Community members and tourists in Pisac, a small town in Peru’s southern region of Cusco, gathered in the main square to show solidarity with Palestinians on June 15 — the same day that the Israeli military killed at least 41 Palestinians in Gaza.
The action included a tribute to the Palestinians killed by Israel, women and children singing in solidarity, an art-making session and music by sikuris — performers of traditional Andean music using the siku (pan flute).
Municipal police approached and ordered the assembled people not to play music because they had not been given “authorisation” by the local council. Police repeatedly told the peaceful congregation to “calm down” and to stop waving Palestinian flags.
Rally organisers told Green Left that the local council and police make it difficult for pro-Palestine actions in Pisac due to the influence of the local Chabad house — a Jewish centre occupied and run by Zionists — located on the town’s main square. The centre was established three years ago, against the wishes of anti-Zionists in Pisac, and is provocatively located in front of a statue of Bernardo Tambohuacso Pumayali — an Indigenous anti-colonial resistance leader executed by the Spanish in 1780.
GL was told that one of the rabbis from the Chabad house violently assaulted a woman when she spoke up against the centre’s existence.
A petition to remove the Chabad house from Pisac was circulated throughout the rally.
Pisac has increasingly become known as part of the so-called “Hummus Trail” — destinations popular with young Israelis who travel abroad after having served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Rally organisers told GL that some former and serving IDF soldiers have moved to Pisac, buying up property and opening Israeli-only hostels. They condemned the presence of human rights violators in their town and pointed out the neocolonial character of the influx.
They said many of the IDF soldiers in Pisac do not learn the local languages (Spanish and Quechua). They advertise their businesses in Hebrew, and have defaced pro-Palestine slogans written on walls across town.
“They rob land here just like they do in Palestine,” one of the organisers said.
After marching through town, rallygoers marched past the Chabad house, chanting “Get out Zionists, get out of Peru” and “Free Palestine”. Zionists watching from the balcony of the house called on the local police to move the peaceful rally on, demonstrating the influence that the Chabad house has.
Israeli Zionists harassed the march at various points, shouting abuse and confronting rallygoers. Despite this, the march remained peaceful as it moved around town and returned to the main square.