Zionists Get Violent - Protesting "Heroes of Israel" Event in Florida
Channel: CODEPINK
Date: 2024-03-22

SHAME ON ZIONIST “HEROES”!

On Sunday, the Zionist Organization of America held a "Heroes of Israel" awards banquet with “honorees” such as Rep. Brian Mast, Sen. Marco Rubio, and a video appearance from disgraced attorney Alan Dershowitz. Members of CODEPINK South Florida, Christians for a Free Palestine, and other peace organizations protested the genocide-supporting event.

The protest aimed to expose and discredit the narrative perpetuated by Mast and similar proponents of the Zionist project. By disrupting the event, the coalition hoped to shed light on the true implications of supporting such ideologies and actions. The protesters were met with Zionist counter-protesters who assaulted the non-violent peace activists.

Inside the event, a disruptor called for a ceasefire before Brian Mast received his genocide supporter award. A chant of the counter-demonstrators was "Finish Gaza."

In the early part of the demonstration, 10 to 12 counter-protesters were holding the Israeli flag, taunting the peaceful demonstration. At one point, one of them came across the street and attacked one of our protesters, leading to a broken nose and black eyes. Police did not arrest the attacker even though they had clear video evidence of the assault. 

However, the police brutally repressed the peace activists through the arrest of a peaceful bicyclist who stopped in support of anti-zionist actions. Pro-peace activists were threatened and kicked by police. Meanwhile, the police allowed physical attacks and assaults by Zionist counter-demonstrators on the peace activists that resulted in one broken nose. 

As the demonstration went on, and the pro-Palestinian side chanted peacefully and held their signs, Zionist counter-protesters grew in number and aggression to the point where police had to hold them off. They brought auditorium speakers and played electronic club music with Zionist messaging in an attempt to disrupt the pro-Palestinian songs and chants. Eventually, the police ordered them to unplug the speakers because of noise nuisance.

Thumbnail photo by Matt Abban
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