NM street theatrical troupe holds mock trial after Netanyahu’s visit to Congress

Actors used giant puppets depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and American President Joe Biden to illustrate the latter's unconditional support for the former's ongoing war on Gaza. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM)

At a mock people’s trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Santa Fe Plaza on Wednesday night, pro-Palestinian activists imagined what it would look like for authorities to hold him accountable, rather than inviting him to speak in Congress.

The street theater production coincided with mass protests against Netanyahu’s visit to U.S. lawmakers in Washington D.C. It was two months after International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced he was seeking an arrest warrant to charge Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza.

Actors dressed in all red played the role of President Joe Biden’s “ red line ,” and held a silent procession from the Santa Fe railyard to the Plaza, where they met more actors who worked with oversized puppets of Netanyahu and Biden. Others played the role of Palestinian babies wrapped in white sheets who have been killed by Israel.

They depicted the American president handing gifts to the Israeli prime minister, which they said includes $14.3 billion in military aid; defunding UNRWA , the primary U.N. aid agency for Palestinians; vetoes of U.N. resolutions critical of Israel; and support for its ongoing war on Gaza.

“Netanyahu, we charge you with the crime of apartheid and illegal occupation,” said Dr. Fatima van Hattum, who presided over the mock trial.

“Guilty,” the crowd shouted in response.

After nine months, officials have counted at least 39,000 Palestinians killed in Israel’s war on Gaza. The actual death toll is probably much higher when including the indirect health implications of armed conflict beyond the direct harm from violence.

Israel’s destruction of infrastructure, prevention of entry to aid convoys carrying basic medicine, and the targeting of hospitals has led to rampant cases of Hepatitis A , food poisoning , and skin infections .

Even though the virus that causes polio was eradicated in Gaza years ago, the World Health Organization and Palestinian health officials said they found it in samples of sewage water last week. WHO said Israel’s war on Gaza has created “the perfect environment for diseases like polio to spread.”

The group who wrote the play based it in part on two recent rulings by the International Court of Justice: The court said i n January what Israel is doing in Gaza could plausibly be considered genocide, and then ruled on July 19 that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem “and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law.”

Van Hattum said it is everyone’s obligation to uphold the Genocide Convention and international law.

“Since our government won’t, and in fact would rather give Netanyahu a standing ovation in Congress, we’re here to do that today with a citizen’s arrest,” she said.

The Netanyahu puppet was shackled with paper handcuffs, and walked away from the center of the Santa Fe Plaza where the show took place. “Arrest him,” the crowd chanted.

The production was put together by Jo Redline, a Santa Fe artist and community organizer with decades of experience in puppeteering and street theater. They said a Jewish elder in the group Santa Feans for Justice in Palestine asked them to put on a demonstration against Netanyahu’s arrival in Congress.

“It wouldn’t be happening if we weren’t sending the bombs, if we weren’t defunding UNRWA,” Redline said. “We’re actually at fault.”

None of New Mexico’s five members of Congress attended Netanyahu’s speech, joining more than 100 other lawmakers who were absent.

While Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris chose not to preside over the joint session where Netanyahu spoke, she met with him privately on Thursday.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez described Israel’s war on Gaza as “indiscriminate,” and said rather than attending Netanyahu’s speech, she would meet with families of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, and other Israelis and Palestinians “focused on fostering peace in the region.”

“I have heard from countless constituents who have asked me to send a message to Prime Minister Netanyahu,” she said. “My decision not to attend today sends a strong message that enough is enough—it’s time for Netanyahu to stop his indiscriminate war on Gaza and work toward peace.”

Rep. Melanie Stansbury previously said Netanyahu and his military leaders “have shown a blatant disregard for civilian life and have clearly and repeatedly crossed the red line.”

“Escalation is a clear violation of human rights, in addition to the continued blockage of humanitarian aid to civilians in need of food, water, and medicine,” Stansbury said. “Desperately needed aid must be allowed to pass.”

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Van Hattum asked the crowd to keep pressuring politicians; join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement along with local groups for racial justice, gender justice, and climate justice; and “do not stop talking about Palestine, especially as we approach the election.”

Redline said the theater production met a need for inspiration and vigilance among activists and anyone opposed to the war on Gaza.

“We need to keep witnessing, we need to keep calling, we need to keep doing everything we can,” they said.

The end of the production was a large puppet depicting a Palestinian woman, and representing Palestinian liberation.

“We don’t just want a ceasefire; we want liberation for Palestinian people,” Redline said.