Palestine Saturday Rallies at Legislature and UVic Encampment

225 Palestine supporters rallied at the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Victoria for the thirtieth weekend in a row, while the UVic encampment held its own family-friendly rally several kilometres uptown.

Since both events competed for attention, a lower turnout at the Legislature was to be expected. What came as a bit of a surprise, however, was the absence of wardens, all the regulars instead staying at the encampment. Their absence was particularly missed since several Zionists showed up, but fortunately the crowd almost completely ignored them, their taunting attempts going to waste—to the relief of organisers, of course.

This rally’s emphasis was on divestment efforts, to keep in line with the UVic encampment’s demands. Google particularly stood out this time, not only for its Project Nimbus, a dystopian AI surveillance project enabling the Israeli government to track Palestinians, but also for firing several of its employees in retaliation for staging a sit-in at two of its offices in protest.

Also notable is that two speeches today coincidentally referred to writings of Albert Einstein, who wrote to the New York Times in 1948, condemning the paramilitary wing of Zionism in the strongest terms, and another to a Zionist supporters’ society, blaming the British for an eventual “final catastrophe” in Palestine which is indeed unfolding as I type these words more than 75 years later.

I left the rally halfway through an uneventful march and rushed to the University of Victoria, which had just announced a family-friendly rally of its own. I arrived late, but in time to listen to part of a lecture, attended by two dozen people, on Palestinian resistance and parallels with previous protest movements in the West, such as those opposing the Apartheid and the Vietnam war. The speaker pointed out today was the fifty-fourth anniversary of the Kent State University shooting, which saw the death of four student protesters to rounds fired by the National Guard, an ominous reminder amid a wave of brutal police repression on campuses, but nothing compared to life and resistance in Gaza where children throw the rubble of their own homes at the occupier.

There were other activities, such as an art build, dancing, and of course a warm dinner. I didn’t stay long, but met several regulars of Saturday marches who made the effort to show up after today’s rally. Most gave me a sense they wanted to catch a glimpse of History being made before their eyes. Because fifty years from now, future generations will look back at the events we document today for inspiration in their own struggles, just like we look back to black-and-white pictures from the past two or three generations building the society we currently live in.

UPDATE: The encampment has just received an effective trespass notice from the university. This could mean imminent involvement by law enforcement and raises the threat of escalation and arrests.