Pro-Palestinian, Anti-Zionist, Anti-CNN Protest in NYC in Support of Fired CNN Contributor Marc Lamont Hill

On December 1, 2018, a pro-Palestine, anti-Zionist, and anti-CNN protest was held in New York City following CNN's firing of Marc Lamont Hill over comments about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the United Nations. Nancy Mansour, who is the founder of the pro-Palestinian organization "Existence is Resistance," said that the Zionists pressured CNN to fire Hill, and that she hopes this will be the beginning of a real fight against "anti-Semitic, white supremacist Zionists." Zacharia Barghouti  of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) said that the PYM recognizes that Israel cannot be a Jewish ethno-state and democratic simultaneously. Alexi Shalom from "In Our Lifetime – United for Palestine" said that Israel is not a state and that anti-Zionism is the fulfillment of the human rights of oppressed people all over the world. Activist Pam Africa said that "these filthy low-down motherfuckers" are taking land all over the globe and accused the Zionists of "hollering" about the Holocaust while simultaneously trying to silence Hill.

Professor Johanna Fernandez from the Department of Black and Latino Studies at Baruch College, New York, said that U.N. Resolution 242 grants colonized people the right to defend themselves by any means necessary, which started a chant. Michael Letwin of "Labor for Palestine" compared Marc Lamont Hill's situation to the "political lynching" of Dr. Martin Luther King and said that Israel is not a people or a country; rather, it is an apartheid regime. Michela Martinazzi of "Committee to Stop FBI Repression" said that CNN is a mouthpiece of liberal Zionists, and that there is no such thing as a good Zionist, since Zionists' identities are predicated on slaughtering Palestinians and stealing their land. The video of the protest was uploaded to the Internet on December 2, 2018.

Following are excerpts:

Nancy Mansour: "We are outraged that CNN, [which] is shitty anyway, terminated Dr. [Marc Lamont] Hill over his comments at the United Nations, which we call the United Nothing…

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"Dr. Hill said that everybody should be free from the river to the sea, and the Zionists got hurt, so they pressured CNN to silence the realest journalist that speaks for the people.

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"I'm hoping that this will be the beginning of a real fight against anti-Semitic, white supremacist Zionists."

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Zachariah Barghouti: "We wholeheartedly condemn any and all intimidation to silence Marc [Lamont Hill], which reflects the United States' history of targeting people of color.

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"We commend Marc Lamont Hill for taking a courageous position at the U.N. committee on the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, recognizing that the Zionist settler colonialist state cannot be both a democratic state for all of its residents, and also a Jewish ethno-state, as the political ideology of Zionism necessitates.

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"The demand for all of historic Palestine to return to its indigenous population is not even a thought in the minds of colonizers, oppressors, and Israel apologists. The liberation of all peoples, the freedom of movement, and the Right of Return are the root causes of contention in the face of Zionism, Zionist backlash, and Israeli institutions.

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"The backlash against Marc Lamont Hill is an attack on black and Palestinian liberation movements in an attempt to crush and silence those who dare to question the Zionist settler colonialist entity, Israel, and bring this consciousness to the mainstream. The targeting of black people who commit to joint struggle with Palestinians is a manifestation of the intersections of global systems of colonialism, anti-blackness, and oppression. We are committed to dismantling these systems."

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Alexi Shalom: "It's not Palestine versus Israel because Israel is not a state. It's a military regime that rules over a people. I think Marc Lamont Hill said it really well in his response when he said [that] if you believe that Israel has to be destroyed in order for Palestinians to get their rights, then that's your problem because how can you support a regime that has to be destroyed for people to have their basic rights? Anti-Zionism is not a radical crazy political position that doesn't want to divide the country. Anti-Zionism is the fulfillment of the basic human rights of the Palestinian people and all oppressed people all over the world.

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"CNN is a business that sells a product, and right now the product that sells is so-called progressive news, and that is the only reason why they are supporting Hillary Clinton, or supporting the so-called resistance and the Democratic machine…

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"The only resistance we stand with is the anti-imperialist, anti Zionist resistance of Marc Lamont Hill and others. Thank you so much."

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Pam Africa: "This is not just about Marc Lamont Hill. This is not just about the murders that are happening and the taking of the land in Palestine. This is about the taking of the land… These filthy, low-down motherfuckers… They're not only taking Palestinian land. They're doing this around the whole globe.

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"How can you holler about what happened to you, the murders of Jewish people, and then turn around and allow this stuff to happen in Palestine, and allow the voice of Marc Lamont Hill… They try to silence it, because they can't silence Marc Lamont Hill."

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Prof. Johanna Fernandez: "This is a brilliant opportunity to revive a long tradition of black and Palestinian solidarity.

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"U.N. Resolution 242 says that all colonized and displaced people have the right to defend themselves by any means necessary."

Crowd: "By any means necessary! By any means necessary!"

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Michael Letwin: "Dr. Martin Luther King, speaking at Riverside Church here in New York City, condemned the Vietnam War.

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"If there was such a thing as CNN in 1967, they would have fired him.

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"[Marc Lamont Hill] is being vilified and politically lynched just the way Dr. Martin Luther King was in 1968.

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"Israel is not a people. It's not a country. It’s a regime, an apartheid regime that temporarily occupies the nation of Palestine."

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Michela Martinazzi: "CNN is the mouthpiece of the liberal imperialists. CNN is the mouthpiece of liberal Zionists, and there is no such thing as a good Zionist. You cannot be a good Zionist if you believe your freedom as a person depends on the slaughtering of thousands of Palestinians. You cannot be a good Zionist if you freedom and identity depends on stealing land."

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Crowd: "Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel's crimes. Not another nickel, not another dime, no more media for Zionist crimes.

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"CNN, tell the truth, don't let Zionists silence you."