions of the illegal Israeli Occupation and the Walls devastation.
Other highlights included activist performance groups singing songs devoted to the issue and when a second, smaller model of the Wall was torn down amidst a crowd of hundreds chanting, âBring the Wall Down!â Culminating the event, the crowd joined hands and learned a Debkeh dance in a lively celebration of community resistance to the Wall and victorious foresight.
Throughout the day, petitions were available demanding that no US taxpayer dollars be used to finance the construction of the wall and hold the US government accountable for its role in perpetuating the tyranny of the Occupation. The petition, signed by the majority of demonstrators and many passers-by, demands pressure on Israel to dismantle the Wall, return confiscated land and compensate for all losses.
The following groups sponsored the event and many more participated in the activities of the day: American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC) Seattle Chapter, American Friends Service Committee, Arab-American Community Coalition, Churches for Middle East Peace, Community Action Network, Hayaat – UW , Kadima, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, Not In Our Name, Nonviolent Action Community of Cascadia, Palestine Solidarity Committee, Seattle Chapter Fellowship of Reconciliation, Seattle International Human Rights Coalition, Seattle Tikkun, Seattle Women in Black, Stop the Wall Campaign – US, Voices of Palestine, Washington Association of Churches
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