In the wake of ICE’s murderous campaign to kidnap our neighbors and restrict our Constitutional rights, we call on Governor Whitmer to support Attorney General Nessel’s recently launched anonymous reporting platform. We call on Whitmer to form an accountability commission to review ICE’s many crimes and constitutional violations. This group of masked secret police has been terrorizing communities with impunity for far too long.

Michigan will not be safe until we know that we have the ability to hold ICE accountable for their many assaults upon our communities and country. Our residents must also be able to do so knowing they are protected by our State from what has been proven to be an extremely corrupt and vengeful Trump regime.

• Anonymity & Privacy Protection: Individuals can now report misconduct without revealing their identity or contact information.
• Secure Evidence Submission: Photos, videos, and documents can now be submitted securely to protect the integrity of the evidence.
• Independent Oversight: Reports MUST be reviewed by an impartial body, ensuring transparency and fairness in the investigative process.
• Legal Protections for Whistleblowers: Michigan residents who report abuses MUST be protected by state and federal whistleblower laws.
• Collaboration with Advocacy Groups: The platform MUST work closely with civil rights organizations to ensure that the process remains accessible, credible, and effective.

The post Break the ICE: Accountability for ICE appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

This is a special meeting of the GRDSA Chapter to consider a proposal to endorse and support several ballot initiatives.

We will have reps from each campaign to give a brief presentation and answer any questions. Then chapter members will present a proposal to endorse and circulate these petitions as a chapter.

Michigan for the Many (M4M) is an alliance between the MOP Up Michigan (Money Out of Politics) and the Invest in MI Kids (wealth tax to fund education).

Rank MI Vote (RMV) would amend the Michigan Constitution so that we would use Rank Choice Voting (instant runoff) for elections.

Join us Sunday, October 19, 4pm, on Zoom to hear how these initiatives can empower the working class of Michigan.

The post Special Chapter Meeting: Campaign Proposal Town Hall appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

We’ve secured a backup location in case of bad weather. We’ll make that decision on Saturday. Please RSVP below to receive email updates.

We’re meeting in the evening of Saturday, July 12, at Riverside Park (near the Guild St entrance). Arrive at 3pm, the meeting will start around 4pm. After the meeting, we’ll keep hanging in the park. Feel free to bring a frisbee, hacky sack, or other park activities.

We encourage you to also attend Unionizing: Escalation & Recognition, a part of our Worker’s Power Teach-in series earlier in the day, 12-2pm. The teach-in will be at Fountain Street Church, Room 109.

NOTE: Because we’ll be meeting in the park, we will not be offering a hybrid option. This will be an in-person only meeting. If you cannot attend but want to share your opinions on the agenda items please email info@grdsa.org or post to the GRDSA slack.

The post July Chapter Meeting & Picnic Potluck appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

Last month, several GRDSA folks traveled to the Straits of Mackinac for a gathering of Great Lakes Water Protectors. We joined a potluck, a kayak paddle-out, a water festival and a day of workshops on a gorgeous campsite.

The impetus for this annual gathering is the struggle to stop the construction of the pipeline tunnel across the Mackinac straits and ultimately shut down Line 5 completely.

In many ways, it’s fitting that this took place over Labor Day weekend. This holiday is disproportionately enjoyed by those who work weekday 9-5 jobs, while many working class people, often doing essential jobs, still have to work.

We know that the current and coming environmental crisis will disproportionately affect working class people who don’t have the resources to adapt to disasters caused by pipeline spills and continued reliance on fossil fuels. These challenges range from access to clean water to mitigating damage from floods and extreme weather events.

The struggle against Line 5 is also deeply related to indigenous land and water rights as it trespasses on tribal land and threatens access to traditional food sources. They would be disproportionately hurt if it were to ever break, despite having no say in its construction or maintenance. Every day Line 5 is allowed to operate risks disaster, if it were to fail it would cause incalculable damage to our environment and drinking water for generations. That’s why it’s so important we protest it every chance we get, only a mass movement of those most affected can finally remove this threat.

The post Protect Our Water: End Line 5 appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

The struggle over the length of the working day is nearly as old as capitalism itself. During the Industrial Revolution, American workers clocked in for brutal 80-100 hour work weeks until socialists, communists, and anarchists began unionizing their workplaces, and organizing worker strikes around the eight hour work day. The police violently cracked down on the strikers, one example being the 1886 Haymarket Massecre, where a bomb blast set off a barrage of police gunfire. Eight anarchist labor activists were arrested without any evidence, and seven of them were hanged. Their efforts eventually culminated in the creation of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1940.

However, as capitalists have chipped away at unions and New Deal reforms over the decades, we find ourselves inching back towards square one. 52% of adults employed full time in the U.S. report working more than 40 hours per week. The growing gap between productivity and compensation has been well-documented.

American workers are producing more than ever, but earning less than they did 50 years ago, after adjusting for inflation. Many of us are having to pick up multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Workers are even having their overtime pay denied (stolen), costing some households $35,451/year. On top of this, there’s a growing pay gap between the labor aristocracy and the essential workers providing the hard labor that keeps the economy afloat. What can we do?

In March of 2024, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced he will introduce legislation to change our workweek standard from 40 hrs to 32 hrs with no loss in pay. This would be a revolutionary change that would make sure workers benefit from our increased productivity in this country.

This bill would reduce the maximum hours threshold for overtime from 40 to 32 hours. Workers would be paid time and a half for work days longer than 8 hours and double for work days longer than 12. The bill would also ensure that workers’ pay would not be reduced along with the reduction of hours.

What we need is to build support in the Senate and the House by activating voters, and organizing the working class to build strong unions.

“I know when my members look back on their lives, they never say, ‘I wish I would have worked more.’ When people reach the end of their lives, they never say, ‘I wish I made more money.’ What they wish for is they wish they had more time.”

– Shawn Fain, President of UAW

32 HOURS A WEEK WORKS

It’s pretty obvious that working less hours in a week is nice for the workers, but it’s also better for the workplace in general.

A 32 hour work week pilot was done in the UK in 2022. It involved 61 organizations over a period of 6 months. These orgs reported overwhelmingly positive feedback to the pilot. They reported that staff well-being improved, staff turnover reduced, and recruitment rate went up. All of which helped to improve productivity in the workplace. The pilot worked out so well that 54 of those orgs (89%) continued the policy at least a year after the pilot and 31 of them (51%) made the four day work week permanent.

When you think about it, this all makes perfect sense. Right now we are so overworked that we struggle to find time for ourselves outside of work. Taking back an extra day in the week frees up enough time for us to relax, socialize, and it helps with mental and physical health which means when we do go back to work, we feel less miserable. Even though we currently work 40 hours a week, we rarely actually do 40 hours worth of work. Spending less time at the workplace will not actually reduce the amount of work we can get done, so there’s no reason to keep us there for so long.

From the cubicles to the factory floor, service workers, sex workers, and everyone in between. Workers should fight to make this change and take back their time!

The post The Case for a 32 Hour Work Week Has Never Been Stronger appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

Two Dead at the Hands of Lazy Cops in Kent County

In the Greater Grand Rapids Area, the police have now twice used a dangerous car chase maneuver against an unarmed, fleeing individual, leading to their death. These individuals were wanted for nonviolent crimes and should have been detained using standard protocol. To be clear, the car maneuver we’re talking about is the PIT maneuver, in which a pursuing vehicle swerves into a fleeing vehicle’s back tire in order to cause a spin out. It was never designed to be used against humans, and even the police have even admitted that the maneuver was used incorrectly in both cases. They just aren’t going to do anything about it.

The first instance was April 8th, when Riley Doggett (17) was a passenger in a stolen vehicle being pursued by the police. The driver crashed, and Riley got out of the car and fled until the police caught up and swerved into the fleeing teenager, fully running him over. He died from his injuries days later. The Kent County Sheriff’s office callously remarked that “[Riley’s] actions unfortunately placed him at high risk for a deadly encounter, whether with a citizen or law enforcement. It was fortunate for the community that a Kent County Deputy was the one to confront Mr. Doggett during his crime spree.” Apparently, we as citizens of Grand Rapids should feel safer knowing that our cops are slaughtering people without a trial. The footage of the event can be viewed here, though viewer discretion is advised due to the disturbing content.

The second instance was on the morning of April 17th, when Samuel Sterling (25) was filling up his tires and officers from multiple agencies showed up at his house with a warrant for breaking his parole. A chase ensued, and Samuel was eventually caught by an officer using a PIT maneuver to pinch Sterling against the side of a Burger King. The driver reversed, and Sterling fell to the ground. He can be heard saying to the officers, “I got no gun, bro…why you hitting me like this?” The cops then cuff him, take his belongings out of his pockets, and stand around his body, doing nothing to help him. An officer can be heard telling two firefighters to keep his cuffs on because he was a “wanted, violent felon.” This isn’t true. Samuel’s three felonies were for carrying a concealed weapon and theft, all nonviolent crimes. You can watch the video here, though again, viewer discretion is advised. Samuel died just a few hours later in the hospital. 

To add insult to injury, only the offending officer in the second instance is being charged with murder. This is likely due to the fact that this crime falls under the jurisdiction of our progressive state attorney general, Dana Nessel, because the offending officer was a member of the state police. The Kent County Sheriff’s Deputy Josiah McMains is left in the hands of the extremely conservative Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker, so they get off much easier. This is further evidence that the divide between “criminals” and non-criminals is not only socially constructed, but arbitrarily enforced. Becker is throwing the book at Riley’s friend, charging him with Fleeing and Eluding Causing Death, and attempting to try him as an adult. Meanwhile, the blood-thirsty thugs in blue will seemingly continue their vehicular rampage until they’re forced to stop by a higher power, because it saves them time and effort during a chase. What sort of a justice system is that?

All of this feels familiar when we remember the doorbell footage from April 4, 2022 which showed Grand Rapids Police Officer Christopher Schurr struggle to detain Patrick Lyoya, get frustrated, and unceremoniously end the struggle with a bullet to the back of Patrick’s head. At the time Chris Becker assured us that, despite his work being so closely aligned with the GRPD, he did not know Officer Schurr personally and wouldn’t need to recuse himself. More than two years later, and we’re still waiting for that trial to happen and Patrick’s family is still waiting for justice.
And as if this isn’t bad enough, the Grand Rapids police are now campaigning for the right to sue their detainees in civil court; even though they can beat an innocent man without fear of being charged. This means that after arresting you, an officer will be able to steal from you via civil suit. It’s vital that we organize now to rein in our out-of-control law enforcement before it becomes too late. Fight police oppression by protesting any chance you get and vote against this dishonest “Back the Blue” initiative, we can’t afford to give these thugs any more power to oppress us.

The post If the Police Can’t Catch their Criminals, They’ll just Kill Them Instead appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

Scientists working for the oil companies have known about climate change since the 1950s. It’s been a scientifically accepted fact since the 1980s. Millennials have grown into middle age listening to the debate between fossil fuel industry plants and reality. And while the pundits argued, climate changed. 2023 was the hottest year since records began in 1850. And 2024 is hotter than that!

Climate change is linked to more frequent natural disasters everywhere. In 2023 alone Canada lost 5% of its forest area to wildfires, China was inundated with more than 9.5” of rain in 24 hours around Beijing, and entire towns in Libya were completely destroyed by sudden flooding.

Grand Rapids had 47” of snow last year, 30 inches less than our average of 76”. Winter sports in Michigan may be a thing of the past. In recent winters, activities such as snowmobiles and skiing have been canceled due to warm temperatures.

Without radical changes, Michigan’s climate could be similar to Oklahoma or North Texas. And summers in Texas may get hot enough to cook a person. We’ll likely see climate migration in the coming decades. Given our current housing crisis, will we be prepared?

Our food systems have been developed based on existing climate patterns. What will happen when those change?

CAPITALISM IS THE PROBLEM

In North America, the European settlers who brought the concept of money had to systematically eradicate the North American indigenous cultures that revered the Earth.  If Capitalism could  save us from  climate change, it would need to somehow reconcile the parts of itself that created the issue in the first place. “Green” Capitalism presents us two options:

Individual Consumer-Based Solutions Are Insufficient

We know that individual solutions aren’t enough to prevent climate catastrophe. Just 100 corporations have been responsible for releasing 71% of greenhouse gasses. In one year, the richest billionaires each produce as much carbon as someone in the 99% would in 1,500 years.

So even if we got the entire working class to ELIMINATE their “carbon footprint” (a term created by the oil industry), we wouldn’t be anywhere close to making the change necessary! Additionally, many of the products for these consumer-based solutions require continued exploitative precious metal mining in Africa, for lithium and cobalt. 

Carbon Offsets Are a Shell Game

The world’s largest companies and Grand Rapids City Government plan on reaching net zero by using carbon offsets. Many consumers are even presented with the option to add $2 to your plane ticket to offset “1,000 air miles” or $17/year to offset your breath.

This money goes to projects like Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in PA–a nature preserve since the 1930s–or Hudson Farm Club in NJ–Billionaire Peter Kelogg’s private hunting club. Things under no threat of bulldozers. There is no additional benefit, just an excuse to continue business as usual. In fact, in a 2021 study the Grantham Research Institute of Climate Change and the Environment found that carbon offsets have substantially increased pollution. And why wouldn’t they? Logging companies can just clear cut the land next door and forest fires don’t care about human contracts.

SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

The solution is simple: LEAVE IT IN THE GROUND! We have pulled out enough fossil fuels that, if burned, would send us into catastrophic climate change. If we stopped burning fossil fuels today and figured out what to do without them tomorrow, the positive effects would still outweigh the negative effects. We don’t need more exploration and extraction. We need a just transition now!

There are common sense solutions that could slash emissions today, like regulating the oil industry and heavily taxing billionaires who are making the worst climate impacts. A competent government would be banning cryptocurrency mining and closing the MPG loophole for ultra-heavy vehicles like SUVs and modern trucks, while improving and expanding public transit, which would drastically reduce emissions and simultaneously reduce traffic, transportation costs, and car accidents.

America’s green transition is moving so slowly because our leaders insist on waiting for private utility companies to switch to renewable energy at a pace that stays profitable. Instead of wasting time while these companies drag their feet, we should be creating and supporting public utilities with the resources and the will to build green energy. NOT TOMORROW BUT TODAY!

Just last year the NYC DSA won a massive campaign to pass the Build Public Renewables Act, which invests heavily in new green energy production and requires the state owned power company to go completely green by 2030. This isn’t a pipe dream, it’s already happening in this country!

The post The Time is NOW for Climate Action! appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

On Wednesday, May 15, the Grand Rapids DSA participated in Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids’ protest against the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the US  government’s gross complicity in it. Our peaceful protest was interrupted by a completely disproportionate police response. After only 5 minutes of marching, a fleet of police cars was tailing the protesters and blaring their horns and sirens.

The GRPD continued to follow the march to where it ended at Monument Park. Then officers moved in to arrest people at random. They arrested 3 members of Palestine Solidarity GR and 1 member of GRDSA for protesting peacefully and filming the police. The protest moved to the Kent County Jail where they were held for more than 4 hours before finally being released on bond. We did nothing wrong at our protest against genocide but they are still facing bogus misdemeanor charges.

In the West Bank, settler-conquerors and their IDF backers bulldoze and burn Palestinian communities in a creeping, decades-long conquest. The vast majority of Gaza, a city of 2 million human beings, lies in ruins. Netanyahu and his armies are determined to flatten what’s left so that the refugees of this war can be forced out in a grand act of ethnic cleansing.

Meanwhile there is a movement in our country with the express goal of outlawing all protests against these crimes and our complicity in them under threat of arrest and police brutality. It started in the colleges and now it’s in our city streets. It’s more important now than ever to fight back against the apartheid policies of Israel and our growing police state before it’s too late. We’ll continue protesting with our comrades in Palestine Solidarity GR and anyone else horrified by the state of the world today should do the same. We will not be silenced by intimidation.

The post Drop the Charges! appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

The stadium will be built on a 7 acre plot of land just outside of downtown in West Grand Rapids. With that much space, the city could build around 1,000 much needed housing units, but with the addition of a stadium that number is reduced by half. Grand Action 2.0 is claiming that their stadium will “unlock the potential for 500 to 550 future housing units in the immediate area.” This allows them to present the false idea that the construction of this new housing is conditioned on whether the stadium gets built. All this, in the midst of Grand Rapids’ clear housing crisis with a need for 14,106 housing units by 2027, is a risky move.

The most important thing to note about this project is that a large percentage of its cost will be covered by public funds, around 65%, or 115 million dollars for the stadium alone. As of right now, it is unclear how much of the stadium’s net revenue will go directly to replenishing those funds, if any at all. 

Future neighbors of the soccer stadium have also brought up concerns of noise, traffic, parking and a spike in housing costs. So far very little has been done to address these concerns, seemingly showing a further lack of planning from the City Commission and Grand Action 2.0.

One of our core ideals is using our common resources to guarantee the Right to Housing, but the way Grand Action 2.0 has structured this deal is very concerning. Grand Action is very careful throughout their literature to refer to the new apartment units only as potential new housing. Public funds footing so much of the bill proves that at any point our government could fund the construction of social housing, but it chooses not to. 

A new soccer stadium that supports local and youth soccer would be a fantastic addition to the community. We just hope that the city will keep in mind that, right now, affordable housing and keeping public funds for public projects are the actual priorities, and should come before a new soccer stadium drawn up at the whim of billionaires.

The post Public Funds, Private Profits: How Grand Rapids is Building a New Soccer Stadium appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

This last month we’ve seen the next stage of development of the pro-Palestine protests in the form of student encampments on college campuses. Columbia University sparked the movement on April 17th, but it quickly spread across the coast then to the rest of the U.S., including two encampments in Michigan; one at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (which was brutally broken up last week) and the other at Michigan State University in East Lansing (which shut down on May 2nd). The protests have immediately brought backlash from the police and some members of the public, totaling 2,200 arrests in the United States. Others have been quick to note its striking resemblance to the student protests against apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, and against the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

One university, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, a trade school in Arcata, California, managed to grow their protest large enough to occupy two of the campus buildings. They held this ground for days before the police swarmed early in the morning to catch them off-guard. The working class background of the students undoubtedly factored into their more militant and successful tactics – the broader American left could benefit greatly from paying close attention to what worked at the Cal Humboldt occupation.

Columbia, UT Texas, and UCLA also had violent police crackdowns, explicitly violating their first amendment right to protest. The police put students in direct danger; one officer even fired their gun at Columbia. In response Joe Biden said “dissent must never lead to disorder,” which is an openly fascist statement to make. Disorder becomes necessary when the “order” is what needs to be changed. Of course, Joe Biden would never renounce the disorder necessitated by the American Revolution.

MLK said it best in his letters from Birmingham Jail: “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action’; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season.’

On Saturday, May 4th at the University of Michigan, student protestors interrupted the commencement ceremony. The Guardian covers this in detail – we thought this was a particularly salient point:

Israel has […] destroyed every university in Gaza, in addition to killing at least 5,479 students, 261 teachers and 95 university professors, according to the UN, which has condemned Israel’s actions as “scholasticide”.

Also at the University of Michigan, on May 15th, thirty masked protestors left fake corpses outside the house of the chair of the university’s governing board (Associated Press covers this). Their encampment on the Diag is still up.

One college, Evergreen State College, has had school officials actually reach an agreement with the student protestors. However, when we take a closer look, the agreement is of course vague enough for a university administrator to feel comfortable with – they’ve promised to “work towards divesting from companies that profit from the occupation of Palestinian territories,” with no real timeline. The school is notable for being the alma mater of Rachel Corrie, an American activist who was killed in 2003 in Rafah by the Israel Defense Forces. Time will tell if Evergreen State College actually divests. If you would like an exhaustive list of universities that have made compromises with students, you can check that out here.

If you would like to donate to the cause, please consider giving aid to evacuating Palestinians, or to medical aid like Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). Second, if you would like to donate to the student activists, consider doing so here, though do note that bail funds tend to get an overwhelming amount of support. No arrests have been made at the Michigan encampments, so check to see you’re giving to someone who needs the aid.

Where do we go from here? If these protests don’t achieve their goals, what are the movement’s next steps? How can the working class gain the power it needs to demand a ceasefire in Gaza from the ruling class? If you’re interested in answering questions like these, please consider attending a meeting at the Grand Rapids DSA, we’d love to talk to you about how you can get involved.

The post College Encampments Seek Divestment from Israel’s Genocide of Palestine appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

On January 25th, the Kent County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the John Ball Zoo’s 2023 Master Plan Amendment to pave 10+ acres of park greenspace for new parking spaces. Parking spaces which will not be enough in 10 years, according to Zoo CEO Peter D’Arienzo. With that vote, the Commissioners gave up any County oversight until the next Master Plan Amendment is submitted by the Zoo. 

In 2013, Kent County set up a public-private partnership with the newly formed John Ball Zoo Nonprofit Corporation. In that lease agreement the County retained ownership of the land while transferring the public zoo’s assets to the corporation. The property is split between the private area for the zoo and the public park–now just a “publicly accessible park.” 

The neighborhood around John Ball Park had a community advisory board that worked with the Zoo from 1987-2015. When the Zoo became a nonprofit, it decided it had the ability to advise itself and shut down this group. In that same year, the Kent County Board of Commissioners approved a wildly unpopular Master Plan that placed a massive parking lot smack in the middle of the park. The Zoo did not move forward with this plan presumably due to public outcry.

After 8 years, the Zoo decided in 2023 to create a new Master Plan that also destroys a huge part of the park.  The Zoo was able to leverage the previously approved Master Plan–a plan that they themselves said they didn’t want–to pressure the Commission to approve a plan to pave green space. As Commissioner Sparks put it, “Are we playing chicken? … Or is the Zoo willing to listen to the community?”

The County Commission decided they were playing chicken. Though it is not specified in the Lease, the majority of current Kent County Commissioners believe they cannot negotiate with the Zoo to achieve a better outcome for the public. Their role is a simple up-down vote with no room for negotiation or adjustment. Effectively, a rubber stamp committee. The Grand Rapids DSA condemns this abdication of responsibility by the County Commission and the Zoo’s disregard for the local community who use this park every day.

We admire the work of Save John Ball Park and the other community members who have fought to keep their park throughout this process. Without their pushback the expansion would have been much more destructive, and even now they’re working to keep the community in the conversation. They are in talks with the Zoo to establish a Community Benefits Agreement. Some items they are looking to get the Zoo to commit to are better communication regarding construction dates, special events, and other things that might impact the neighborhood residents and businesses.

Thank you to the Commissioners who voted against this expansion:

• Diaz (District 20)
• Sparks (District 12)
• Hennessy (District 14)
• LaGrand (District 16)
• McCloud (District 13)
• Antor (District 2)

Approve – Green
Against – Red
Abstain – Blue
No response – Grey

The post Park or Parking Lot: the Future of John Ball Park appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.

U.S. aide to Israel is $3.8 billion per year. That’s over $10 million a day! That kind of money buys a whole lot of influence. And what the US gets is an ally in the Middle East. The buffer state of Israel was founded in May 1948 and occupies one of the holiest cities in the Middle East: Jerusalem. Historically, Israel has had contentious relations with its neighbors in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria.

With such close relations with the American Empire, it is no wonder that Israel is one of the most militarily advanced and well-protected states in the world. Among their arsenal is  the state-of-the-art defensive weapon known as the Iron Dome. It can track thousands of missiles simultaneously and shoot them out of the sky while, allowing only a few of them to make any impact. It was developed by the Israeli firms Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries with financial and technological support from the U.S.A.

Ironically, Israel is the oppressor of the native people that have lived in the area for hundreds of years. The occupation of Palestinian lands began in 1948, known as Nakba. It translates as “disaster” or “catastrophe.” Which is exactly what struck the Palestinian people when Jewish settlers took the land they had no claim to. Israel essentially has rounded up people into Gaza or the West Bank.

Finally, in 1987, the intifada began: an uprising from the Palestinian people to stay on their land and keep the property their ancestors had a claim to. Intifada literally means “tremor” or “shivering,” from the root, nafada, mean “shake off” or  “get rid of.” They stood up to the oppressors and the shameful killing of innocent civilians, children, the sick, and the elderly.

In 2003, Israel restricted Palestinians to Gaza and in 2007, imposed a blockade forcing people to live in horrid conditions with very little. Israeli human rights group Gisha has compiled an extensive list of things that are not allowed to be imported. Items such as cement and iron, so that it ‘doesn’t fall into the hands of Hamas.’ Yet, it also prevents civilians from rebuilding their homes. Which Israeli forces manage to destroy rather often. While the Israel Foreign Minister denies that this contraband list even exists.

The Palestinian Authority has been the main negotiating body for the Palestinian people for decades. However, in recent years, the people have elected Hamas leaders in their elections. The people are sick of burying their loved ones and are hopeful that Hamas will bring about the change necessary to bring peace and return Palestine to the country that it ought to be. However, as long as the U.S. backs Israel, that proves to be difficult.

For the first time in history, the narrative has finally shifted. The world is starting to understand that Israel is an oppressive force in the Middle East. The world is starting to see how many atrocities are occurring daily. With Israel targeting traditional media outlets in Palestine, social media outlets and the internet have made it possible for everyone to see a glimpse into what occurs without a filtered lens Israel puts on for media outlets.

Israel has committed many crimes against humanity, such as bombing hospitals, bombing journalism buildings, and arresting protestors and trying children in military courts. Israel doesn’t acknowledge the International Criminal Court. Without international pressure, they will not be held accountable for the crimes they have committed in the past 73 years. They must to be held accountable.

In Grand Rapids, there are many individuals and organizations marching to Free Palestine.  Palestinian and Arab American activists as well as the Grand Rapids Anti-War Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Democratic Socialists of America, Bimose Ode (Walk Along with Heart) and the Institute for Global Education, and many others came together in May to bring the message to the streets. There have been many rallies. And there will be many more.

Those of us who have all the privileges of living in the safety of Grand Rapids must use our voices to amplify the needs of the oppressed peoples of Palestine. The injustices carried out against them cannot go unnoticed.

The post Shifting Tides in The Middle East appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.