Anonymous activists on Saturday displayed a large banner in Palestinian colors on the side of Twin Peaks that read “End U.S. aid to Israel” and could be seen across San Francisco.
The activists wrote in a statement that they were “urging an end to U.S. funding for Israel’s killing of over 100,000 Palestinians, Lebanese, and Iranians.”
The statement said “dozens of self-organized community members” installed the 50-by-120 foot banner over the course of about 10 minutes on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
The banner was displayed at the same location as the annual “Pink Triangle,” a monument that has been put up every Pride weekend since 1996. The triangle is meant to be a “visible yet mute reminder of man’s inhumanity to man,” according to its organizers.
Police officers came but allowed the installation to remain, the activists said. By about 5 p.m., the group dismantled its red, black and green arms-embargo banner.
The activists called out the “genocide in Gaza” and said Israel is “blockading supplies for food, medicine, and shelter, while continuing to bomb and shoot people on a daily basis.” The United Nations on Friday said an average of 47 women and girls were killed a day in Israel’s war on Gaza, a total of 38,000 from October 2023 to December 2025.
The Gaza ministry of health reported about 73,000 people killed since Israel’s bombardment began after Oct. 7, 2023, and another 172,000 injured. About 2,300 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest attacks, and more than 3,600 in Iran.
“Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran and Lebanon has dragged the U.S. and the entire Middle East into all-out war,” wrote one of the activists in the press release. “But we are telling our community that even though things are chaotic, the solution is simple: End U.S. aid to Israel.”
The release said many weapons were “being sent straight out of the Bay Area” to Israel and urged people to support the Oakland Peoples’ Arms Embargo, a campaign led by Arab and Palestinian groups targeting the Oakland port for allowing military cargo shipments to Israel.
American views on Israel have grown sharply negative over the last three years. Sixty percent of Americans now say they have an unfavorable view of the country, according to Pew, up from 42 percent in 2022. For Democrats, that reaches 80 percent.
Those views are increasingly reflected in Congress: More than three dozen Democratic senators on Wednesday joined an effort led by Sen. Bernie Sanders to block bomb and bulldozer sales to Israel. They said the United States must stop facilitating what has become an unpopular war with Iran, as well as Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Lebanon.
The Senate effort was ultimately unsuccessful; it was voted down by all Republicans. But more Democratic senators voted against weapons sales to Israel than had before.
Performative as always.
Why try and achieve real change through personal sacrifice when instead you can engage in meaningless symbolic gestures like this that change nothing?
As opposed to being pro-genocide in silence? I’ll go with them instead.
With the demise of the petrodollar in progress now that the GCC has been destabilized and petroleum is being traded in Renminbi/Yuan and not USD, over time the US will be unable to sustain the Pentagon system via debt as interest rates rise. Sanctions will also cease to function as non-USD trade diminishes that choke point.
Israel in its hubris has unwittingly signed its own death warrant in this regard by goading/blackmailing Trump into this war. If they nuke Iran, they only further isolate themselves while stoking a worldwide bout of anti-semitism. Absent a regular supply of US debt funded welfare checks, Israel withers. The world will applaud.
Trump, for his part, has achieved a longstanding left goal of bringing the US empire to its knees. This will really suck for us, but we’ve had it too good for too long. But for the rest of the world, replacing war as a first resort with trade and negotiation, the Chinese foreign relations model, this will be a win.
Ultimately it will be a win for the US, or whatever remains of it, as we will assume our place as one of many nations like so many imperial metropoles have before us, France, Spain, Japan, Russia, Greece, Italy. One day the UK might dispense with their delusions of empire long vanished make this transition too. Nations tend to emerge on the other side of empire chastened and humble, good neighbors, once their imperial ruling classes have been brought to heel.
Nothing wrong with people exercising their 1st amendment. And never been a big fan of Israeli politics, even though people there actually vote (unlike most of their neighbors). But it’s pure wishful thinking that Israel will simply “wither” away. The reality is (like it or not) that Israel is an advanced society with a dynamic economy and growing population that is increasingly normalizing diplomatic and economic relations with multiple Sunni Muslim neighbors. Most who express strong opinions simply picture soldiers with machine guns fighting Arabs in the “territories.” Most have never been there and know very little about Israeli society itself.
I would add that growing numbers of Druze and Arabs, both Christian and Muslim, who come from the roughly 2 million non-Jewish citizens of Israel proper, are volunteering to join the armed forces. This comes even though service is optional for non-Jewish citizens.
The fact that Israel sees itself in a stronger than ever position to take on Iran and its Shia proxies, which have all been a thorn in the side for decades, speaks volumes. Of course US aid is a factor. But even in its absence, the above prediction couldn’t be further from the reality on the ground.
It’s wishful thinking for many “cause celebre” western leftists that Israel will simply “wither” away (think- defund police). But the reality is that (like it or not) Israel is an advanced society with a dynamic economy and growing population that is increasingly normalizing diplomatic and economic relations with multiple Sunni Muslim neighbors. I’m not sure what your direct experience with Israel is, but many people simply picture soldiers with machine guns fighting Arabs in the “territories.” Most have never been there and know very little about Israeli society itself. The fact that Israel sees itself in a stronger than ever position to take on Iran and its Shia proxies, which have all been a thorn in the side for decades, shows exactly how far your comment is from reality. Of course US aid is a factor. But even in its absence, your prediction is baseless.
As for the US empire being brought to its knees and the demise of the petrodollar – highly unlikely in even our children’s lifetime. Sure, influence in certain regions will wane, as it already has.
I guess standing on the corner in frog suits got boring,
It’s just another gesture to make the participants feel good rather than actually doing anything.
You know, there are volunteer groups all over the West Bank, and if you REALLY want to help, you can go over there and join one. But that takes effort.
So does speaking out against the US taxpayer money being spent on Israeli conquest of lands they don’t own and genocidal tactics to achieve that.
Instead of even calling that much out, running tacit lip service for it is shameful.
Boycott, Divest, Sanction. There’s a reason AIPAC spends millions buying our elections that volunteering in the middle east will never stop. Wake up.
Dissent is job 1, not ‘mission accomplished’ silly.
Like everyone in the world can just pick up and go?
People have lives. Maybe you do too? Anyway, cool flex bro.
Israel shouldn’t get another dime and I’m glad these people took the time and effort to express themselves.