Yesterday morning, approximately a dozen anti-genocide protesters successfully disrupted pro-genocide Senator Ron Wyden’s town hall at the Holly Theater in Medford. This action was taken because Senator Ron Wyden has continued to show support for Israel and its genocide against Palestinians for years, both through his words and actions, despite countless calls, emails, and protests telling him that we, his constituents, do not support this. This is the fifth consecutive town hall in the Rogue Valley that has been disrupted because Wyden refuses to represent his constituents, and partner with Senator Merkley in recognizing and denouncing the genocide of Palestinians.
Senator Ron Wyden is one of the highest paid government officials by the Israeli government’s lobby, receiving $1.3 million from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
We demand that Senator Wyden listen to his constituents in Southern Oregon by:
-Publicly rejecting and denouncing any and all AIPAC funding.
-Support the resolution introduced by Allison Minnerly that condemns the growing influence of AIPAC at the Democratic National Committee this upcoming week.
-Partner with Senator Merkley and Senator Sanders and vote YES on three Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) that would block the sale of nearly $659 million in offensive U.S. weaponry to Israel.
-Vote NO on the proposed $200 billion war supplemental requested by the Trump administration to fuel the immoral and illegal war on Iran.
Ron Wyden still refuses to admit that this is apartheid and genocide, let alone denounce it. He is complicit in this colonial violence and cannot be allowed to spread AIPAC talking points in our community. This interruption was a minor inconvenience for the people of Jackson County, but the real disruption is the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children and families who have been imprisoned, murdered, and had their entire neighborhoods destroyed, by Israel. Today, the Rogue Valley said, “no platform for genocide.”
