The Antiwar Action Network (AWAN) issued a nationwide call for a Day of Action to demand an end to the forced starvation of Palestinians in Gaza and an end to the occupation of the Gaza Strip. Jacksonville not only rose to meet that call; we turned it into a full week, and we kept turning out to demand: End the Siege!
JPSN started the week with the Vigil for the Martyrs during City Council, and followed it up with a movie screening and education at Cafe Resistance about the conditions of the accelerated genocide and planned starvation in Gaza. We screened Gaza Survivors, a documentary about the first year of the accelerated genocide through the eyes of journalists, and at the end we presented some updated information about what had changed since the documentary, from the forced starvation to the martyrdom of journalists like Anas Al Sharif.
We were also able to direct the attendees of the packed movie screening to our rally the next day in front of criminal zionist Senator Rick Scott’s office in Downtown Jacksonville. Lining one of the main arterial roads in downtown right as rush hour began, our chants literally echoed throughout the city and drew new people to join the rally, and even employees leaving the building felt compelled to sit and listen to speakers from a coalition of grassroots organizations as they demanded an end to the genocide and the liberation of Palestine, starting with an end to Jacksonville’s complicity by ending the shipment of weapons to the zionist entity through JAXPORT.
The week was still not done, however. People, driven to action at our rally, were eager to learn more about our campaign to Stop Genocide Out of JAXPORT, and showed up to pack out our All-Call Teach-In the next day. The event drew people from the rally as well as new people curious to learn about JPSN, and the packed audience was able to not only learn about Palestine and our existing campaign, but break out groups were able to explain how we developed our campaigns, and interactive sections even allowed the community to find new targets for our Campaigns Committee to investigate.
The fact that JPSN was able to not only rise to AWAN’s call, but even expand it into a full week for Palestine shows that Jax is committed to the fight against zionism and imperialism. The working people of Jacksonville know: no matter what our struggles are, our fights are linked and our road to freedom can only be built when we work together!