Six months of protesting, demands for a ceasefire, anti-Palestinian racist graffiti, & more prove that the War on Gaza is much closer to the River City than many would believe.
The distance between Peoria, IL and Palestine is about 6,338 miles. But, when the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th occurred, it already had direct impacts here. On that day–a day which will no doubt live in infamy–an estimated 2,900 Hamas and other Palestinian militants broke through the Israeli border fence. They initially targeted Israeli Defense Force (IDF) targets. But they didn’t stop at military targets. They continued their attack deeper into Israel attacking a music festival and several communal villages called Kibbutzim. Ultimately, 373 Israeli security forces, 695 Israeli civilians, and 71 foreigners were killed during the flood.1 253 hostages were kidnapped and taken back to Gaza. It was the largest death count in Israeli history.
About 20 miles from the Gazan border, Peoria resident Paul Beiersdorf and his wife were visiting his son in Ashdod, Israel.
In an interview with Brian Ludwig of the Community Word, Beiersdorf said:
“On the 7th, my son called, and said, ‘Grab what you can and get over here’. The safe room is a kid’s bedroom,” Beiersdorf explained. “Small, not real big. If I said it was 10×12, I would be exaggerating.”
Seven of them — six Beiersdorfs, including a 3-year-old granddaughter and newborn grandson, and Paul’s daughter-in-law’s mother — were crammed in the safe room for most of Oct. 7 and 8.
“We’d stay in the safe room until the sirens go off. It’s kind of like a tornado. When the sirens are on, you go in. Initially, (the sirens) were going off a lot on the 7th and 8th,” Beiersdorf said. “As Israel was retaliating, they slowed down. Some of the (Hamas) sites were being hit. Missile fire was all around. We had a missile hit two blocks from where we were. The Air Dome is pretty efficient, but some do get through.”
Hamas launched approximately 5,000 missiles, some reaching as far as Tel Aviv, north of Ashdod.
It was a struggle, to say the least, for the Beiersdorfs to get back to America. Rep. Eric Sorensen and Sen. Tammy Duckworth worked to get them out safely. The family had to be ready to move at a moment’s notice.
On Oct. 13, his family was told to travel to Tel Aviv, and was able to board an airplane chartered by the U.S. the next day that flew them to Athens, Greece.
“They literally get you out of harm’s way, and let you go on your own,” Beiersdorf recalled. “Totally bizarre feeling going from the threat of missiles to historic Athens.”
In response to the Al-Aqsa Flood, Israel retaliated, and so began the war on Gaza. The U.S.-backed nation claimed its goals were to rescue all the hostages and eliminate Hamas once & for all. Israel immediately launched a medieval siege of Gaza cutting off access to electricity, water, gasoline, medicine, medical supplies, and all other aid. Six months later, the death toll in Gaza is over 30,000 confirmed deaths, with an additional ten thousand dead people estimated to be under the rubble. It is the largest death count of Palestinians in the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict.
For many pro-Palestine activists, it quickly became obvious that Israel’s retaliation against Hamas was aimed at collective punishment of the entire Gazan population. Over 6,000 miles away in Peoria, long-time pro-Palestinian, peace activist Lawrence Maushard believed Israel was actually continuing its 75-year project of ethnically cleansing Palestinians from the land.
In 2018, Maushard visited occupied Palestine, so he knows first-hand the plight of the Palestinians. He describes in detail what he witnessed in this interview with Agitation Rising.
Eight days after the Al-Aqsa Flood attack and the beginning of the war on Gaza, Maushard organized a Rally for Gaza on the Corner of Main & University. Over a hundred and fifty people showed up, mostly from the Arab and Muslim community. In the six months since the start of the war, there have been five pro-Palestinian protests at the same location.2 Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters (ranging from little children to elderly men) marched through the streets of Peoria multiple times. Speakers at these events included: inter-faith leaders, teenage descendants of the Palestinian diaspora, survivors of the 1948 Nakba, human rights activists from across Central Illinois, and those with friends & family in Gaza.
By December, Maushard, Imam Mazhar Mahmood,3 Estrella Diaz, and others co-founded Peoria for Palestine, a grassroots multi-ethnic, multi-faith, cross-generational organization dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of the Palestinians over 6,000 miles away.
Demographics & Territory
Gaza is a tiny strip of land: 139 square miles, 25 miles at its longest, and only 7 miles at its widest. It boasts a population of 2.3 million and is one of the most densely populated areas on the planet. Gaza is almost three times the size of Peoria which has a population of 113,000. This made the attack by Israel especially brutal.
Israel is also relatively small compared to most of its neighbors in the Middle East. It is approximately the size of New Jersey. Israel has a population of almost ten million people; 73% are Jewish. The Al-Aqsa Flood has been called Israel’s 9/11.
Meanwhile, in Peoria, there are about 3,500 Muslims in the Peoria area, about 20% or 700 of which are Palestinian, according to Imam Mahmood. However, this data is only based on mosque attendees, so the numbers are likely higher.
The Jewish population in Peoria is less than a thousand according to Susan Katz, the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Peoria.45
CEASEFIRE NOW!
As the War in Gaza raged on, calls across the world for a ceasefire between Israel & Hamas intensified. Cities across the country began passing resolutions calling for a ceasefire. Cities included: Detroit, Michigan; Seattle, Washington; Atlanta, Georgia; Akron, Ohio; Wilmington, Delaware; Providence, Rhode Island; and Chicago, Illinois.
Peoria for Palestine began lobbying Peoria City Council members to pass a similar resolution 1.5 miles from their protests.
The resolution was relatively tame and benefited both Israelis & Palestinians. It called for an immediate, sustained ceasefire between both Israel & Hamas; and, it called for a release of all hostages. Since the war began, the overwhelming majority of Israeli hostages have been returned during a ceasefire in November. Israel’s military assault on Gaza has only succeeded in rescuing three hostages.
Peoria’s Zionist community was rabidly opposed to any ceasefire resolution being passed by city council. They mass e-mailed the following statement to City Council members.
Activists planned to make their voices heard at the February 13th, 2024 Peoria City Council meeting. Prior to the meeting, Mayor Ali sent marching orders to other City Council members to not get involved in the issue.
The meeting was contentious. So many people attended (mostly pro-ceasefire activists) that many people had to be placed in an overflow room. Despite Peoria for Palestine being an anti-war, pro-peace organization, there were dozens of armed officers present. Hind Abi-Akar of Peoria for Palestine was dismayed by the intense police presence. She stated in an interview with WCBU, “In the February meeting, I was shocked when we left the meeting and [there were] all of this police and bulletproof vests. We are just regular civilians. We are anti-violence, anti-war.”
In an interview with Agitation Rising, Peoria Police Department (PPD) Communication Specialists Semone Roth said the large police presence was because there was conversation at the city council meeting about canceling the July 3rd fireworks at Glen Oak Park. However, no such discussion was on the City Council minutes for that meeting. Furthermore, heavily redacted documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request show there was an operational safety plan created by the police for the meeting.
For over two hours, people gave public comment. The overwhelming majority spoke in favor of a ceasefire resolution. Agitation Rising recorded most public comments from that meeting.
Peoria City Council took no action in passing a ceasefire resolution.
The Conflict in Peoria
Five miles away from City Hall, racist, anti-Palestinian graffiti was found on a North Rochelle Lane City Link Bus Stop on March 13th, 2024. The words “Kill All Muslims” and “Muslims Are Baby Rapers” were spray painted next to a Jewish Star of David with the letters “IDF” in the middle. The Star of David is not just the symbol for Judaism, but also the symbol on the Jewish ethno-state of Israel’s flag. IDF is an acronym for the Israeli Defense Forces, Israel’s military currently besieging Gaza and enforcing an apartheid system against Palestinians in the annexed territories of East Jerusalem & the West Bank, and against Syrians in the annexed territory of the Golan Heights.
Peoria Police investigated the incident arrested Thomas Metros, 60, two days later for Criminal Defacement of Property and for an outstanding misdemeanor warrant (criminal damage). Metros was caught on a video surveillance camera spray painting the Star of David around the “IDF” letters. However, the words “Kill All Muslims”, “Muslims Are Baby Rapers”, and “IDF” were already present on the bus stop prior. PPD is still investigating the remaining graffiti. The graffiti has since been removed by CityLink.
Four miles away from the racist, anti-Palestinian graffiti, anti-Zionist graffiti was found on Bradley University campus on March 15th, 2024. The graffiti targeted the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, which for months now has a giant “Stand With Israel” sign.
The fraternity also happens to be majority Jewish.
The graffiti said “Free Palestine” and “AEPi Supports Genocide.”
None of the graffiti mentions Judaism or Jewish identity. Nonetheless, it was quickly equated with the blatantly Islamophobic and racist graffiti discovered two days prior, and deemed anti-Semitic.
In an interview with CIProud, Hillel Director Matt Lorch stated, “The reason why this is antisemitic in nature is when you do any sort of vandalism on a Jewish building, it doesn’t help anyone. It doesn’t free anyone. It doesn’t solve the crisis between Israel and Hamas. You are targeting a Jewish organization because they are Jewish. That’s antisemitism.”
However, unless the person in the Ring video below is captured and states they targeted the fraternity because of its Jewish identity, all evidence points to it being directed at the fraternity’s support for the nation-state of Israel.
Both Bradley Campus Safety and PPD declined to comment on this incident, citing an ongoing investigation.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported in January more than 3,000 anti-Semitic incidents committed since the Al-Aqsa Flood. ADL Executive Director Jonathan Greenblatt said this is a 360% increase compared to the same period in 2022. He said this was a threat to Jews “unprecedented in modern history.” But, the ADL greatly expanded its definition of an “anti-Semitic incident” to include any event critical of Israel or Zionism. Of the 3,000 incidents, 1,317 (44%) were such events.6
Agitation Rising confirmed with CAIR representative Corey Saylor that their reports of Islamophobia do not include “events supporting Israeli occupation and apartheid.”
Agitation Rising has previously reported on Sue Katz’ long history of accusing peace activists critical of Israel as anti-Semites, and her recent attempts to lobby Peoria City Council to censor speech critical of Israel.
Is Israel An Apartheid State? Let the Voters Decide!
The Israel/Palestine conflict goes back over a hundred years concerning a territory between the Jordan River & the Mediterranean Sea. The special relationship between the United States and Israel dates back to the ethno-state’s founding in 1948. The United States was the first nation to recognize Israel as a sovereign nation. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy privately told Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir, “The U.S. has a special relationship with Israel in the middle East.” Fifteen years later, President Jimmy Carter reaffirmed this saying, “We have a special relationship with Israel. It’s absolutely crucial that no one in our country or around the world ever doubt that our number one commitment in the Middle East is to protect the right of Israel to exist, to exist permanently, and to exist in peace.”7
Since 1948, Israel has been the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid receiving nearly $300 billion, the overwhelming majority of it military aid. Since 2007, nearly all U.S. aid to Israel has been to its military, nearly $4 billion a year.8
But, as I wrote in an op-ed to The Community Word, this aid has been used in Israel’s 75-year history of ethnic cleansing and discrimination against the Palestinian people.
Peoria for Palestine is asking Peoria residents to take a stand against this special relationship, and the United States’ complicity in the plight of the Palestinian people. They’re using an obscure legal method to place the following question on the November ballot:
Shall the United States Federal Government & subordinate divisions stop giving military funding to Israel which currently costs taxpayers 3.8 billion dollars a year, given Israel’s global recognition as an apartheid regime with a track record of human rights violations.
Nearly co-terminous with the City of Peoria is the Township of Peoria. Once a year, fifteen township residents can propose an advisory ballot question to be voted on at the annual Township Meeting (which is today) at Peoria City Hall. Any township resident physically present at the meeting can vote to place an advisory question on public policy on the November ballot. A simple majority is needed to add the question.
Both pro-Palestinian & pro-Zionist residents will have to pack tonight’s meeting if they want the vote to go their way.
Rabbi Bryna Milkow of Congregation Anshai Emeth in Peoria opposes the ballot measure telling WCBU, “The language of this referendum is inflammatory. And it’s biased. It’s bordering on antisemitism, and it’s just flat out wrong.”
Katz stated Israel is not an apartheid regime, and she supports unfettered military aid to Israel.9
Abi-Akar told WCBU:
Their measure is not calling for the U.S. to stop being friendly with Israel, or to pull its support on non-military issues, let alone “annihilate” the state, as she said is sometimes alleged by opponents.
“That’s a distortion that’s always thrown. And it’s honestly an old, used distortion…This is not our goal. This is nobody’s goal,” she said. “We want a goal of peace, based on international law, and equal human rights for all.”
Abi-Akar said a unified response at the local level around the country may influence the federal government to shift policy on providing weapons to a country she believes is violating human rights in Gaza.
If the question is placed on the ballot and approved by the voters, it will be symbolic, non-binding resolution.
The annual town meeting is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the Peoria City Council chambers at city hall. Voters should arrive by 5:30 to ensure their vote is counted.
You must have been a registered voter in Peoria as of March 13 to cast a vote. Registered Peoria Township voters at City Hall will decide by a hand vote if the Advisory Referendum question will be placed on the November ballot. You can use this link to determine if you are a Peoria Township resident.
- The overwhelming majority were murdered by Palestinian militants. But, an unknown number were killed in “friendly” fire by the Israeli Defense Forces.
- Protests were held on the following dates: 10/15/2023, 10/18/2023, 11/12/2023, 12/10/2023, 03/10/2024. FULL DISCLOSURE: Agitation Rising was listed as a host for the first two dates.
- Watch Agitation Rising’s interview with Imam Mazhar Mahmood.
- Cody, Tom. “A Religion, a Culture, a ‘Way of Life.’” Peoria Magazine, 1 Oct. 2023.
- Harris, Ken. “Peoria’s Jewish Population Celebrates Hanukkah with Games, Food and Menorahs.” Peoria Journal Star, Journal Star, 22 Dec. 2014.
- Rosenfeld, Arno. “Adl Appears to Count Anti-Zionist Incidents in Tally of Antisemitism.” The Forward, 10 Jan. 2024.
- BAR-SIMAN-TOV, YAACOV. “The United States and Israel since 1948: A ‘Special Relationship’?” Diplomatic History, vol. 22, no. 2, 1998, pp. 231–62. JSTOR.
- Masters, Jonathan, and Will Merrow. “U.S. Aid to Israel in Four Charts.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, 23 Jan. 2024.
- The overwhelming majority of international organizations and figures disagree with Katz’s assertions, and decisively affirm Israel is an apartheid regime. These include: Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk; UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices; UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA); Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch; B’Tselem; Yesh Din; Physicians for Human Rights Israel; Adalah – The Legal Centre for Minority Rights in Israel; HaMoked – Center for the Defence of the Individual; Tamir Pardo, former head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency; Amos Goldberg, leading professor of the Holocaust at Hebrew University in Jerusalem; Ban Ki-moon, former secretary-general of the United Nations; Daniel Levy, former Israeli negotiator; Yehudit Karp, former Israeli deputy attorney general; Michael Benyair, former Israeli attorney general.
