{"id":2204,"date":"2024-08-31T13:07:50","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T20:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nlg.org\/los-angeles\/?p=2204"},"modified":"2025-03-16T16:08:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T23:08:46","slug":"attacks-on-anti-genocide-protestors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nlg.org\/los-angeles\/2024\/08\/31\/attacks-on-anti-genocide-protestors\/","title":{"rendered":"The National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles Statement Condemning the Attacks on Anti-Genocide Protestors"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 28, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n

The National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles Statement Condemning the Attacks on Anti-Genocide Protestors\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

On Sunday, June 23, 2024, a coalition of Palestinian, anti-zionist Jews, and allied organizations gathered to protest the private real estate sale of stolen Palestinian land hosted by Adas Torah synagogue in Pico-Robertson. In response to the demonstration, the Los Angeles Police Department deployed over 100 officers in riot gear who violently assaulted protestors and watched as a mob of zionist agitators did the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles condemns this latest episode in the decades-long pattern of blatant, violent, and intentional repression and misrepresentation of pro-Palestine, anti-genocide protests. We demand an end to the illegal sale of Palestinian land by zionist real estate companies profiting from genocide and ethnic cleansing and to the disingenuous, dangerous smears against protestors by elected officials.<\/b><\/p>\n

We will soon enter the tenth month of israel\u2019s genocide on Gaza and the 77th year of israel\u2019s settler colonial project in Palestine. Since October 7, israel has murdered at least <\/span>37,700<\/span><\/a> Palestinians, injured at least <\/span>86,400<\/span><\/a>, displaced almost <\/span>2 million<\/span><\/a>, and destroyed nearly <\/span>400,000<\/span><\/a> housing units in Gaza.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The LAPD and the numerous elected officials peddling lies about alleged antisemitism at anti-genocide protests\u2013namely President Joe Biden, Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Karen Bass, and City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky\u2013show us once again that they value profit and property more than the people they serve. On Tuesday, June 25, Mayor Bass proposed a <\/span>blanket ban<\/span><\/a> on masks at protests, and Yaroslavsky introduced a city council <\/span>motion<\/span><\/a> that would funnel $1 million in taxpayer money to zionist private security firms, including $350,000 for Magen Am, an \u201c<\/span>armed zionist paramilitary force comprised in large part of Israeli soldiers<\/span><\/a>.\u201d <\/span>Banning masks and defunding community resources to bolster police and fascist paramilitaries would serve only to endanger Angelenos.<\/b><\/p>\n

In the words of Dr. Lucky Tran, demonizing people who wear masks amid yet another rise in COVID-19 cases is \u201c<\/span>incredibly reckless and making our cities more unsafe<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Whether or not Mayor Bass\u2019s proposed mask ban is enacted, it is a dangerous, ableist proposition that would incite undue scrutiny and suspicion of people protecting themselves and their neighbors. This suggestion is antithetical to the basis of <\/span>public health principles<\/span><\/a> as we face a <\/span>surge<\/span><\/a> in COVID-19 cases and the threat of Avian Flu.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A mask ban constitutes an attack on our right to privacy. <\/span>Prohibiting a public health resource to increase the surveillance and criminalization of our communities is a violent act.<\/b> This will not only cause more deaths and long-term health complications\u2013which should be enough of a reason to abandon this proposal\u2013but also more police violence against the most vulnerable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As they systematically undermine both public health and freedom of speech in Los Angeles, City Council and Karen Bass intentionally defund community services in favor of expanding the <\/span>stalker state<\/span><\/a>. LAPD\u2019s total inaction against violent Zionist agitators on June 23, and Mayor Bass\u2019s subsequent press conference <\/span>alongside known neo-Nazi Adam King<\/span><\/a>, together enable vigilantism, deputize white supremacists, and condone fascist repression of protest.\u00a0 Furthermore, Bass\u2019s failure to acknowledge or condemn the repeated zionist assaults on journalists is a \u201c<\/span>cowardly stance<\/span><\/a>\u201d that threatens the freedom of the press. Independent journalists have been on the ground daily, providing reliable, unfiltered coverage of the state\u2019s violence. We stand in solidarity with the press, who document zionist and fascist violence on the front lines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, places of worship must not be allowed to become city-protected havens for genocidal political activity. The sale of stolen land is a crime against humanity. We join Jewish Voice for Peace LA in condemning the brutalization of anti-genocide protestors outside a Jewish place of worship used \u201c<\/span>to facilitate Israeli apartheid and the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, while the state carries out genocide against the Palestinian people<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As the legal arm of the movement, these fascist attacks on our Constitutional and human rights are unacceptable. We demand more and will continue fighting for a free Palestine and liberation for all.<\/b><\/p>\n

In solidarity,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 28, 2024 The National Lawyers Guild of Los Angeles Statement Condemning the Attacks on Anti-Genocide Protestors\u00a0 On Sunday, June 23, 2024, a coalition of Palestinian, anti-zionist Jews, and allied organizations gathered to protest the private real estate sale of stolen Palestinian land hosted by Adas Torah synagogue in Pico-Robertson. In response to the demonstration, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19500,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[6,154,3],"tags":[153,22,152,25],"class_list":["post-2204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-mass-defense","category-news","tag-mass-defense","tag-news","tag-palestine","tag-press-release"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t