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Pro-palestinian protesters are seen during the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity at Nationals Park on June 12, 2024.
(Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Genocide Is Not a Game: Congressional Baseball and War Crimes in Gaza
Why did we protest this national pastime? Because the systematic murder and starvation of Palestinians by Israel cannot continue with our silent complicity.
Jun 19, 2024
During last week’s Congressional Baseball Game, dozens of us in the crowd conveyed urgent messages to stop funding Israel’s genocide of Palestinian and to address the escalating climate emergency.
We were met by the disproportionate level of force from hundreds of police across multiple jurisdictions who encircled and followed us around. Activists with Climate Defiance entered the field and were plowed down forcefully by police officers and arrested.
In our seats, we stood with signs, flags, some just wearing kuffiyehs, chanting “Free Palestine” and “Genocide is not a game.” Despite the legality and common practice of cheering and displaying signs at baseball games, we were swiftly ejected by swarms of police officers.
Juxtaposed to our ejection and policing of our rights to freedom of speech, police unsurprisingly, did nothing to address the egregious and blatantly racist verbal abuse laced with profanity being hurled at us. In one instance, an entire section of the crowd erupted in a “fu** you terrorists” chants. Meanwhile, others in the stadium freely displayed their political messages without facing any consequences.
Our aim was to deliver a clear message to members of Congress, who were indulging in a photo-op game amid multiple crises they are directly responsible for through billions in funding to Israel and subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.
Since October, Congress have allocated billions more of our tax dollars to Israel, facilitating the genocide of over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza while also displacing and starving millions of Palestinians.
The U.S. Pentagon is the largest institutional polluter in the world. Israel has also used white phosphorus and other weapons from the United States to destroy the local environment, facilitating the death of the local habitat. Each U.S. bomb tested, manufactured, transferred, and dropped exacerbates the climate crisis, intertwining Palestine’s plight with climate justice.
More bombs were dropped in the first 100 days of the US-Israel genocide in Gaza than in all of World War II combined.
Despite the majority of Americans wanting a ceasefire in Gaza (including the majority of republican voters), despite the majority of nation-states deploring Israel’s war crimes in Palestine, despite the highest court of the world releasing arrest warrants for crimes against humanity to Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant, the U.S. is continuing to aid and empower Israel’s ethnic cleansing. Almost every congressperson who played that night voted to sanction the International Criminal Court after it issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
The annual Congressional Baseball game is sponsored by a long list of companies profiting off of the Israeli and U.S. atrocities in Palestine, including: Boeing, RTX (formerly Raytheon), Caterpillar, Chevron, Amazon, Google.
It’s not a coincidence that while arms dealers are reaping historic highs in stock prices and earnings, members of Congress are lining their pockets with checks from Israeli lobbying groups. Particularly AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Council.
The baseball game is technically a fundraiser for groups like the Boys and Girls Club, Nationals Philanthropies, and the Washington Literacy Center. It is paradoxical that Congress raises trivial amounts for education while channeling billions of tax dollars into weapons shipments used to indiscriminately murder Palestinians.
Activists across the U.S are demanding an end to all aid to Israel and a reinvestment of those funds into our community needs such as housing, healthcare, and education. Our actions at the game were driven by a profound sense of urgency and justice.
The systematic murder and starvation of Palestinians by Israel cannot continue with our silent complicity. We must persist in demanding accountability from our elected officials. We demand that funds from warfare be redirected to vital community needs and to address the world’s common enemy, the climate crisis.
We stand in solidarity with Palestinians and all others who are fighting for their lives and dignity. The struggle for justice in Palestine is not just their fight; it is a global cause that calls for our unwavering support and action.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Olivia Dinucci
Olivia DiNucci is an anti-militarism and climate justice organizer based in Washington D.C. and an international experiential learning facilitator
During last week’s Congressional Baseball Game, dozens of us in the crowd conveyed urgent messages to stop funding Israel’s genocide of Palestinian and to address the escalating climate emergency.
We were met by the disproportionate level of force from hundreds of police across multiple jurisdictions who encircled and followed us around. Activists with Climate Defiance entered the field and were plowed down forcefully by police officers and arrested.
In our seats, we stood with signs, flags, some just wearing kuffiyehs, chanting “Free Palestine” and “Genocide is not a game.” Despite the legality and common practice of cheering and displaying signs at baseball games, we were swiftly ejected by swarms of police officers.
Juxtaposed to our ejection and policing of our rights to freedom of speech, police unsurprisingly, did nothing to address the egregious and blatantly racist verbal abuse laced with profanity being hurled at us. In one instance, an entire section of the crowd erupted in a “fu** you terrorists” chants. Meanwhile, others in the stadium freely displayed their political messages without facing any consequences.
Our aim was to deliver a clear message to members of Congress, who were indulging in a photo-op game amid multiple crises they are directly responsible for through billions in funding to Israel and subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.
Since October, Congress have allocated billions more of our tax dollars to Israel, facilitating the genocide of over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza while also displacing and starving millions of Palestinians.
The U.S. Pentagon is the largest institutional polluter in the world. Israel has also used white phosphorus and other weapons from the United States to destroy the local environment, facilitating the death of the local habitat. Each U.S. bomb tested, manufactured, transferred, and dropped exacerbates the climate crisis, intertwining Palestine’s plight with climate justice.
More bombs were dropped in the first 100 days of the US-Israel genocide in Gaza than in all of World War II combined.
Despite the majority of Americans wanting a ceasefire in Gaza (including the majority of republican voters), despite the majority of nation-states deploring Israel’s war crimes in Palestine, despite the highest court of the world releasing arrest warrants for crimes against humanity to Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant, the U.S. is continuing to aid and empower Israel’s ethnic cleansing. Almost every congressperson who played that night voted to sanction the International Criminal Court after it issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
The annual Congressional Baseball game is sponsored by a long list of companies profiting off of the Israeli and U.S. atrocities in Palestine, including: Boeing, RTX (formerly Raytheon), Caterpillar, Chevron, Amazon, Google.
It’s not a coincidence that while arms dealers are reaping historic highs in stock prices and earnings, members of Congress are lining their pockets with checks from Israeli lobbying groups. Particularly AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Council.
The baseball game is technically a fundraiser for groups like the Boys and Girls Club, Nationals Philanthropies, and the Washington Literacy Center. It is paradoxical that Congress raises trivial amounts for education while channeling billions of tax dollars into weapons shipments used to indiscriminately murder Palestinians.
Activists across the U.S are demanding an end to all aid to Israel and a reinvestment of those funds into our community needs such as housing, healthcare, and education. Our actions at the game were driven by a profound sense of urgency and justice.
The systematic murder and starvation of Palestinians by Israel cannot continue with our silent complicity. We must persist in demanding accountability from our elected officials. We demand that funds from warfare be redirected to vital community needs and to address the world’s common enemy, the climate crisis.
We stand in solidarity with Palestinians and all others who are fighting for their lives and dignity. The struggle for justice in Palestine is not just their fight; it is a global cause that calls for our unwavering support and action.
Olivia Dinucci
Olivia DiNucci is an anti-militarism and climate justice organizer based in Washington D.C. and an international experiential learning facilitator
During last week’s Congressional Baseball Game, dozens of us in the crowd conveyed urgent messages to stop funding Israel’s genocide of Palestinian and to address the escalating climate emergency.
We were met by the disproportionate level of force from hundreds of police across multiple jurisdictions who encircled and followed us around. Activists with Climate Defiance entered the field and were plowed down forcefully by police officers and arrested.
In our seats, we stood with signs, flags, some just wearing kuffiyehs, chanting “Free Palestine” and “Genocide is not a game.” Despite the legality and common practice of cheering and displaying signs at baseball games, we were swiftly ejected by swarms of police officers.
Juxtaposed to our ejection and policing of our rights to freedom of speech, police unsurprisingly, did nothing to address the egregious and blatantly racist verbal abuse laced with profanity being hurled at us. In one instance, an entire section of the crowd erupted in a “fu** you terrorists” chants. Meanwhile, others in the stadium freely displayed their political messages without facing any consequences.
Our aim was to deliver a clear message to members of Congress, who were indulging in a photo-op game amid multiple crises they are directly responsible for through billions in funding to Israel and subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.
Since October, Congress have allocated billions more of our tax dollars to Israel, facilitating the genocide of over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza while also displacing and starving millions of Palestinians.
The U.S. Pentagon is the largest institutional polluter in the world. Israel has also used white phosphorus and other weapons from the United States to destroy the local environment, facilitating the death of the local habitat. Each U.S. bomb tested, manufactured, transferred, and dropped exacerbates the climate crisis, intertwining Palestine’s plight with climate justice.
More bombs were dropped in the first 100 days of the US-Israel genocide in Gaza than in all of World War II combined.
Despite the majority of Americans wanting a ceasefire in Gaza (including the majority of republican voters), despite the majority of nation-states deploring Israel’s war crimes in Palestine, despite the highest court of the world releasing arrest warrants for crimes against humanity to Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defence, Yoav Gallant, the U.S. is continuing to aid and empower Israel’s ethnic cleansing. Almost every congressperson who played that night voted to sanction the International Criminal Court after it issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
The annual Congressional Baseball game is sponsored by a long list of companies profiting off of the Israeli and U.S. atrocities in Palestine, including: Boeing, RTX (formerly Raytheon), Caterpillar, Chevron, Amazon, Google.
It’s not a coincidence that while arms dealers are reaping historic highs in stock prices and earnings, members of Congress are lining their pockets with checks from Israeli lobbying groups. Particularly AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Council.
The baseball game is technically a fundraiser for groups like the Boys and Girls Club, Nationals Philanthropies, and the Washington Literacy Center. It is paradoxical that Congress raises trivial amounts for education while channeling billions of tax dollars into weapons shipments used to indiscriminately murder Palestinians.
Activists across the U.S are demanding an end to all aid to Israel and a reinvestment of those funds into our community needs such as housing, healthcare, and education. Our actions at the game were driven by a profound sense of urgency and justice.
The systematic murder and starvation of Palestinians by Israel cannot continue with our silent complicity. We must persist in demanding accountability from our elected officials. We demand that funds from warfare be redirected to vital community needs and to address the world’s common enemy, the climate crisis.
We stand in solidarity with Palestinians and all others who are fighting for their lives and dignity. The struggle for justice in Palestine is not just their fight; it is a global cause that calls for our unwavering support and action.
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