No Drones Illinois has endorsed the following call by Anti-War Committee – Chicago, Jews for Justice in Palestine, U.S. Palestinian Community Network and 8th Day Center for Justice:
UPI coverage
Progress Illinois video
NBC Chicago coverage
Photos by Matt McLoughlin:
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| Joe Iosbaker of the Anti-War Committee details the reasons Boeing should be dropped by the City of Chicago as a sponsor of its annual Air and Water Show. |
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| Hatem Abudayyah spoke on behalf of U.S. Palestinian Community Network. Palestinian-Americans in Chicago — the largest population of Palestinian-Americans in the country — have called for Boeing to be dropped from the Air and Water Show based on its role supplying weapons used to kill Palestinians in Gaza. |
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| Ashley Bohrer from Jews for Justice in Palestine stressed the determination of many Jews to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. |
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| A die-in dramatized the killings by Israel of 1300+ civilians in Gaza, using the fighter jets and attack helicopters of Boeing. |
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| Press conference attendees say Boeing is enabling the genocide in Gaza. |
Boeing Company is a major sponsor of Chicago’s annual Air and Water Show this summer. Many people come to the lake shore every year to see displays of jets and other aircraft.
Boeing weaponry are responsible for many of the over 1000 dead and over 6000 seriously wounded Palestinians in Gaza in the past three weeks. The dead are mostly civilians, including over 200 children. Israel’s fighter jets – the F15s and F16s – as well as Apache helicopters are all made by Boeing.
Boeing has made billions from the sale of weapons for use in Israel’s attacks, as part of its eight year old siege of Gaza.
The City of Chicago should drop Boeing from the sponsors of the Air and Water Show. No company that makes profit from the slaughter of civilians should be included.
Protest initiated by: Anti-War Committee – Chicago, Jews for Justice in Palestine, U.S. Palestinian Community Network and 8th Day Center for Justice. Endorsed by: Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo, Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights, Chicago Faith Coalition on Middle East Policy, Illinois Coalition Against Torture, American Friends Service Committee, Jewish Voice for Peace
Related posts
Now that the Israeli government’s killings in Gaza are front-page news — particularly the way military aircraft is being used to mow down innocent men, women, and children — Boeing’s involvement is in everyone’s face.
(See Boeing Has an Israel Problem . . . and Chicago Has a Boeing Problem)
Year after year, hundreds of thousands of people from Chicago and the surrounding area gather on the lakeshore to watch aerial displays by an array of planes. Most don’t suspect that they are being subjected to an intense propaganda effort by multiple branches of the U.S. military. The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo views this as a perfect opportunity to engage with the public and enlist them in the growing movement against U.S. war, torture, surveillance, and other crimes. We will join activists from many other peace and justice groups who have had a growing presence at this event in recent years.
As reported on local TV news, at Fight Back News, and by Progress Illinois, Dozens of activists came to the Field Museum in Chicago last Monday (4/28) to speak out against Boeing’s involvement in developing the next generation of killer drone.
(See Activists Challenge Boeing to Disinvest from Drone Research )