Elisabeth Geshiere climbs down from the Mount of Olives

There was a rally and march Saturday, Jan. 17, at Loring Park to protest the murder of over 1,200 Palestinians by the Israelis.  One of the speakers was Elisabeth Geschiere.  Here is what she said:

Elisabeth Geschiere spoke at the Free Palestine Rally Saturday, Jan. 17.

I was raised a Christian, but I never understood why religion focused so much on what happens to all of us in the next life when there are so many needs to take care of in this life.

Just a few months ago when I was climbing down the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, which is in the Palestinian half of Jerusalem under international law, I came across an interesting sticker on a steel pole. It declared: “God will not resurrect those who do not save his creation.” Now, it is essential to the story to know that Muslims, Jews and Christians all believe that the Messiah will come back, or come for the first time, to the Mount of Olives.

So the sticker contains an interesting pun; it seems to have an environmentalist message while it is talking about resurrection after life. But its location in what could be called Palestine, though it’s not officially recognized as a state, causes me to think that it is a reminder to all those religions who consider themselves “Children of Abraham” to focus on saving the oppressed people of this world, those in great need now, if they hope for resurrection of the body and spirit in this life and in the next.

When I was preparing for this speech, I came across sayings of Rachel Corrie, a woman killed by an Israeli Defense Force bulldozer when she was trying to defend a Palestinian doctor’s home from being demolished.  I suppose that one reason I am here is that I, like Rachel Corrie, have a “will to optimism” and a hope that believes that if people only knew of the genocide that was occurring in Palestine, if we only educated them, then they would care. That is what this is about. This is about saying, “This is what is going on,” and it is up to you to stand up for justice. And as we have been chanting at these events, there can be no peace without justice.

NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!
I would also like to share that I am motivated to fight for this cause of justice for the Palestinian people because when I traveled in the West Bank and Israel, it became obvious to me that justice is not building walls that are 3-5 feet thick and 30 feet high, or higher.  That is not justice. Killing people to “solve your problem” is not justice. Dividing communities or segregating people will not create justice or peace.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must find an alternative to war and bloodshed. Anyone who feels, and there are still a lot of people who feel this way, that war can solve the social problems facing humankind is sleeping through a great revolution. Now the question we face today is this: In light of the fact that the oppressed people of the world are rising up against oppression, the question is this: How will the struggle for justice be waged?”

I think this rally is one way that we are waging justice. We will continue to call for justice and human rights for the Palestinian people, and for all oppressed people of the world, until we are heard. FREE, FREE PALESTINE! PALESTINE DON’T YOU CRY, PALESTINE WILL NEVER DIE!