July 29, 2014

Contact: Alli McCracken, 860 575 5692, alli@codepink.org

Medea Benjamin, 415 235 6517, medea@codepink.org

Activists Hold Vigil For Gaza at Secretary of State John Kerry’s DC Home; Call for Secretary to Stand Up to Netanyahu

When: Tuesday, July 29 at 6pm-8pm

Where: 3322 O St NW, Washington DC

Washington DC –– On Tuesday, July 29 at 6pm, activists will gather outside the DC home of Secretary John Kerry, calling on him to stand tall against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and to push for a just ceasefire that includes lifting the siege of Gaza. Activists will commemorate the over 1,000 deaths, especially the hundreds of Palestinian children killed in the Israeli assault.

The group will have a gather at Kerry’s house at 6pm, then march through Georgetown and return for a candlelight vigil at the house.

Activists are encouraged that Kerry has recognized that “Palestinians can’t have a cease-fire in which they think the status quo is going to stay. Palestinians need to live with dignity, with some freedom, with goods that can come in and out, and they need a life that is free from the current restraints.”

But the US government continues to support Israel militarily and diplomatically, justifying Israel’s massive assault on civilians in Gaza and the civilian infrastructure as part of Israel “right to self defense.”

"Israeli actions targeting civilian infrastructure—hospitals, schools, electric power plants, sewage plants—indicate they are attempting to destroy not only Hamas, but  the people in Gaza.  I call on the United States Government to end its $3 billion annual military aid to Israel and work for a ceasefire that includes lifting the siege on Gaza.  It is predictable that as long as the siege continues, the rockets and tunnels will continue," says retired Colonel and diplomat Ann Wright.

“We want Kerry to recognize that the only way to end the violence is to guarantee full rights for Palestinians. Gaza must have open borders, an airport, a seaport, and the right to control its own territory,” says CODEPINK cofounder Medea Benjamin, who has been to Gaza six times.

Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. Even hospitals, schools, radio stations and power plants are being bombed by Israeli forces. As U.S. citizens whose tax dollars are underwriting this carnage, the activists call on Kerry to call for an end to the destruction of Gaza and for a just solution.

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