Perspective on Ferguson from Hedy Epstein - a Survivor of Nazi Germany

I compiled this in 2014 at the height of the Fergusson riots.  Hedy Epstein has now died but she was an example to all, as she took part in the protests against racism in Fergusson

The Struggle Podcast

Hedy Epstein on Ferguson, Fleeing Nazi Germany and Palestinian-African-American Solidarity

November 30th, 2014

Interview with Hedy Epstein who lives in the St. Louis area a few days after the Ferguson grand jury let off the policeman in the killing of Michael Brown.  Epstein herself was arrested in August at a protest in St. Louis.  

Hedy Epstein on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla

We also talk about her background, fleeing Nazi Germany as part of the Kindertransport, her job for the Allies after the war, her awakening to what Israel was doing to Palestinians in 1982, her trips to the West Bank and retaliation against her.  

POSTSCRIPT:  After finishing up we realized we needed to talk about a person who was murdered in Gaza, Vittorio Arrigoni.  Be sure to listen AFTER the end.  Interviewer Stanley Heller

Hedy Epstein, 90-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor, Arrested During Michael Brown Protest

The Huffington Post  | By Alana Horowitz

Posted: 08/18/2014 8:45 pm EDT 

Hedy Epstein, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, was arrested on Monday during unrest over the death of Michael Brown,KMOV reports.

Hedy Epstein as a childhood survivor of the Nazis and part of the Kinder transport

Epstein, who aided Allied forces in the Nuremberg trials, was placed under arrest in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, "for failing to disperse" during a protest of Gov. Jay Nixon's decision to call the National Guard into Ferguson. Eight others were also arrested.

"I've been doing this since I was a teenager. I didn't think I would have to do it when I was 90," Epstein told The Nation during her arrest. "We need to stand up today so that people won't have to do this when they're 90."

Epstein is currently an activist and a vocal supporter of the Free Gaza Movement.

Tensions rose in Ferguson on Monday night after Nixon announced that the National Guard had been called in to help run the command center while police handled the protests.

Several people were arrested as protests ramped up, including Scott Olson, a photographer working for Getty Images.

President Obama addressed reporters on Monday and condemned the arrest of journalists covering Ferguson in the days since Michael Brown was shot and killed. He said he would be monitoring the National Guard presence to make sure it is "used in a limited and appropriate way."

"There is no excuse for excessive force by police," Obama said.

The thin veneer on US 'democracy' is giving way to naked corporate misrule

I filmed the LAPD assaulting me at pro-Israel demo - Ali Abunimah

Ali speaking to Palestine rally

With the revelations, as a result of the murder of Michael Brown, a black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, that the American Police have machine guns, planes and other military equipment, the thin veneer of democracy covering US capitalism is giving way to the ugly reality of corporate rule and Israeli patronage.

Ali Abunimah, editor of the Electronic Intifada, went to a Palestine rally in Los Angeles, his home town, and spoke to members of an Israeli counter-demonstration as to why they were there.  Ali was then arrested and assaulted by members of Los Angeles Police Department who have close working relationships with the Israeli state.

Tony Greenstein

Officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) assaulted me without provocation as I spoke to and filmed participants at a pro-Israel rally on the north side of Wilshire Blvd. by the Israeli consulate this evening.

I was handcuffed and threatened, and I caught it all on video above. There is now a second video of the incident, filmed by a third party, below.

Palestine rally

Across the road, on the south side of Wilshire, was a Palestine solidarity rally called for by a number of peace and justice groups to protest Israel’s rampage of lethal violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

I arrived directly to the pro-Israel counter-demonstration without first having been to the Palestine solidarity rally. I wanted to speak to people and record their opinions.

As I was arriving, I heard one participant say: “A good Muslim is a dead Muslim.” I approached him and asked him, “What could make all this stop?” He answered: “Eliminate Muslims” and launched into an anti-Muslim tirade.

Another person heard him and objected to his words, telling me, “That’s not true. Terrorists are the problem,” and “I have a lot of Palestinian friends.”

We were having a conversation when, without any warning, I was assaulted by LAPD officers. I was profiled: one officer asked, “Are you with the Palestine?”

In the video, the officers claim that I had disobeyed an order. This is untrue. I was assaulted and restrained without warning and when I asked the officers to stop assaulting me and let me go, they put handcuffs on me.

One officer can be heard on the video saying, “I know you are trying to fire everyone up.” This is also untrue – I was asking questions and listening to the answers.

I believe he may have said this because he suspected that my camera was still running. An officer also said that they were trying to “keep the peace” and “keep me safe,” all while physically assaulting me.

After the video cuts, the sergeant was called. I was questioned about my political beliefs and asked, “Which side are you on?”

I answered, “I am on the side of peace and justice.” The sergeant asked, “Which side is that?”

I responded, “Which side do you think it is?”

The sergeant said they would remove the handcuffs if I agreed to leave the scene and not come back.

In effect, I was forced to stop reporting and leave the scene or risk arrest. In order to avoid further violence and harassment I agreed and I was escorted across Wilshire Blvd. where I joined the Palestine solidarity rally, which appeared to have several hundred people, more than the dozens waving Israeli flags and chanting, “Who are we? Israel!”

Second video

This video shot by Scott Bixler shows the incident from another angle, showing that the LAPD assault and battery was entirely unprovoked.

LAPD-Israel collaboration

In my book The Battle for Justice in Palestine, I write about the close cooperation between Israel and US big city police departments, including the LAPD.

In January, as Rania Khalek reported, LAPD top brass went on their most recent junket where they fell in love with Israeli drones.

I wonder if it is that cooperation that predisposes officers to see anyone suspected of being “with the Palestine” as a threat.

What is clear is that I was profiled and treated as a threat like so many Angelenos, particularly people of color.