12/9-12/15 Protests for Palestine Across NJ
Christians for a Free Palestine
On Monday morning, Christians for a Free Palestine sang “ceasefire carols at the corporate offices of Maersk, which ships weapons to Israel. These included:
To the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas":
🎶"We wish for the liberation
of Palestine as a nation,
An end to the occupation,
And a Happy New Year!
South Orange and Maplewood for Palestine
The location of the weekly rally organized by SOMA for Palestine was changed to Ricalton Square in Maplewood and the time was changed to 2-3 from 3-4. Presumably the time change was done to account for the loss of daylight as winter approaches.
SJ for Gaza:
Over 20 people turned out in Collingswood despite the cold to express their solidarity with Palestine from 12-2, no counter protesters were reported.
NJ peace action weekly vigil:
Leonia vigil:
The Leonia, New Jersey Vigil for Peace and Justice is held every Sunday afternoon from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. in the center of Leonia, at the intersection of Broad Avenue and Fort Lee Road, Leonia, New Jersey.
One time events:
Flemington:
I did not attend the Flemington for Palestine rally myself, but I am relaying information from a text sent to me by a correspondent G. The rally took place this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It was organized by local residents and featured a mutual aid table offering food and warm drinks. Its focus was on raising awareness about the ongoing violence and genocide in Gaza being carried out by Israel. The rally was family-friendly, with attendees ranging from young children to elderly people. It took place on Main Street, which had heavy traffic, but the response from motorists was overwhelmingly positive. Although this was initially planned as a one-time event, there was discussion about making it a regular occurrence.
Jersey City:
From Palestinian Youth Movement “Yesterday, hundreds of protestors marched on Jersey City Hall, NJ to call for a people’s arms embargo” against the export of weapons the “Port of Elizabeth, NJ to “to the Israeli regime.” At a press conference before the rally the coalition issued updates on “the Palestinian Youth Movement’s international Mask Off Maersk campaign, which aims to pressure the world’s largest logistics company and supplier of military cargo to Israel to divest from the death of our people.” The goal of the protest was to raise awareness about the complicity of local institutions in the genocide.
New Brunswick:
Members of Jewish Voice for Peace- Central NJ held a rally against Tel Aviv University and demanding an arms embargo on Israel on Friday from 4:00pm-5:30PM at the corner of Albany and George Street.
Column:
Despite the cold, every area of NJ hosted some form of Palestine solidarity action this weekend, and all of these events were very well attended. Large numbers of Americans are realizing the genocidal nature of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and are disgusted by our government’s complicity in these crimes.
Now, our task is to transform this anger into political and practical action, with a key focus on the electoral arena. So far, the pro-Palestine movement’s efforts in politics have produced mixed results. The “uncommitted” movement allowed millions of Democrats across the nation to express their disgust at their party’s complicity in genocide, and it could be argued that it played a role in Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race.
However, after the “uncommitted” movement ended with the Democratic National Convention, the momentum faltered, and the movement lost its coherence in the electoral arena. Three third-party presidential campaigns vied for the Muslim and anti-genocide vote, while groups like DSA refused to endorse any presidential candidate, instead campaigning under the slogan “no votes for genocide.”
Now that the presidential election is over, our movement has a responsibility to get its electoral house in order. Electoralism differs from protest politics in key ways. While protests and similar events are easier to organize and less expensive, electoral campaigns are long-term commitments that require significant effort and resources.
Running a non-write-in electoral campaign in the U.S. means convincing a majority of voters in your district to pick your name from a list of candidates. This requires months of outreach and a dedicated team that can handle day-to-day tasks and respond to changing circumstances. A large group of volunteers is needed to canvass neighborhoods and spread your message. Even if your entire team consists of volunteers, there are still costs, such as advertising, renting a campaign headquarters, and printing materials. The only ways to fund these expenses are personal wealth or donations from individual supporters or lobbyists. This financial barrier is one reason the political system is dominated by the two major parties—they are the only ones with the resources to run a successful campaign.
This is why our movement cannot afford vanity campaigns. Every ounce of energy spent on electoral work must be directed toward achieving our goal. That’s why this publication is organizing a slate of 80 pro-Palestine candidates to run in New Jersey’s 2025 state assembly elections. The state assembly is the lower house of the NJ legislature and is currently dominated by members of the two major parties. Since this is an off-year election, turnout will likely be low, meaning that if we can rally the pro-Palestine movement around a strong slate of candidates, our energized voters could have a significant impact.
If you would like to get involved either as a candidate or a volunteer for the candidates, please fill out this form.
