“You can’t be bystanders!”: Holocaust survivor endorses July 24 demonstration against Netanyahu in DC

Rene Lichtman, an 86-year-old Holocaust child survivor, emphatically endorsed the upcoming July 24 demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, stating, “You can’t be bystanders!”

Lichtman, whose parents were Polish Jews who fled to France the year before his birth in Paris, spoke at a vigil he organized in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills Sunday afternoon to protest the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza. The event, held outside the Zekelman Holocaust Museum, was sponsored by the Coalition Against Genocide.

Lichtman commented, “Words cannot describe what’s going on in Gaza, cutting off water and bombing hospitals. And it’s all public, it’s all documented.” Expressing agreement with the WSWS’ call for the July 24 demonstration, he added, “Anything that you can do like this that exposes the imperialists and what Biden is doing with Bibi [Netanyahu]. It is the architects of genocide.”

The July 24 rally and follow-up meeting, called by the World Socialist Web Site and the Socialist Equality Party, will not only protest Netanyahu’s speech and the bipartisan support for the fascistic Israeli regime. They will provide a forum to strategize on the building of an anti-war movement rooted in the working class.

We urge you to register to attend the DC rally and meeting through the form on this page. If you cannot attend in person, sign up to get updates, make a generous donation to support the rally and meeting, and help us promote them widely on social media.