A mom at a pro-Gaza protest outside of the White House couldn’t answer when asked by DailyMail.com about which river and sea are mentioned in a popular anti-Israel chant.
‘From the river to the sea Palestine will be free’ has become a rallying cry for Hamas terrorists and their supporters calling for the abolishment of Israel.
However, Adrienne, a mother of a sixth grader attending the ‘School Strike for Gaza’ protest told DailyMail.com that the chant is simply ‘referencing the historic land that is Palestine.’
‘So it’s not a call for violence. It’s not a call for the abolishment of Israel. It’s merely a call for the freedom of people who are occupied by a colonial power,’ she insisted.
But when pressed by DailyMail.com about whether she knows the names of the river and sea in the chant, she could not name them.
Adrienne responded ‘Yes, I do’ before lamenting about being asked ‘hostile questions’ and storming away without giving an answer.
The correct answer would be the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
‘Okay, it seems like you’re actually from a right-wing source that wants to ask hostile questions. And so at this point, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense for me to continue because I thought this was a journalistic interview and not an attack,’ Adrienne said before storming off.
During the testy interview, a protestor dawning a neon yellow traffic vest tried to intervene and cut off Adrienne from answering DailyMail.com’s questions.
‘Um, are you a spokesperson for the action?’ the vest-wearing organizer interrupted.
‘Actually, I’m being interviewed as a community member,’ Adrienne shot back.
‘We generally ask that people who have been media trained to actually talk to media, if that’s okay. Would it be cool to finish up here?’ the organizer continued.
‘I actually have extensive media training,’ Adrienne told the man.
‘So I understand your concern, absolutely. But we are on video right now. Yeah, so it’s a little awkward,’ she continued.
She had cornered the vest-wearing pro-Gaza organizer, forcing him to fold.
‘I can’t push you to do anything. Have a great day,’ he said before walking away.
‘Sorry about that,’ Adrienne told DailyMail.com.
In total, there were roughly 70 activists at the demonstration, which started blocks away from the White House before the group marched to Joe Biden’s current home.
Palestinian flags and keffiyehs were numerous, as were activists with megaphones and protest supporters lugging audio equipment, snacks, water and other commonly seen protest supplies.
There was also a sign reading ‘Queer youth for Palestine,’ indicating that the group had welcomed broad swaths of intersectional activists.
A group of high school students from the Washington, D.C. area held a protest to demand an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Roughly half of the attendants did not appear to be of high school age
Adrienne said she knew which river and sea the protestors we’re chanting about, but declined to say which ones before walking away from the interview
A demonstrator marched with a sign emblazoned with ‘Queer youth for Palestine!’
Before marching over to the White House, the event began blocks away at McPherson Square
A poster circulated on social media and encrypted messaging apps to tip off protestors to the planned demonstration
Besides the crotchety back-and-forth with the organizer and the claim that DailyMail.com’s questions were an ‘attack,’ Adrienne did provide interesting insights into the local pro-Palestinian movement.
The mother revealed that she has been apart of a group of local protest organizers responsible for aiding demonstrations across the area using group chats on the encrypted messaging service Signal to coordinate their actions.
‘I’ve been part of organizing D.C. residents – who are organizing in this area – to stop the genocide since this phase of the genocide started, and so I’m on a number of Signal groups.’
‘Right now we’re building on the momentum of the incredible encampment movement of university students and communities alongside them, which really saw its biggest example here in D.C. at the GW encampments, which as I’m sure you know, were violently evicted with the help of DC of DC police.’
She was referring to the large weeklong student protest at George Washington University that was broken up by police after the university president requested help from local law enforcement.
Earlier this month, D.C. police were asked by George Washington University’s president to clear the pro-Gaza student encampment after protestors refused to leave a school lawn for more than a week
The local law enforcement eventually cleared the camp early on May 8, leading to arrests
After the GW camp was cleared, workers removed tents, trash and remaining debris
Adrienne continued calling the police response ‘fascist’ and likened the university student’s experience to those of Palestinians living in Gaza during the war.
She said the encampment being cleared ‘has given the students even greater resolve and shown them that the fascist repression of their activism in solidarity with Palestinians is intimately linked to the kinds of oppressions that Palestinians are experiencing in their homeland.’
When DailyMail.com pressed her on whether D.C. police were indeed fascists, Adrienne responded ‘U.S. police officers, many forces around the country, are trained by Israelis.’
The sixth grader’s mother also slammed Biden for his support of Israel, and noted how there is an organized effort to write in ‘Gaza’ for the upcoming D.C. Democrat primary elections.
‘He’s supporting a genocide,’ Adrienne said of the president.
‘And there are a lot of people in the United States who don’t support genocide and that’s putting his victory and the victory for Democrats at risk.’
‘Voters have made that clear around the country with uncommitted campaigns. And here in DC there is a campaign for people to write in a vote for Gaza at the Democratic primary.’
At the event, flyers were distributed urging D.C. Democrat primary voters to not vote for President Joe Biden but instead write in ‘Gaza’ as the candidate they wish to support
The flyers made sure to indicate that writing in ‘Gaza’ would not help Donald Trump
Simone, a high schooler who spent weeks organizing the event, slammed Biden for promising to halt the Israel-Hamas war, but then not fulfilling his pledge
Another protestor, Simone – a local high school student who helped organize the event – also did not mince words about Biden’s approach to the war.
‘He just gave a speech at Morehouse. And it’s like ‘we’re gonna put an immediate stop to like the genocide happening in Gaza.’ But then he came back to DC and was actually ‘kind of still have to send them money.”
‘It’s like he’s just consistently like lying to us.’
Simone could not understand why Biden was not meeting protestors demands.
‘We’re asking for something extremely simple, and you’re just like, ‘I’m gonna keep funding it’ so it keeps happening.’
‘We’re also demanding that they stop funding the genocide in general, like specifically for Biden to stop funding the genocide that’s happening in Gaza right now,’ she continued.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk