The Arab American Association of West Michigan held a protest on Monday June 7th in downtown Grand Rapids at the Federal Building to bring attention to the issues of the Israeli blockade against the Palestinian people. Recent events included the shocking headlines about the flotilla bringing humanitarian relief to the Palestinians that was attacked by Israel. World outrage has been exacerbated by details of the autopsies of some of the victims of the attack, whose bodies show clear evidence of gunshots to the head, which according to critics indicates intent to kill.
At least 3 dozen people came out to show their support. Representatives from the Arab American Association of West Michigan,
the Bloom Collective, and the
Institute for Global Education and private citizens gathered together on the streets of Grand Rapids on a sunny afternoon to wave signs and Palestinian flags. Cars passing by looked on, some honking their horns or waving in support of the demonstrators. At one point a car drove by carrying a few people yelling and waving a poorly made sign supporting Israel. That was the extent of the pro-Israel support openly indicated.
A similar protest is scheduled for the following Monday, June 14th in downtown Grand Rapids. Interested participants should visit from the Arab American Association of West Michigan website for more details.
Other upcoming events for local activists include:
Thursday, June 17 @ 7PM
CRUDE; the real price of oil. A local screening of the movie by Joe Berlinger will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church @ 1100 Lake Dr SE Grand Rapids @
Friday, June 18 @ 5PM
Rally against BP will be held at the BP in Eastown. Take a stand for a viable future, find out more about the BP disaster, learn about our social dependance on oil. 1560 Lake Dr SE Grand Rapids
About: scott warren (scott warren)
I moved from the Metro Detroit area to Grand Rapids in October 2009, and fell in love with the Rapidian right away. I like how the Rapidian is an invaluable tool for contributing to the community, meeting new friends, and discovering new places and events in Grand Rapids.
I am always looking for an excuse to point my camera at something interesting and capture a good story. Feel free to contact me with your ideas, events, and opportunities. Or just to say "hi" and make friends. MY EMAIL IS scottwarren.grandrapids@gmail.com
Reports on: music, art, food, and whatever else strikes me fancy...
Comments, like all content, are held to The Rapidian standards of civility and open identity as outlined in our Terms of Use and Values Statement. We reserve the right to remove any content that does not hold to these standards.
