Statewide peace and Palestinian rights groups will rally outside the Great State of Maine Air Show on Saturday, August 3 in Brunswick to draw attention to the U.S. Air Force role in the in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The Air Force Thunderbirds will perform as a recruiting tool along with other activities designed to entice young people into considering military enlistment.
Protesters will gather at 9:00 a.m. outside the main gate of Brunswick Landing (Admiral Avenue at Bath Road) at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. Activists will distribute flyers designed to push back on recruiting kids and to make clear the connection between the U.S. Air Force and Israel’s carpet bombing of Gaza.
The IDEAL Maine Social Aid and Sanctuary Band will be on hand to entertain those protesting and those waiting in bumper-to-bumper traffic to enter the air show.
“Stop traumatizing kids to kill in war and participate in genocide,” said Jae Echeverria of South Berwick. “Teaching kids to murder hurts their psychological development. Let kids play, let them learn, let them grow. Don’t set them up for recruitment into the military.”
Organizer Lisa Savage of Solon said, “U.S. Airman Aaron Bushnell self-immolated at the Israeli embassy in Washington DC last February saying he could not live with his complicity in genocide. He shared how his job in the U.S. Air Force was to provide surveillance and targeting information for Israel’s war planes. Since Bushnell’s death, numerous U.S. Air Force personnel have offered resistance by hunger strikes, burning their uniforms, applying for conscientious objector status, and going AWOL.”
Pratt & Whitney, which has a plant in South Berwick, Maine, is a sponsor of the airshow. It also manufactures components for F-15 and F-16 fighter jets used by Israel. On an October 24 call with investors, RTX (formerly Raytheon and current owner of Pratt & Whitney) CEO Greg Hayes said, “I think really across the entire Raytheon portfolio, you're going to see a benefit of this restocking.”
“To date the ‘benefit’ of selling war plane components to Israel includes the documented deaths of 60,000+ Palestinians in Gaza including 16,000+ children. As this has been highly profitable for RTX they can afford to sponsor burning jet fuel and polluting the air above Maine for so-called entertainment,” said Bruce Gagnon of Brunswick.
Co-sponsors of the event include Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Maine Natural Guard, PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, Maine Coalition for Palestine, Healthcare Workers for Palestine - Maine, and Maine Labor for Palestine.
References:
Raytheon's CEO said on an earnings call that the company stood to 'benefit' from DoD budget increases due to the war in Israel Business Insider October 24, 2023 https://www.businessinsider.com/raytheon-ceo-benefit-dod-budget-increases-war-israel-2023-10
Aaron Bushnell: The US air man who shouted 'Free Palestine' before lighting himself on fire Middle East Eye February 26, 2024 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/aaron-bushnell-air-man-who-shouted-free-palestine-lighting-himself-fire
Troops Are Quitting the US Military Over the Genocide in Gaza BreakthroughNews June 27, 2024 https://www.youtube.com/live/1uPK4ZN4fFc?si=jmqE4I4lL5KiVUiD
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