Above photo: Chicago protest in solidarity with Palestine and Yemen. Fight Back! News/Alec Ozawa.
Chicago, IL – Over 750 protesters braved the coldest weekend of this winter so far on Saturday, January 13 to demand that the U.S. and its allies take their hands off Yemen and end their support of Israel’s genocide in Palestine.
The protesters spoke in favor of Yemen’s naval blockade against Israel as well as in support of South Africa charging the apartheid state with genocide at the International Court of Justice. This was the latest in a string of weekly protests organized by the Coalition for Justice in Palestine since October 7, 2023.
In addition to the usual chants of “Free Palestine” and “No more money for Israel’s crimes” protesters chanted “Yemen, Yemen stand your ground. Turn another ship around.”
“Yemen’s message to the world is that there will be no business as usual unless the Zionist state of Israel and its partners stop the genocide in Gaza,” said Nadiyah Alyafai, a Yemeni member of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), explaining why Yemen has been blocking ships in the Red Sea that are doing business with apartheid Israel.
Protesters condemned the series of airstrikes that have killed people in Yemen, mostly perpetrated by the U.S. and UK.
“It seems the British did not get enough after we sent them home with their tails between their legs in our war for independence in 1967. So, we will do the same now!” declared Omar Al-Yemeni, also a member of USPCN.
“Yemen is stopping the killing of civilians. The U.S. and UK are protecting their assets. Now the world can see how the Western powers prioritize profit over the people,” said Yasmin from Students for Justice in Palestine. “Meanwhile, South Africa’s decision to bring Israel to the International Court of Justice is a powerful act of solidarity.”
“All the countries who supported apartheid in South Africa are now supporting apartheid in Palestine,” said Kobi Guillory, co-chair of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. “Those of us who are oppressed by imperialism have to unite and fight back.”
Protesters resolved to continue pressuring U.S. politicians to stop their support for Israel’s genocide.
Nadiyah Alyafai added, “We tell Joe Biden: ‘Get your bloody hands off our homelands!’”