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Genesee County Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America

Local members of Democratic Socialists protest war against Hamas in Gaza

By Howard B. Owens
palestine protest batavia
Photo by Howard Owens

Calling for an end to U.S. funding what they term "genocide" in Gaza, members of the Genesee County Democratic Socialists of America conducted a protest Saturday outside of  Batavia City Hall.

"A lot of people died, a lot of people are displaced," said Logan Cole, secretary for the group. "It's not only that, but they can't come back, they have nowhere to go. The rates of death, especially the death of children, rival that of historical incidences of genocide, including the Armenian Genocide and even some of the concentration camps back during the Holocaust."

Asked for his views on Hamas, Cole said, "Their tactics are not ones I support, but it is very difficult whenever you are held in an area, in an open-air prison, and I think historically, violence has become something that is sort of inevitable when you're putting so much pressure on a particular population."

Asked if Israel shouldn't defend itself against terrorists, Cole said, "I disagree with the characterization of terrorists. I don't think the word terrorists has a place in the discourse. I don't think it's appropriate. It's like, you know, the difference between Hamas, which has killed thousands of people, and the IDF (Israel Defense Force), which I also don't consider terrorists, which has killed tens of thousands of people, where their violence is sanctioned by the state. To me, that's a minor point. I think that I hope for a ceasefire. I hope to end funding the atrocities being committed against Palestinians and, eventually, a free Palestine that is pluralistic and democratic."

After the protest, Cole emailed The Batavian the text of a statement he made later in the day during the protest.  Here is the full statement:

So much of the discussion surrounding the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza is designed to derail conversation about atrocities being committed against Palestinians or prevent one from being sympathetic to those in Gaza. One of the rhetorical devices that has been frequently employed in the propaganda and conversation surrounding Palestine is the thought-terminating cliché. A thought-terminating cliché is an overused piece of language that is intended to stop an argument or conversation, rather than give it the attention it deserves.

For example, the word “terrorist” and the concept of terrorism are often used to try to halt discussion of Palestinian losses so people do not become sympathetic to them. At times, the Israeli media would take the figures of Palestinian casualties provided by the Gaza Health Ministry and say that all of them were terrorists — for example, Israeli news sources would say instead of 9,000 Palestinians killed (many of which were literally children), “9,000 terrorists eliminated.” As far as I’m concerned, the word “terrorist” has no place in the discourse about Palestine.

Sometimes, an important problem is marginalized because it is cynically deployed as a thought-terminating cliché. Bigotry against Jewish people has been a huge problem, as we recently saw at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and the synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh and Jersey City. Lately, speaking out against the atrocities committed against Palestinians and the Zionist (right-wing, nationalist) ideas that underpin them by groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and initiatives like BDS, has been deemed by some, including the Anti-Defamation League (the ADL), as “antisemitic.” Zionism is not Judaism — indeed there are more Zionist Christians in the United States than there are Jewish people in the world. Declaring an anti-Zionist statement is antisemitic solely on that basis is itself a form of anti-Jewish bigotry because it associates the entirety of Jewish people with the modern form of Zionism, which takes much of its inspiration from atrocious ideologies like Manifest Destiny and eugenics, which themselves were used to justify other genocides. Conflating anti-Zionism and anti-Jewish bigotry through the use of the term “antisemitism” takes attention from the real acts of hate and violence being committed against Jewish people every day. The use of antisemitism as a thought-terminating cliché hurts both Jewish and Palestinian people.

Ironically, perhaps the most commonly used thought-terminating cliché is the idea that the subject is complicated, complex, or that it requires nuance. Nothing ends a conversation or stops someone from asking questions faster than saying a situation is complicated.

The fact that there is a genocide in Gaza is not complicated:

  • More than 25,000 dead (more than 10,000 of them children)
  • More than 60,000 wounded
  • More than 7,000 trapped under rubble
  • More than 100 times as many children die everyday in Gaza than in the Ukrainian conflict zone
  • More than 1.9 million people have been displaced in Gaza — that’s more than 85% of the population
  • Only 5 doctors remain in Gaza
  • 83 out of ~1,000 journalists in Gaza have been killed (more than 8%)
  • More than 7,000 Palestinian political prisoners detained
  • More than 70% of homes have been destroyed in Gaza
  • 95% of those facing starvation in the world are in Gaza right now

It’s not complicated. We can’t stop thinking about Gaza. There needs to be a ceasefire, a halt to all US support for the military exploits against Palestine, no further Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, and a free Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

palestine protest batavia
Photo by Howard Owens

Democratic Socialists to host 'anti-fascists' teach-in at Austin Park during ReAwaken America Tour

By Press Release

Press release:

The Genesee County Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is organizing an antifascist teach-in on Saturday, August 13, from 1 to 4 p.m., at Austin Park to stand against the local stop of the “ReAwaken America Tour” (RAT).

The tour is “an opportunity for fascists to spread hate and recruit,” said Gina Schelemanow, a member of the ROC DSA Genesee County Branch Organizing Committee. “It is important to understand why they are doing this and actively stand against it.”

The August 12 and 13 stop was originally planned for the Main Street Armory in Rochester. A grassroots effort led by Rochester DSA (ROC DSA) [https://rocdsa.org/] and the Rochester Mutual Aid Network (RMAN) [https://rocmutualaid.com/] successfully pressured the owner of the venue to cancel the stop. The stop was then moved to the Cornerstone Church in Batavia.

During the teach-in speakers will argue that “demagogues like the RAT speakers take people’s justified anxiety and anger about the state of the country and the world and blame the weak for the decisions of powerful elites,” said Logan Wyatt Cole, a member of the ROC DSA Genesee County Branch Organizing Committee. “These people are desperate to stop working people from banding together to make the government work for us. They spread hate to turn us violently against each other—while they laugh all the way to the bank,” Cole added.

Schelemanow put the teach-in in context: “This is also a moment to come together as a larger Western New York community that has resisted the RAT for months and reflect on victories, as well as how to fight fascism locally in the future.”

The teach-in organizers have worked closely with organizers from the ROC DSA and RMAN. Several other organizations have urged supporters to attend the teach-in, including, locally, GLOW Women Rise.

Gina Schelemanow of Genesee County DSA urged opponents of fascism, opponents of Christian nationalism, and opponents of white supremacy to attend the teach-in. “While we will be three miles away from the hatefest, people who attend far-right events do have a history of aggressive behavior.” Schelemanow, therefore, suggested that parents exercise caution when deciding whether to bring children along. 

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