Just up the street from Harris’s sold-out fundraiser at the Colonial Theatre, a cadre of demonstrators – some wearing the traditional Arabic keffiyeh headdress – chanted “Free Palestine” and held signs bearing slogans like “All This Money Will Not Wash the Blood Off Your Hands Kamala” and “End the Genocide” in Park Square.
“We are mostly Democratic Socialists of America and Anti-Imperialist Solidarity. There are a few chapters of Democratic Socialists of America here today. I'm part of the Berkshires branch of the DSA, and there's Troy DSA, some members from Troy DSA are here as well, as well as River Valley DSA. And Anti-Imperialist Solidarity is a anti-imperialist group in South County that is also working with us to put this rally together," said Pittsfielder Jez Laurin. “We are a coalition of local organizations who want to ensure that our community knows not only that the Democrats are specifically complicit, but actively supporting the Democratic Party and the Biden administration- They're complicit in a genocide in Gaza, and we want people to know that and be aware of that as Harris is coming to campaign here. We believe that Harris is complicit, that the whole Biden administration is complicit in the genocide in Gaza, and we wanted to protest for that and advocate for a ceasefire and end to the occupation in Gaza.”
According to a report published by medical journal The Lancet on July 5th, projections for the total death toll in Gaza since Israel’s military campaign began last fall could be as high as 186,000 or more- around 8% of the densely populated region’s total population.
“We don't mind that [Harris] is campaigning, but we don't agree with her position on Gaza and Palestine and Israel. We don't appreciate that she continues to take funds from AIPAC and that she continues to fund the genocide in Gaza.”
According to Track AIPAC – a group that uses data from OpenSecrets.org and the Federal Election Commission to track Israeli lobbyist groups – Harris has received around $5.4 million from pro-Israel organizations. That includes both her time as a California U.S. Senator between 2017 and 2021 and money donated to the Biden presidential campaign she inherited when the president abandoned his re-election bid on July 21st.
Laurin laid out the groups’ demands.
“Divest from Israel. We don't want our taxes used to fund the genocide anymore, and we're sick of our taxes going to bomb children in Gaza. What I've seen every day from looking at the footage in Gaza is horrific. I've seen babies burned to cinders, and it's the most horrific thing, and I am disgusted that my taxes are being used to do that, to do that to innocent civilians. So, we want, as an organization, to divest from that and to stop using our taxes to fund the genocide. There are so many things that we could use those taxes for- Like, we could use that for affordable housing. We have a housing crisis in this county, and we'd rather our taxes go to providing homes for the homeless population that we see in this county, rather than the genocide.”
While she has backed Israel’s devastating Gaza offensive to date, Harris said she pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a ceasefire after a meeting last week and has spoken out about Palestinian civilian casualties since taking over the Democratic ticket.
“All that we seek to do today is to raise awareness and to march and to make people aware that there's a genocide happening in Gaza, and that Vice President Harris is complicit in that genocide. We aren't seeking to be destructive to the community. We are community members ourselves, and we don't want to harm the community with whatever we do here today. We are seeking to just raise awareness and educate people on the issue of the genocide in Gaza.”
Laurin says the Berkshires DSA chapter isn’t making any endorsements in November’s election.
“What we advocate as an organization is for people to really think about where their red line is, because both candidates at this point support the genocide, support the invasion of Gaza and the massacring of civilians. What we support is, we are advocating people to maybe think about voting third party or joining local organizations to try and build a better world ourselves locally, because locally is where we can have the most impact with our actions.”
Organizers say the Harris fundraiser – where Gaza was not mentioned – brought in $1.4 million for her presidential campaign.
