Philadelphia Antiwar March

March for a Cease Fire and Israeli Withdrawal from Lebanon & Gaza

Friday, August 11th from 4:30-6:30
Gathering on the west side of City Hall; March starts at 5:30
Ending at the Federal Building btwn 6th & 7th Sts on Market

The U.S. gives about $2.5 billion a year to Israel’s army. This month alone over 1000 civilians have been killed in Lebanon and Gaza; one million Lebanese have been forced to flee their homes.

If the world makes the connection between Iranian writing on Hizballah’s missiles, what are the Lebanese to make of the U.S. writing on Israel’s missiles?

We demand that the U.S. government intervene to stop Israel’s brutal bombing and blockade of Gaza and Lebanon, a form of collective punishment illegal under the Geneva Convention. We further call for an unconditional cease fire with a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army and an end to US aid to the Israeli military.

Lebanon: Nearly 1000 killed, one-third of whom are children, and one-million (a quarter of the population) forced to flee. The Lebanese infrastructure has been destroyed. Israel’s blockade of Lebanon is preventing food and medical aid from reaching the hardest hit areas which will most certainly raise the death toll. Furthermore, the oil slick from the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese power plant has polluted Lebanese coast and is now reaching Syria. The lack of an immediate coordinated response is risking an environmental catastrophe.

Gaza: 175 have been killed in the last month, a quarter of whom are children. What little infrastructure existed has been heavily damaged. There has been a sharp decline in the living conditions of 1.4 million people, more than half of whom are children, creating a humanitarian crisis. With nearly 80% of the population already living below the poverty line, the situation is dire.

We are calling for an end to this madness funded by our U.S. tax dollars.

Current list of Cosponsors: American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC Philly); Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Philly); Bubbes and Zaydes for Peace in the Middle East; Jewish Voice for Peace (Philly Chapter); Network of Arab American Professionals (NAAP-Philly); Philadelphia International Action Center; Suburban Greens; SUSTAIN; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF-Philly).