We stand with Palestine; boycott Israel: City activists

Bengaluru

Pro-Palestine protesters took to the streets of the city on Friday shouting, “We stand with Palestine!” while protesting against the genocide in Gaza by Israel. They demanded that the Indian government cut all ties with Israel, impose a full embargo on Israel, cancel or defer licenses to companies supplying military arms and equipment to Israel and end ties with the Israeli government and agencies for training Indian police or security forces. They also demanded an end to the Labor Agreement between India and Israel and the withdrawal of Indian workers from Israel.

Organized by Bengaluru for Justice and Peace, the protest emphasized the loss of Palestinian lives, especially of children. Sachin from the All India Students Association (AISA) said, “A lot of data is coming out that more than 65,000 people have been killed and that is only official data. Unofficial data claims 6 lakh people and one-third of them are children with most of them being less than 5 years old.”

Protestors also expressed their disdain against Indian officials who support Israel, drawing parallels between 'fascist forces' in India and Israel. An activist said, “We see that our politicians are giving in to corporate interests either directly or indirectly. We see the interests of the needy, the marginalized and the oppressed are not taken into account. Fascists emboldened in one place embolden fascists at home.”

Ginny George of All India Youth Federation, noted that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) continue to take inspiration from other fascist groups and that their agenda matches that of Zionists and condemned the crackdowns on intellectuals, minorities and rationalists by the government.

Organizers of the protest also expressed their frustration over the difficulty in getting permission to hold the protest. They said permission had been revoked several times before finally being granted. “In the past it was not possible to raise our voice for Palestine and today we are doing it in the center of the city, in front of Kuvempu.” Environmental activist Chukki Nanjundaswamy said. There was also a hope that there would be a larger gathering in the future which was expressed by activist Tanveer Ahmed.