A group of demonstrators gathered at the local Democratic Party headquarters in Harrisonburg on Saturday, urging party leaders to take action to end the war in Gaza. WMRA's Calvin Pynn reports.
(sound of protestors talking amongst themselves)
It was a small gathering, slightly more than a dozen people, but they showed up with a clear demand for Democrats: "stand up to Israel, and protect Palestinians."
The demonstration was in response to a bombing campaign that marked an end to the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and the Trump administration's plan to remove Palestinians from Gaza. Last year a similar coalition persuaded Harrisonburg City Council to adopt a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
This time, the group signed a petition penned by Bruce Busching, a retired sociology professor from James Madison University.
BRUCE BUSCHING: As a party, we are asking: stand up, do more than, as a party, ask for funding and contributions. Do more than ask for volunteers.
Organizer Michael Snell-Feikema also detailed some next steps.
MICHAEL SNELL-FEIKEMA: Just thinking of some concrete things that could be done is that we could ask the local Democratic Party to pass a resolution condemning the genocide or the ethnic cleansing in Gaza – in, really, in Palestine – and calling for cutting off military aid and military diplomatic support for Israel.
The group delivered the petition to the Harrisonburg Democratic Committee before leaving the headquarters. The committee had no comment regarding the petition.
