What does it mean to be in solidarity?
For example, when I learned that Ed Fallon was taking a van of people to Minneapolis to protest US Bank’s funding of the Dakota Access Pipeline, I signed up. I had just moved to Iowa, and although I knew about Ed’s work as an environmental activist, I hadn’t met him prior to this trip. I also didn’t know anyone else in the van, other than Donnielle Wanatee, who I had met briefly before.
When we got to Minneapolis, we joined about one hundred others and walked downtown carrying signs about US Bank and the Dakota Access Pipeline. But I was really surprised when people began speaking, the main thing they talked about was the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous relatives (MMIR). I soon learned how that was connected to pipeline construction, and it had significantly impacted every native person.
My several years of being part of Des Moines Mutual Aid taught me the most about community organizing. (See the Des Moines Mutual Aid Points of Unity below.) These Points of Unity provide the best description of what it means to be in solidarity that I’ve found. We try to live up to those principles.
Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine
Having moved to Madison, Wisconsin, a year ago, I was praying about what justice work I could do here. The horrors of the Israeli bombardment and other military actions in Gaza have dominated global attention. I was led to look for ways to offer pro-Palestinian support. I attended a reading by a Palestinian poet. I went to the solidarity encampment at the University of Wisconsin several times. I published posts and photographs on my blog unflinching.blog
I recently made connections with the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine. I had an on-boarding interview and offered to help with photography and/or writing.
Then, the following happened:
On Wednesday, September 11, 2024, a Milwaukee-area Palestinian business owner, Ihsan Atta, erected a mural condemning Israel’s weaponization of Judaism to perpetuate genocide in Gaza.
The mural features buildings in rubble in reference to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, displaced mothers carrying children to safe zones in Gaza, several drones, a bulldozer referencing the IOF’s brutal murder of American activist Rachel Corrie, body bags and several other depictions of Israel’s heinous war crimes.
The mural draws parallels with the Holocaust, superimposing a swastika with the blue Star of David (referencing the Israeli flag) to say, “the irony of becoming what you once hated.”
The mural got a lot of attention, mainly related to the swastika. The mural was defaced with black paint. A neighboring business moved out of the building. The neighbors were upset. The city council condemned the mural and asked that it be removed.
The swastika was the symbol of the Nazi party in Germany. It triggers significant emotional reactions in those familiar with the history, because it is associated with the Nazi concentration camps that killed over six million Jewish people during World War II.
The Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine held a news conference at the mural, supporting free-speech for pro-Palestinian supporters.
WI Coalition for Justice in Palestine denounces destruction of critical artwork
The WI Coalition for Justice in Palestine is holding a press conference to denounce the destruction of a work of art displayed on private property that criticizes what it describes as Israeli actions in Palestine.
On Wednesday, September 11, 2024, a Milwaukee-area Palestinian business owner, Ihsan Atta, erected a mural condemning Israel’s weaponization of Judaism to perpetuate genocide in Gaza.
The mural features buildings in rubble in reference to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, displaced mothers carrying children to safe zones in Gaza, several drones, a bulldozer referencing the IOF’s brutal murder of Activist Rachel Corrie, body bags and several other depictions of Israel’s heinous war crimes.“The Star of David is a symbol that is displayed on military aircrafts responsible for the murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. It is displayed on tanks that are responsible for bombing hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. It is displayed on the uniforms of the illegal Occupation Forces that is guilty of torture, rape, and murder of tens of thousands of women and children. And it is displayed on the flag of an apartheid regime that has not only publicly called for an ethnic cleansing, but has shown the world they will do their best to accomplish that goal. The Star of David was specifically painted in apartheid blue to symbolize its political nature”.
Ihsan Atta
What does this mean to me as I begin to get involved with the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine? I am uncomfortable with the use of the swastika. In this case it obviously garnered a lot of attention. But it seems the swastika diverted attention from the pro-Palestinian message. The mural was not made by the Wisconsin Coalition.
I think the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine was right in calling attention to free speech, whatever you think of what is being said. I am in the learning phase about pro-Palestinian issues at this time, but believe I will change as I gain a deeper understanding. The swastika makes me uncomfortable. But in the meantime, I believe in this, one of Des Moines Mutual Aid’s Points of Unity: “We have open disagreements with each other about ideas and practices. We believe there is no formula for resolving our ideological differences other than working towards our common aims, engaging with each other in a comradely manner, and respecting one another, whether or not we can hash out disagreements in the process.”
I am glad I was led to join the Coalition as we work to try to bring an end to the unconscionable annihilation of Gaza that the United States is deeply involved in.
