A group of pro-Palestine groups will hold a rally Friday at Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Bath, Maine, to “protest the ongoing building of weaponry that feeds the imperialist genocide.”
BIW is a shipyard that has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics since 1995, one of the largest defense companies in the world.
The rally will be held Friday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m., and participating organizations will include Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights, Students for Justice in Palestine groups from various colleges in the state, the Communist Maine Party for Socialism & Liberation, Portland CONFRONT, and the Maine Natural Guard, according to a Monday press release.
Update: This story was corrected to list the “Maine Natural Guard” as one of the participating groups.
The rally will take place just over two months after the Islamist militant organization Hamas led an incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing approximately 1200 Israelis and taking almost 250 civilians and soldiers captive as hostages.
Since the Oct. 7 attack, Israel has conducted an ongoing extensive bombardment and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in an effort to eliminate the terrorist organization.
[RELATED: Five Maine Socialists Arrested at Rep. Chellie Pingree’s Portland Office Amid Pro-Palestine Protest…]
The rally’s Facebook event page states that BIW is “currently making enormous profits from Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza.”
“BIW makes deadly warships that act as delivery systems for nuclear weapons that serve US military-imperialist interests, and they’re made right here in New England,” the event page reads. “We must not allow the genocidal machine to continue. We must take our action straight to the production of the war machine at the heart of the empire: Bath, Maine, USA.”
[RELATED: RFK Jr Confronted by Pro-Palestine Heckler Calling for Ceasefire at Portland Event…]
The Maine Coalition for Palestine lists the following as “Principles of Unity” for the rally:
- We demand that Maine’s elected officials call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza;
- We call for an end to apartheid in Israel and an end to US military aid of Israel;
- We believe that the voices of Palestinian people must be centered in the struggle for Palestinian liberation;
- We support the liberation and freedom of all oppressed peoples;
- We recognize the inherent connections between the oppression of Palestinian people and settler colonialism in the United States.
The event encourages “covid protocol,” “masking during actions,” and “sanitizing shared surfaces.”
Additionally, the event page emphasizes “consciousness for prayer direction for Muslim folks during actions,” “connecting and intersectional analysis involving colonialism in Wabankik/So-called Maine/Turtle Island [sic],” and “anti-oppression principles; not using ableist language or behaviors.”
[RELATED: Israeli-owned Business in Portland Targeted with Pro-Palestine Flyer…]
Maine State Rep. and 2024 CD-2 Congressional candidate Austin Theriault (R-Fort Kent) slammed the rally’s spokesperson Sam Pfeifle in a post to X Monday.
“Socialist Pro-Hamas groups are going to picket Bath Iron Works for its role in making the world a safer place for Jews,” Rep. Theriault wrote. “This type of hate doesn’t belong in Maine or anywhere else.”
Good luck on your quest morons! Oh and F… Palestine!!
Hogwash! Educate yourselves! Reportedly Palestinians by the thousands followed their terrorists into Israel to murder and loot. As well, they elected Hamas as their government. The tribe that sent Rashida Tlaib to Congress did not intend to assimilate into American culture. They brought their political war with them with the intent to complete their Muslim agenda. For legitimate reasons Arab countries won’t take in the Palestinians – why should America?!! In my opinion, Rashida Tlaib should have the tattoo of a burning baby on her forehead. Unfortunately, I am convinced she would wear it proudly!
COMMUNIST China has 340 warships compared to the U.S. at @ 300. Are the COMMUNIST Chinese ships just Duck boats carrying tourists?
Nothing says “loser” louder than members of a coalition of COMMUNISTS. I’m hoping a coalition of union pipe fitters, welders electricians and laborers take an extended lunch break Friday.
Do they even know what apartheid means? Or did they just find it in a dusty old chest full of bumper stickers from the past?
Guess this bunch can’t tell the difference between an arms manufacturer and a ship builder. BIW doesn’t make the munitions or weapons, and it does not build military vessels exclusively.
But it’s useless to try to present logic, reality, and/or facts to folks like this – they are exactly what Isaac Asimov warned us about 50+ years ago – a cultural mindset in America that has bred the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
Pass the Kool-Aid.
…PLEASE glue yourselves to the hull of the next sea trials!
“We Demand”…. in my best Howie Carr Boston accent.. “Who da hal cahrs”?….
Let them protest all they want to but don’t give them any publicity whatsoever and they will eventually go away with their tails between their legs realizing that they accomplished nothing. The bigger issue is that these protesters are the product of completely dysfunctional democratic libertard households where they were taught this dreck by parents who should never have been allowed to procreate.
Wow I am not in Maine at this time and sad that I can not attend this protest with my Israeli flag!
Due to having freedom of speech, I’m o.k. with them protesting. I am also o.k. with KKK and BLM protesting too, as long as it’s a peaceful assembly. I believe the slippery slope toward oppression begins with silencing those we disagree with. I do disagree with this group however. I find it rather humorous that the Americans supporting this, also support most lifestyle, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation that the very group they support, would kill them over. And have killed those practicing those beliefs we tout as an enlightened society’s right to practice. Sadly, those who hold anti-semitic beliefs have been on the wrong side of history. This is for a very real reason: Hate instills and expands hate. Hate attracts hate. It is easy to give into hate. It is hard to walk away. Many say Hamas wants peace. Well, if that were true, then all they have to do is surrender. It’s no more complicated than that. There is no “moral high ground” here. The cry of ” But they, they did…..” in response is nothing more than a deflection not a cure. The horrific attacks have solved nothing, the rapes, have solved nothing. The barbarism, has solved nothing. I heard a person who supported this attack say that they must fight, until it’s over, they (Jews) are gone. The 60’s had a phrase for that “Fighting for peace is like having sex for virginity”.
But protesting at BIW? BIW is quite frankly the world, in miniature. We are black, white, Indian, Canadian., Vietnamese, Jamaican. We are Christian, Jews, Muslims and Atheist. We are single, married, gay, straight and all levels in between. And yes, surprisingly, we almost all profess to not supporting the type of violence shown by Hamas. Yes, we build “war” ships. War ships that have been used as floating hospitals, water suppliers, food for many who have suffered catastrophic loss. Yes, even when attacked, we have defended ourselves and others.
We’ve seen protests in other states. Road blockages, and the like. There are thousands that work at BIW. Protest if you feel called to. But engage workers who’ve worked all day, will work this weekend too, are hungry, tired, and want to go home, will not hesitate to explain in terms that you might not appreciate, why that isn’t appreciated. Protest and then leave by 3 p.m.
Someone said BIW doesn’t build military vessels exclusively, then ranted about logic, reality, ignorance, and drinking Kool-Aid.
Fact: BIW has built military vessels exclusively for decades.
Fact: Israel has bombarded Gaza with destructive power exceeding that of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Only American conservatives could attack abortion, then ignore babies rotting in beds of forcibly-evacuated hospitals.
The groupthink is getting disgusting.
Most of the comments are thoughtful and fairly well thought out, there are a couple that are obviously leftist(communist) propaganda that lacks facts and knowledge much like the anti-Americans that intend to protest. Fact: not one Arab country will take Palestinians in. Why? Because they are nothing but trouble, they have continually shot missiles into Israel for decades, even thou Israel left scores of buildings and homes in parts of the imaginary state of Palestine. And even during the ceasefire missiles were fired into Israel. These groups are in large part an absolute failure of the school systems in the US. The age old adage holds true “Those that can do, those that can’t teach”. And the teachings that are controlled by the teachers unions is pathetic and disgraceful! We as a country educationally have fallen done the list behind so many other countries, teaching far left propaganda without history, science, usable math, but hate America is in nearly all classes along with the gender dysphoria, marxism, communism, and socialism(the last three have never added to the welfare of humanity). I watch as school boards no longer represent the parents or citizens and push the mentally debilitating agendas that support this idiocy of defending animals of evil!