INDIANAPOLIS — The war in Israel is happening thousands of miles away, but it’s become part of the conversation in Indianapolis as both candidates for mayor weigh in.
It started Wednesday, when Republican Jefferson Shreve released a statement on his social media accounts asking Hoosiers, “not to attend this rally celebrating brutality.”
Shreve was referencing a rally planned for Monument Circle on Thursday night called “Day of Resistance: Protest to Free Palestine.”
It was organized by Students for Justice in Palestine – Butler University, PSL Indianapolis, Jewish Voice for Peace – Indiana, the Indianapolis Liberation Center and ANSWER Indiana to support Palestine.
Shreve's statement supported Israel and called on Mayor Joe Hogsett to stand in solidarity.
“Americans must outwardly condemn brutality like what is happening in Israel. I call on Mayor Hogsett to join me in solidarity in publicly condemning the pro-Hamas rally being called "Day of Resistance" that is planned on Monument Circle Thursday,” Shreve said. “Anti-American devotees of this terrorist group enjoy protected speech under our Constitution. As mayor, I would do everything in my power to stop a group with this vile outlook from assembling on property dedicated to Americans who have died for our country.”
The organizers of the protest then responded in a lengthy statement saying the protest is not “pro-Hamas,” but rather against “the Israeli occupation of Palestine and in support of the Palestinian struggle for peace and liberation.”
“The conflation of Palestinian solidarity with a “pro-Hamas” position demonstrates Shreve’s lack of understanding of the basis of the conflict and the protest,” the statement read. “We also ask Shreve to clarify his contradictory stance on the First Amendment.”
Mayor Joe Hogsett was also asked about the protest Thursday morning. He said the city has no plans to stop it.
“Indianapolis as a city rejects any discrimination that is based on race or religion,” Hogsett said. “To the extent that someone has suggested that these people should not be allowed to gather, there is a constitutional right to assembly and free speech.
Thursday Shreve said he continues to stand by his previous statement and offered clarification:
“There is no way to view this “day of resistance” as anything other than pro-Hamas. In their own statement, this radical anti-Israel group celebrated the actions of Hamas, calling it a “resistance” instead of the terrorism it was. Language and words matter. Yes, in our society, citizens have free speech and assembly protections, even when it’s vile, hateful or ignorant. But I continue to call on Mayor Hogsett to condemn not the ability of this group to speak, but the substance of their speech, as he appropriately did with white nationalist protesters a few years ago. Leadership and city culture matter, too.”