Loading ...Bernie Sanders campaign says pro-Palestine activists should never have been kicked out of Boston rally
Pro-Palestine student activists said they were asked to leave Bernie Sanders’ rally Saturday in Boston if they did not take down a sign asking, “Will Ya #FeelTheBern 4 Palestine??!”
Demonstrating in the overflow area outside the Boston Convention Center, the activists said they received a “warm welcome” from Sanders supporters, until they were approached by event staff.
“They told us to either put the sign away or leave,” Sana Hashmani, one of the student activists, told The Intercept, which first reported the incident. “We asked why, and they said that Bernie’s campaign staff had said the sign had to go.”
But Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver told Boston.com Monday night that the incident ”100 percent” should not have happened and that the staffer never should have asked the students to take the sign down.
Weaver said the individual, whom he described as a “low-level volunteer,” will no longer be working campaign events.
“We’ve communicated to our staff to make sure nothing like this happens again,” he said.
Weaver also said he reached out to the three individuals asked to leave to let them know the incident should not have happened and to apologize on behalf on the campaign.
A cell phone video posted Sunday on YouTube by the Boston chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine shows an event staffer telling the activists that Sanders campaign staff had requested they take the sign down or leave.
After the activists briefly contest the reasoning behind the request, the video shows the staffer asking them to leave, followed by security staff giving a verbal trespass warning.
“I’m verbally trespassing you. If you come back, you will be arrested,” a security staffer says.
At the request of one of the students, the security staffer gives him his ID number as he escorts them off the property.
On Facebook, the Boston Students for Justice in Palestine shared a statement on the events Monday night:
On Saturday, October 3, members of Boston Students for Justice in Palestine attended the Bernie Sanders rally with a sign that read “Will Ya #feeltheBern 4 Palestine?”. We held our sign quietly and respectfully in the overflow area, and did not block any of the rally screenings or walkways. We received a warm welcome from surrounding Bernie supporters and rally participants, many of whom also carried signs.
Within minutes of arriving, we were approached by police and venue staff and told that the Bernie Sanders campaign team requested we take down our sign (see video). To our knowledge, no other individuals were asked to do the same. After we were told to take our sign down, we began filming our interaction with police and staff. We were immediately given a verbal trespass order and threatened with arrest.
We understand that in American politics, the mere mention of “Palestine” often stirs controversy, but polls show that a growing and increasingly diverse segment of the American population sympathizes with the Palestinian struggle for freedom and equality. This is especially true of young people like us. These numbers will only grow as more Americans become aware of Israeli human rights abuses and discriminatory policies and recognize that supporting Palestinian freedom, justice and equality is a progressive value.
We have discussed the incident with Sanders’s campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, who expressed regret about how we were treated and acknowledged that our sign was “appropriate” and “in the spirit of many other signs there.” We are eager to engage in a dialogue about inclusivity and the elevation of under-represented voices. Sanders speaks up for those hurt by low wages, gender inequality, school tuition, corporate power, and climate change. Recently, he released a broad policy platform to address systemic racism. We want him to also speak up for those hurt by US foreign policy and military aid: we want him to speak up on Palestine. We hope that Sanders and other presidential candidates will seriously consider our government’s role in Israel’s human rights abuses as they shape their foreign policy platform.
The student group did not immediately return requests for further comment Monday night.
Source: www.boston.com