It was the largest Palestine liberation protests in central Illinois history Sunday, May 23rd, 2021. That’s how activist, journalist, and leader of the group Boycott, Divest, Sanction on Caterpillar (BDS on Cat) Lawrence Maushard described it.
In the wake of increased violence in Palestine–largely caused by the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by the apartheid Israeli government–nearly 300 people protested on the Corner of Main & University in Peoria, IL.
Protesters marched on Main Street in Peoria from University to Sheridan occupying and shutting down all traffic on Main Street for over an hour. There were children leading the crowd in chants. There were elderly protesters marching side-by-side with people in wheelchairs. The march was led by Palestinian women.
Maushard is a long-time human rights activist and familiar with the conflict in Palestine, having visited the West Bank. He saw first hand the apartheid occupation by Israel. Maushard started BDS on Cat because Caterpillar–located largely in Peoria–is a major focus of the Boycott, Divest, Sanction movement. Caterpillar maintains business dealings in Israel, and it sells land-moving equipment to the Israeli government knowing full well this equipment will be used to demolish Palestinian homes. It was a Caterpillar D9R 50-ton bladed dozer operated by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) that murdered American civil rights activist Rachel Courie.
Part of the apartheid strategies of Israel is to force Palestinians out of their homes and off their land (by force and lethally if necessary) and replacing it with Israeli settlements. These have widely been viewed as war crimes, especially in geographical areas the international community sees as disputed lands.
Contrary to local news channel WEEK, no one there was celebrating the cease fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The protesters present knew that ceasefires are neoliberal traps meant to give the illusion of peace so people can be distracted enough to stop paying attention. Not only did Israel break the ceasefire in less than 12 hours, but the ceasefires never include an end to apartheid, or Palestinian children being tear gassed by IDF on their way to school, or the annexation of Palestinian land which is literally ethnic cleansing.
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