To Shut Down A Consulate, You Gotta Get Up HELLA Early in the Morning

Yesterday, in the deep royal purple of pre-dawn, I gathered with dear companeros in readiness to execute a plan we'd been preparing for the last sleepless week. My bowels were sick with anxiety, but as the radio wept accounts of murdered Palestinians,the courage crept back into my bones. We had a solid team of devoted activists, a tightly devolped plan, and a full tank of righteous rage to fuel our action.

We were ready to let the world know that Jews in Los Angeles were willing to put their bodies on the line to protest the criminal behavior of the Israeli government.

 

 And we did.

In fact, it was pretty freakin' spectacular. We actually disrupted business as usual at the Los Angeles Israeli Consulate for three hours! Six activists, locking their arms together through pvc pipe, held down the driveway, while two chained themselves across the front of the building. I served as support, running interference between the security guard that greeted us, as well as angry folks trying to enter the consulate, and I helped to hold up a banner that displayed our message and protected those locked in from oncoming cars. An additional 30 or so activists were on hand to negotiate with police, attend to legal concerns, lead chants, speak to press, assist those locked-in, and picket on the sidewalk in front of the consulate.

The amount of press coverage was staggering. Nearly every local television station, the Los Angeles Times,  CNN, international blogs, and Jewish magazines. Lisa Adler was even interviewed on live radio while she was chained to the building (listen at minute 45).

 

After three hours, it was decided that our original goals had been met, and an agreement was negotiated with police, allowing for everyone to walk away without a single charge against them.

It was an amazing victory, and we are more motivated than ever to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine, and to call for an end to over sixty years of occupation and violence.

Photos courtesy of RiKu Matsuda

Comments

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Amazing, amazing work, Tamara. You should be proud of yourselves. Inspiring.