Rantz: Antisemitic protesters shut down Seattle light rail station

After shutting down I-5 in downtown Seattle, antisemitic protesters were at it again. This time, their protest shut down a Sound Transit light rail station. Only they didn’t even have to step foot into the station.

Ahead of the hate rally on Saturday at 6 pm, Sound Transit proactively shut down its University District light rail station. The decision was announced on X just one hour before the anti-Israel propaganda and chanting began. The post said the station was closed down for “safety reasons.”

The post announced that “Trains will be bypassing the station. We apologize for the additional inconvenience this causes our riders during our current service disruption.” There was concern that protesters would storm the facility and maybe even stand on the tracks to block light rail trains as they did cars on I-5 three weekends ago.

According to local blogger Cormac Wolf, organizers claimed they never intended to shut down the station. The hate rally was titled “Shut it down for Palestine,” indicating they did, indeed, intend to “shut it down.” They also chanted, “shut it down.”

Traffic around the light rail station was also directed away from the unpermitted hate rally by Seattle Police. The light rail station didn’t reopen until around 9:30pm on Saturday, over four hours after it closed.

Sound Transit could have partnered with law enforcement to arrest any antisemitic protestor who broke the law on its premises. But that would have resulted in an inconvenience for radical activists. Instead, Sound Transit leadership appears to have chosen political cowardice, inconveniencing riders instead. It did not matter that they were already struggling with downtown closures due to emergency rail fixes.

The Radical Left owns this city, and they will either be accommodated, or they will get to impact all of us without fear of consequences.

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Six Degrees of Jew Hating

The antisemitic protesters targeted Sound Transit because it contracts with Siemens for its light rail trains. You must play the “Six Degrees of Jew Hating” game to connect Sound Transit to Israel.

According to a flyer for the hate rally, Siemens is a contractor Euro-Asia Interconnector, a company that works in Israel. It connects the Greek and Israeli power grids through Cypress via the world’s longest submarine power cable. Because it helps provide electricity to Jews, the company landed on the list of companies to boycott.

Sound Transit is purchasing light rail trains through Siemens, which is connected to Israel through Euro-Asia, thus antisemitic protesters claim the transit agency is funding “genocide.”

The Jew-haters will try to stop our light rail system tonight.

Will law enforcement act or let the antisemitic inmates run the asylum again? What say you @SoundTransit? pic.twitter.com/cm81wzKGhs

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) January 21, 2024

Same ole, same ole antisemitism

The hate rally featured the same talking points and chants we’ve heard at previous events in downtown Seattle. It was, of course, met with the same silence we’ve come to expect from local leaders who won’t dare condemn antisemitism when it comes from their base.

Speakers called out Jews for arresting Hamas terrorists, which the antisemitic protesters describe as “freedom fighters.” As is always the case, there was no condemnation of Hamas. In fact, the crowd again defended the rape, decapitations, slaughter, and kidnapping of innocent Jews as they chanted, “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.” Gaza hasn’t been occupied since 2005, but the protesters believe all of Israel belongs to Palestinians, despite not having any ancestral connection to the land.

Some antisemites waved signs that read, “Queers say no to genocide.” Ironically, Hamas and Gazans say no to queers. There are no gay rights in Gaza. These activists are willing to sacrifice LGBT lives to honor their hatred of Jews.

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This will continue

Seattle’s antisemitic community vows to continue to rally until they “Free Palestine” — or until another cause catches their interest. They’ve been going strong since the October 8 celebrations of the terrorist attack on October 7 in Israel.

They took a brief pause last week to rally for the Houthi rebels that are attacking U.S.-bound cargo ships. Nearly none of the protestors have heard of the Houthis (“Who? These?”) before the American and British strike against the terrorists on January 12. The Iran-backed group wants to see Israel destroyed and has a slogan, “God Is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam.” Once the protesters understood their shared values with the Houthis, they felt called to show their support.

The hate rallies have become more extreme and disruptive because there are no consequences. As of last week, the Washington State Patrol has not made any arrests of the activists who shut down I-5. Some even posted videos of themselves breaking the law but knew they would not be arrested or charged.

Feeling emboldened, the protesters continue to look for ways to one-up previous events. With an I-5 blockage, Sound Transit and Christmas tree lighting ceremony shutdowns, and an attempted New Year’s Eve fireworks show disruption, who knows what’s next?

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Listen to the Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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