One Year of Genocide, One Year of Resistance

This is a speech by USPCN-Chicago member Nadiah Alyafai at the Oct. 5th rally and march in Chicago commemorating one year of Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people.

One Year of Genocide, One Year of Resistance

My name is Nadiah Alyafai and I am a proud Yemeniyeh who is a member of the United States Palestinian Community Network.

This month, October, marks a year into the genocide of Gaza. However, it is clear and understood that the racist, settler colonial, zionist, and apartheid state of Israel has been colonizing, ethnic cleansing, and occupying Palestine for the past 75+ years. The cycle of the violent zionist regime continues.

In these past weeks, we witnessed a rise in the escalations and the expanded genocide in Lebanon. Over 1,000 and counting have been martyred. The same criminal tactics employed by the IOF [Israeli Occupation Forces] in Gaza are being mirrored in Lebanon—deliberately targeting ambulances, hospitals, and vital infrastructure, leaving ruin and carnage behind.

Just days ago, Israel bombed Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestine all within the same day, showing an alarming disregard for human life and international norms, something that is not new to our people. This relentless assault would not be possible without the unwavering support of the U.S. government, which has greenlit this genocide for far too long. The Biden administration continues to funnel billions of dollars and weapons to Israel, all while spouting empty rhetoric about working toward a ceasefire. We see through this facade and we call BS.

And let’s not overlook the complicit politicians—like Senator Dick Durbin, like Tammy Duckworth, Sean Casten, and Jan Schakowsky – who refuse to take a real stand against these atrocities. Their silence, or even worse, their vocal support for the genocidal state of Israel, is a betrayal of the so-called progressive and democratic values that they claim to uphold. Everywhere they go and speak and do their election season fundraisers, we must be there to remind them of their complicity, of their responsibility, because they have the blood of 42,000 Palestinians on their hands!

And SHAME on Pritzker and his treasurer Michael (I don’t even know how to say his last name [Frerichs]) and the entire state of Illinois for investing in the Israeli government bonds and supporting zionist terrorism, especially, especially when Chicago is home to one of the largest Palestinian communities in the U.S. This investment is not just a financial decision; it is a moral failure that sends a clear message: that the lives of Palestinians are disposable, secondary to political and financial interests.

And that’s why we are out here today, we must continue in our protests and escalate our actions. If this complicit U.S. government won’t stop the genocide and end all aid to Israel, then we, the people, will do it! That includes Palestinians, includes Arabs and our siblings from Black, Latinx, Asian, African, Native, progressive white, and other communities – we must do it! We have no other choice.

And we saw the presidential debates, and the way that both parties made it evident that they unequivocally support Israel. So no doubt, come November we will remember the politicians who are complicit, and remember the politicians who stood up for us.

Take today to remind ourselves of the resilience and resistance of our people. From Yemen and Iraq, whose people have stood in unwavering support for Gaza and Palestine since the beginning of the genocide. Despite enduring more than 860 raids and acts of aggression from American, British, and Israeli forces, Yemenis still fill the streets by the millions every week, and halt any zionist cargo entering the Red Sea.

To Lebanon, which supported Gaza for a year by deterring Israel from the north and forcing tens of thousands of Israeli settlers to leave our land that they stole, the north of occupied Palestine; and successfully preventing Israel from a ground invasion in the south of Lebanon, even while Israel continues its terrorist attacks against the Lebanese people.

To Palestine and Gaza, facing a genocide that we watch in real time, yet continue to resist and defend our land and people, creating an example of hope for the rest of the world.

We see through the rhetoric of victory proclaimed by the U.S. and Israel, which is nothing more than a façade. Our movement is gaining strength, our support is growing, and their lies are being exposed. So, we are winning.

The U.S. is clearly threatened by this united front, and our collective strength only fuels our determination to stand firm against U.S. imperialism, against zionist oppression, and against colonialism.

And we know, we know that once Gaza and Palestine are liberated, and the zionist state of Israel falls, it will pave the path of liberation for everyone.

And we will all be celebrating that liberation together in a free Palestine, from the river to the sea!

Nadiah Alyafai, MC speech for Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine protest in downtown Chicago, Illinois

Saturday, October 5th, 2024