Al-Awda NY, the NY Chapter of Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, brought the movement for justice and liberation in Palestine to the Long Island home of notorious extremist Zionist settler Justin “Yaakov” Fauci on Tuesday, July 27. Fauci moved from New York to invade and steal Palestinian lands including the Al-Kurd family home and became notorious for publicly admitting his crime when he stated, “If I don’t steal it, someone else is gonna” as he invaded the Palestinian home.
“It is a violation of U.S. federal law for Americans to engage in war crimes and genocide, it is shocking that there is impunity for such open acts of violence, and it is outrageous that New York State actively shelters, promotes and celebrates such violence, which is itself also a crime,” said attorney Lamis Deek.
In East Meadow, the organizers delivered mock eviction notices to Fauci’s home and posted “Wanted” posters around the area while wearing t-shirts bearing the notorious statement Fauci made as he casually invaded the Al-Kurd home, reading, “If I don’t steal it someone else is gonna steal it = home invasion, genocide and Zionist extremism.”
Michelle Munjanattu, a member of Al-Awda New York noted that “Hempstead County officials are promoting Zionist extremism and punishing speech critical of Israeli violence by imposing the grossly unconstitutional IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.” Under Councilmen Esposito and Blakeman, Hempstead was twinned with an Israeli settler-colony built on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank and dedicated a plaza to settler spokesman David Friedman, who calls for the colonization of all of Palestine.
“These councilmen are celebrating anti-Palestinian violence and sending a message to Palestinians that they are not safe in New York or in Palestine. Our government should e work to protect all our communities and not exhorting them to export violence, to break US laws, and legislating anti-Palestinian racism. This has to end, and the Hempstead IHRA Executive Order issued must be struck down,” said Suzanne Adely, president-elect of the National Lawyers Guild.
Following the action at Fauci’s home, Al-Awda NY, together with the NY4Palestine Coalition, which includes American Muslims for Palestine – New Jersey Chapter, Existence Is Resistance, Within Our Lifetime: United for Palestine, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, and allied groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace – New York City, protested outside the Brooklyn office of New York Attorney General Letitia James to draw attention to New York-based Zionist nonprofits helping settlers – like Fauci himself – to participate in the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians.
The event was also attended by a large contingent of Neturei Karta.
The protesters urged New York Attorney General Letitia James to shut down and revoke the non-profit, tax-exempt status of groups which are funding war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine. The groups are also demanding an end to New York-based Zionist extremism, and calling on New York communities and government officials to stop aiding and normalizing war criminals operating in the state.
“The U.N. Human Rights Commission Rapporteur recently decried settlements as war crimes, and New York private and government actors are actively abetting war crimes, violence and genocide in Palestine with wholesale impunity. This must end if Palestine and the region can ever see peace,” said attorney Audrey Bomse, a member of Al-Awda New York and the National Lawyers Guild.
“It’s appalling that government officials like DeBlasio are denouncing an ice cream company for partially withdrawing from Israeli-invaded lands while sheltering war criminal organizations right here in New York,” added Daniel Teehan, a member of Al-Awda New York.
Deek gave another powerful speech at the rally. She closed by saying, “This will be the first of many actions to demand the closure and prosecution of Israeli apartheid and war crime perpetrators. New Yorkers want our taxes to be used to support our communities here instead of being used to destroy communities and commit high crimes in Palestine.”
