An anti-Israel rally in Dallas on Thursday took aim at the city council, mayor, and media organizations, claiming they were complicit in “genocide.”
In a handout passed out at the rally on October 19 obtained by The Dallas Express, the organizers said, “Over the last 10 days, we have seen the demonization and dehumanization of Palestinian people led by Western media.”
“The media makes clear its role in manufacturing consent for genocide — espousing racist tropes and making unverified claims – in order to green light endless wars of aggression that have resulted in the ethnic cleansing of Gaza,” the pamphlet claimed.
Held across the street from The Dallas Morning News office building, police were seen both on the street and monitoring from the roofs of surrounding buildings. Helicopters and drones were also in the sky. One small drone with a pro-Palestine cloth on it nearly crashed into a protester at one point after getting wrapped up in its own banner.
The Palestinian Youth Movement announced the rally on social media, saying, “DALLAS! The media is complicit!”
“Join us for an emergency rally for Gaza in front of the Dallas Morning News to demand the media to stop manufacturing consent for Palestinian genocide,” the post continued. “This isn’t just about the Dallas Morning News — ALL mainstream media are responsible for spreading lies used to justify the outright murder of Palestinians and undermine their right to resist oppression.”
As reported by The Dallas Express, both Hamas and Israel have blamed each other for the destruction of a hospital facility in Gaza. President Joe Biden and U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that the evidence suggests the explosion was caused by a faulty rocket fired by Hamas terrorists.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who sits as the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced that the committee “reviewed intelligence related to the attack on al-Ahili hospital in Gaza.”
“Based on this information, we feel confident that the explosion was the result of a failed rocket launch by militant terrorists and not the result of an Israeli airstrike,” he concluded.
The Dallas rally was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., but only a meager number of people were there at the outset. After waiting about a half hour more, the event organizers began instructing the crowd to avoid all contact with law enforcement, counter-protesters, and media. Ultimately, roughly 100 people attended, including organizers, members of the media, and unaffiliated observers. Many of the pro-Palestinian protesters masked their faces.
Organizers then requested that the crowd recite a chant by Black Panther Assata Shakur (born JoAnne Byron). Shakur is currently a fugitive from justice in Cuba, having been convicted of murdering a New Jersey state trooper in 1977.
Chants included militaristic calls for the destruction of Israel and veneration for Hamas members who died while committing terroristic actions against the nation.
“We will honor all our martyrs. All the children, sons and daughters,” the crowd shouted. “We will honor all our martyrs. All the parents, mothers, fathers.”
Specifically pointing to local news organizations, the group shouted, “Dallas media, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide.” A similar chant was made regarding “Western media” as well.
A representative for the Palestinian Youth Movement spoke from a makeshift pulpit to the crowd, claiming that the Dallas City Council and Mayor Eric Johnson were also complicit in “genocide,” particularly with respect to the hospital explosion in Gaza.
The speaker also denounced the city government for passing a resolution in support of Israel that condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas. As reported by The Dallas Express, the council unanimously denounced the wave of terror that left hundreds of Israelis dead, including men, women, children, and the elderly.
Mayor Johnson has also been vocal in his support of Israel’s self-defense, calling the Hamas attacks a “barbaric act of terrorism.”
For condemning Hamas, the pro-Palestinian protesters claimed the mayor was an accessory to the murder of those who died in the hospital explosion, which they claimed was undeniably caused by an Israeli attack.
“Eric Johnson, you can’t hide!” the crowd yelled. “We charge you with genocide.”
Pro-Palestinian organizations have held several rallies in Dallas since the Hamas attacks, including one a block away from the Dallas Holocaust Museum, as reported by The Dallas Express. At that rally, the group called for “one solution” against Israel, which involved an “intifada revolution.” Another protest was held in the shadow of Dallas City Hall the following weekend, where demonstrators similarly called for the destruction of Israel.
Other pro-Palestinian displays in the area have roped in Jewish members of the community. On the University of Texas at Dallas campus, rocks were painted with the Palestinian flag and the words “Zionism = Nazism.”
Dallas Jewish Conservative President Benji Gershon explained to The Dallas Express, “For them to write that Zionism equals Nazism and that people who love, support, and care about Israel are essentially Nazis — not only does it not make sense, it’s just disgusting.”
“We’re experiencing a modern-day Holocaust of sorts. There’s not been this many Israelis and Jews killed since the Holocaust,” he added. “It’s a modern-day pogrom.”
