jvp-facilitates-idf-fundraiser.pdf
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SVPBAY AREA FACITATES “IDF” FUNDRAISER:

A CRITIQUE OF OBEDIENT PROTEST






S
°







potential blockade
protest marshals

zionist counter protesters

°
A
O°



= = = police barricades
svcono protest marshals

— crowd
At the November 5 protest against the “Friends of the IDF Gala” in San
Carlos, hundreds of people mobilized to shut down this fundraiser for
a fascist zionist genocidal army, but the key player preventing the actual
disruption of this event was the non-profit that “organized” the protest,
Jewish Voices for Peace Bay Area.

JVP Bay Arc:
pation forces [IOF]. Through their aggressive peace policing, relentless
harassment of anyone who wanted to do something more than stand
and shout, and protest marshaling that helped the donors of settler-co-
lonialist genocide drive safely into the gala. They not only allowed but
actually facilitated this fundraiser.

We showed up to shut the gala down. If JVP Bay Area was unwilling
to do the same (with whatever tactics they choose), the very least they
could have done was not prevent other people from doing so.



the dirty work of the police and the “isracli” occu-

ALLOWING GALN ATTENDEES TO ENTER

Not only did they aggressively prevent the crowd from doing anything
other than standing and shouting, JVP Bay Area’s yellow-vested protest
marshals moved the crowd down the road allowing the gala attend-
cs to reach the event and prevented the crowd from knowing where
a blockade could be most effective for actually stopping the fundraiser.
Whether directly or indirectly, JVP Bay Area collaborated with the kk~
kops and zionists to help raise money for the “israeli” occupation forces
by ensuring the protest did not shut down the fundraiser

As the



ttached map shows, protest marshals were stationed behind



ext to where gala attendees were driving in with giant “is-
"flags on their cars. Skyway Road isa clead-end: a blockade several
hundred feet up the street in the direction of the Holly Street viaduct,
‘would have actually prevented gala attendees fiom being able to enter,
shutting the entire event down. Alternatively or additionally, a blockade
earlier in the day before the gala was being set up would have caused
significant material disruption to the event. There were multiple strate-
gies and tactics available for disrupting this gala.

When asked why the crowd wasn't being invited or encouraged to
block the entrance IOF donors were using, one of the white protest
marshals stationed at the Fairfield Inn driveway literally said, “Pm just
following orders.” Whose orders were they following? Why was follow=




ing orders more important to them than spreading the word to stop the
zionist cars that they could see driving right past them? It seems the “or-
ganizers” of this protest were instructing their security team to prevent
protesters from stopping the gala.

JVP Bay Area corralled the crowd into the area directly in front of the
Hiller Aviation Museum (the gala venue), stationed security at the alter-
nate attendee entrance at the Fairfield Inn, and actively worked with the
police to ensure that genocide funders were able to attend the gala safely
‘They cannot say they were unaware of what was happening when their
protest marshals watched gala attendees drive into the event

It is clear that JVP Bay Area had no interest in actually stopping the
gala from happening, Why not? JVP on the East Coast has done civil dis-
obedience and direct action. This event was a fundraiser for the IOF by
an organization that raised almost 90 million dollars last year: If this was
not a time and place where disruption was needed, when and where is?



PEACE POLICING

Early in the demonstration, as shown in the attached map, the protest
marshals allowed the police to cut through the crowd and form a police
line on Skyway Road between the protest and the Fairfield Inn entrance
later used as an alternate route by gala attendees. The protest marshals
then formed a line with the police and told the crowd to turn their backs
‘on the police, as well as on a small group of protestors,
that had recently arrived. Despite the protest marshals’ efforts, count
erprotestors had an “isracli” flag stolen from them, got hit with a stick,
and were pepper-sprayed.

‘The actions of the protest marshals, although disobeyed by some,
were unfortunately generally effective in decreasing conflictual
the crowd and setting a tone of obedient and compliant protest. The
most liberal elements of the crowd took this as a signal to deputize
themselves as peace pol ing to actually shut down
the fundraiser.

When participants of the demonstration attempted to take down
barricades separating the crowd fiom the gala’s venue, the peace po-
lice filmed and took photos, physically interjected, put the police bar-
ricades back together, and yelled at those attempting to push forward
for “stirring shit up.” Why show up to a fundraiser for an army com-







nist counter







within





ce and harass those tr


miitting genocide if not to stir things up? The organizers leading chants,
of “there is only one solution: intifada, revolution” showed themselves
to be no more than counter-revolutionaries with zero desire to actually
confront the kkkops and zionists right in front of them, The co-optation
of this revolutionary language is disrespectful to every Palestinian mar-
tyr who has fought for their life, land, and freedom.

Many in the crowd, however, were ready to do more and eager to
actually stop the fundraiser from occurring, They raged as donors for
the genocide pulled up in their luxury cars. As the people seethed, the
“organizers” colluded to channel that anger and readiness for action
into nothing but chanting,

‘The protest was literally corralled to prevent the crowd from dis-
obeying the kkkops or actually stopping the fundraiser from happening,
We have to say it again: THEY MOVED THE CROWD TO LET
THE IOF DONORS ENTER AND THEY PREVENTED ANY-
ONE FROM PUSHING FORWARD TO DISRUPT THE FUND-
RAISER, This kind of liberal symbolic protest isa demoralizi
bringing people out to stand in the street while accomplishing absolute-
ly nothing when both the target and objective are so clearly present.

Where were the lessons of the anti-police rebellions of the past four-
teen years in the Bay Area, from Oscar Grant to George Floyd? Why
were the “organizers” so quick to encourage obedience to the polic
Have they forgotten the role of the police within white supremacist cap-
italism, or are they just eager to capitalize on respectability politics by
distancing themselves from the struggle for Black liberation and revolu-
tionary abolition?

If these “organizers” had not engaged in their authoritarian peace
policing, this fundraiser would have been shut down. Instead, what was
likely hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised for the “isracli” oc-
cupation forces and the donors were able to enjoy their gala smugly
without any consequence. And the JVP Bay Area security team helped
the genocide funders safely drive inside.

AJVP national board member named Lisa Rofel told the news, “the
nicest thing we could say is that it’s in bad taste.” When fascist zionists
are actively raising money to fund genocide, you want to say “the nicest
thing”? You think i * to give tens of millions of dollars to
the IOF death machine? We call it genocide and we call it complicity.

Shouting “shame on you” means nothing to the gala donors, They



farce.







are proud of their donations. Shutting down the gala was a bare mini-
mum of the consequences they need to experience.

WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED?

JVP Bay Area, what is your strategy for actually disrupting the genocide
in Gaza? When you look at historical and current struggles for libera-
tion, do you think people win by being law-abiding, staying obedient,
and allowing business as usual? Why are you aggressively preventing
protesters ftom “stirring shit up” while doing literally nothing to prevent
rich zionists from giving money to “israeli” occupying forces? What did
you accomplish JVP Bay Area? You aggressively policed and corralled
protesters while actively helping the donors get safely to this fundraiser,
the IOF thanks you for your service.

‘To those of you who showed up and wanted to actually shut down
this fundraiser for genocide, we have heard many of you express feelings,
of grief that protesting this gala “did nothing” We agree: nothing was
done to stop the Palestinian genocide on Sunday. Our hearts are with
you in this grief. We ask you to remember the rage you felt as you were
forced to stand peacefully while funders of genocide drove by you in
‘Teslas and the yellow-vests blocked you from reaching them. Do not let
this demoralize you. We ask you also to remember that no one and no
organization has the right to tell you how to respond in the face of un-
speakable evil. Just because they slapped their logo on an announcement
dloes not mean they are entitled to control you or any other protester:

‘This gala could have been shut down, but JVP Bay Area made sure
that did not happen. JVP Bay Area, to you and your peace police we
say: never again, fuck the police, and long live the intifada!

Let us all remember the words of revolutionary martyr Bassel al-
Aaj in Dismantle It And Let Them Fall:











“Icis no secret that there is a comprador class directly benefit
the existence of the occupation, and the current situation gives great
privileges to that small fraction of society: Let us avoid taking up arms
against one another, Let us dismantle it and let them fall...Is it any
wonder that PA leader Mahmoud Abbas insists he does not want to un-
dermine Israel's legitimacy? What I find most strange is Abbas’ constant
apologies for our people's struggles. So dismantle it and let them fall.”