Northern Californians tell Congress: Israel’s killing of Gaza’s children isn’t self-defense

Henry Millstein / People's World

EUREKA, Calif. (Dec. 7)—Around sixty people – a sizable number for a city of 27,000 – came out in downtown Eureka on a chilly Saturday to call on Congress to stop funding Israel’s genocidal assault on the people of Gaza.

The protestors marched through downtown with signs calling for a ceasefire and proclaiming, “Killing children is not self-defense.” They gave out to passers-by cards preaddressed to local Congressperson Jared Huffman, President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris, asking them to stop funding the Israeli military.

The protest was organized by the newly formed Humboldt Committee for Peace and Justice. Members of the group had met with Huffman, calling on him to support an immediate ceasefire and suspend financial support to the Israeli Defense Forces.

Huffman, a generally liberal Democrat, responded by stating that Israel had the right to self-defense; the HCPJ members replied that the all-out assault on civilians, including children, could not be regarded as self-defense. The coalition said it plans to continue pressuring Huffman and California’s two U.S. Senators, both Democrats.

Many of the participants in the downtown protest were from southern Humboldt County and had travelled a significant distance to join the action. Asked why she had come to the event, participant Ali Freedland told People’s World, “We are deeply disturbed by the atrocities committed by the government of Israel and call on our government to stop funding the Israeli war machine.”

The event ended with 18 minutes and 45 seconds of silence in honor of the thousands of children killed to date by the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The HCPJ plans to hold events every month for as long as the war lasts.

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CONTRIBUTOR

Henry Millstein

Hank Millstein is a long-time peace and labor activist. He's a fiction writer and journalist and a member of the National Writers Union.