Marchers call on Rep. Clark to end 'genocide' in Gaza
'We need her to honor her leadership role and take leadership ... we need Katherine Clark to not just talk the talk but walk the walk.'
By Rich Tenorio/Correspondent
MALDEN – Although U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark was not in her Congressional district office in Malden on Thursday afternoon, a group of constituents concerned about the situation in Gaza felt they got their message across to her.
A letter they gave to a Clark staff member outlined their demands. According to a press release, the letter requested an in-person meeting with Clark, as well as for her cooperation to end what the group describes as a genocide in Gaza.
“I think we should all use any opportunity we have to say, ‘not in my name,’ ‘not in the name of the American people,’” said State Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Second Middlesex), who was one of the speakers at the event. “We need to stop it. We should use any tool we have. We don’t have a lot of tools. Katherine Clark has a lot of tools.”
The group numbered about 40 when it assembled by the Malden Center MBTA station around noon. Brian Garvey, who is the executive director of Massachusetts Peace Action and a co-sponsor of the event, told Gotta Know Medford that he had heard Clark denounce starvation in Gaza in a recent interview on Boston Public Radio.
“Rhetoric is not enough,” Garvey said, “especially from politicians who have voted to provide the very military aid being used to enforce this starvation of the people of Gaza. We need her to do more. We need her to honor her leadership role and take leadership. Poll after poll shows the people of the U.S. do not support our tax dollars going to the offensive weapons being used to destroy Gaza. We need Katherine Clark to not just talk the talk but walk the walk.”
Crossing Commercial Street, the group marched to Clark’s office on Pleasant Street, clanging on empty pots and pans as symbols of the lack of food in Gaza.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, some of whom have since died and others still being held. Israel subsequently declared war on Hamas. In the nearly two years since, the war has claimed an estimated 60,000 Palestinian lives and wrecked Gaza’s infrastructure. In that span, Israel has also fought wars with Hezbollah and Iran, each of which concluded with ceasefires.
“Israel’s war against Hamas stopped being self-defense a long time ago,” Jehlen said in her speech. “It is wrong for our country to continue supporting that war with our words, money, bombs and guns.”
She cited a recent poll showing that just 32 percent of Americans and eight percent of Democrats support Israel’s policy in Gaza.
“We ask our [party] leadership to stand with the Democratic voters,” Jehlen said, calling Israeli war policy “bad for the survival of Israel, bad for the future of the US – and it’s just wrong.”
Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was among the speakers. She battled a malfunctioning microphone while addressing the crowd.
“Rep. Clark has been taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from AIPAC and its supporters,” Stein said, referring to the America Israel Public Affairs Committee lobbying group.
According to data on OpenSecrets.org, Clark accepted $371,347 in donations from AIPAC for the 2023-24 campaign cycle, with the second-highest donor, Google, coming in at $33,485.
“Israel’s genocide is horrifying,” Stein said. “It makes Israel a pariah among nations.”
Stein, who is Jewish, also referenced what she called a “scam antisemitism campaign” that equates anti-Israel criticism with antisemitism.
"It is wrong, she said. "It is a disservice … to Jews the world over.”
After the speeches, the group marched up Washington Street to the parking lot behind Clark’s office and rang the doorbell to the rear entrance. Two individuals who appeared to be staff members emerged separately. The second individual took the group’s letter and posed for a photo with some of the protestors.
The group sang a protest song about the conflict and then disassembled, but members vowed to keep an eye on Clark’s actions regarding Israel and Palestine.
“I feel it went very well,” Garvey said afterwards. “I think the presence of State Sen. Pat Jehlen should make the Congresswoman recognize that even others holding elected office are very concerned about this.”
