San Francisco Rally In Solidarity With Tristan Anderson

Imagine…

..your country militarily occupied by a foreign military power. A giant impassable wall built through your community removing a quarter of the land depended on to grow food and make a living. Orchards are ripped up. Your community decides to hold unarmed protests and many are injured by the occupying soldiers and four community members are killed, including a ten year old boy.

This is reality for the families that live in the village of Ni’lin in the West Bank of Palestine. The occupying foreign military is Israel and the wall being built was ruled illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004. Israel’s tanks, guns, bombs, bullets and teargas used against civilians are paid for with billions of our US tax dollars given in military aid to Israel, in violation of our laws against military aid to human rights and international law violators.

Our friend from Oakland, Tristan Anderson, went to support the villagers and to report as an independent journalist. Last Friday Israeli soldiers directly shot Tristan in the head with a newly designed high-velocity tear-gas canister and critically injured him. Tristan’s girlfriend Gabrielle Silverman said soldiers continued to fire teargas as uniformed paramedics came to rescue and remove Tristan and the ambulance was then stopped by a soldier. He is intensive care and listed in stable condition, though this may continue to change due to the seriousness of his injuries. His family writes, “We are deeply grateful for the love and support pouring in from Tristan’s friends and fellow activists around the world. We are proud of Tristan’s fierce courage, adventurous spirit…”

We are here to express love and solidarity with Tristan and with families of those killed in Ni’lin protesting the wall: Ahmed Mousa (10), Yousef Amira (17), Arafat Rateb Khawaje (22), and Mohammed Khawaje (20). We are here because we are angry at the US government and Israel for injuring our friend and because we know that families in Palestine are humiliated, injured and killed every day and it goes unreported. We are here because we are outraged at the governments, corporations and global capitalist system that profits from impoverishing, humiliating and destroying families, communities and the environment in Palestine, San Francisco and everywhere. We are here to invite you to join us in creating a better world of dignity, justice, and respect for the earth and freedom.

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Ben Linder died in Nicaragua at the hands of the contras in the 1980's. He moved to Leon to perform engineering work. Sometimes he ride around on his unicycle and juggle, even. In remembrance of Rachel Corrie and in solidarity with Tristan. Get well Tristan!

After the crowd marched to Powell. A group decided to return to the consulate and when they arrived they were attacked by the police. The group had done nothing but stood on the sidewalk by the consulate and by a get well card for Tristan, but the SFPD decided to attack anyways swinging their batons. Some had cuts on their heads from the batons and others were arrested after being thrown to the ground. This another brutal attack, like the one that Tristan sustained, against people who stand against occupation and oppression.

Justice for Tristan and Justice for Palestine!

The pigs charged us for no reason. they didn't give a dispersal order. I saw them hit a young woman in the side with a club. someone went to the hospital for stitches in his head. is he ok? i saw them clubbing someone who was arrested. does anyone have any updates on these people? any pictures?

Thank you for the excellent video and photos. This is the Democratic Party's police, the political machine in San Francisco, attacking a peaceful group. We need 100,000 people marching on Market Street from the Embarcadero to the Civic Center at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 21 for Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, and to protest fascism right here in San Francisco. The Democratic Party of San Francisco is staunchly pro-Israel, as is the Republican Party. I hope the protesters arrested sue San Francisco for millions of dollars. They can get ithe money from millionaire Democrats like "Mayor" Gavin Newsom, Senators Feinstein and Boxer and all the rest of the pro-Israel genocide promoters. The thugs waving the pro-Israel flags look like gangsters. It is of course fascism that is being perpetrated by Israel, a puppet of fascist USA.