Historic protest blocks Biden’s motorcade to State of the Union
By Iman Abid, Organizing & Advocacy Director of USCPR Action
Last night, I witnessed a historic protest on Capitol Hill: Hundreds of people blocked Biden’s motorcade to the State of the Union, forcing him to reroute and delaying his arrival. It was the largest civil disobedience action in the history of the State of the Union.
Against the flashing lights of police cars, protesters sat in the street, chanted, and sang. They carried a massive Palestinian flag and held a banner reading “BIDEN’S LEGACY IS GENOCIDE.” The protest followed our 500-strong People’s State of the Union rally outside the White House.
When there is no justice, there is no peace. When the president doesn’t listen, we force him to.
With five months of nonstop protests and a flood of “uncommitted” votes to resist genocide, we've shown we are more powerful than our politicians imagine. Our movement is growing every day, and we’ll keep fighting until Palestine is free.
Genocide Joe heard our voices shouting in the street last night. Now it’s time to drive the message home for a PERMANENT CEASEFIRE NOW and an end to U.S. military funding to Israel.
Stop what you’re doing, and pick up the phone right now. If you're in the U.S., call your members of Congress to demand they end this genocide and all U.S. weapons to Israel.
As we boldly resist in the belly of the beast, it’s crucial to ground ourselves in the reason we’re pouring our whole selves into this fight. Today on International Women’s Day, I think especially of the Palestinian women in Gaza who’ve endured miscarriage, death, destruction, and who are fighting to protect their families.
In Gaza, miscarriage rates are up by 300%, Israel's power shutdown has murdered Palestinian babies in the NICU and destroyed embryos for women awaiting, and new mothers are unable to breastfeed.
I think of Palestinian women like Rania Abu Anza who lost her twin children that took her 11 years of IVF treatment to conceive, and then lost her husband in the same bombing. Left to bury them all.
Genocide Joe could use his power to stop this nightmare with one phone call. Instead, he's offered only performative airdrops and the promise of an aid seaport that could take two whole months to build while Israel kills another Palestinian child every ten minutes.
As much as he tries, Biden cannot distract from the reality: He has spent the past 150+ days funding and shielding the Israeli regime as it commits the most heinous war crimes. There’s no turning back the blood spilled and the horrific damage done.
Keep fighting like hell for the living. Demand an end to this U.S.-sponsored genocide. Call and email your members of Congress with these new action tools now.
Find the next protest near you now. See you in the streets.
Iman Abid is the Organizing & Advocacy Director of USCPR Action.