PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN

Sunday, November 24, 2024; Palestine Task Force Cle’s Rally Against Racist Ronayne – Demanding an End to Cuyahoga County’s Investment in Israel Bonds, in front of Chris Ronayne’s house on Lake Avenue near W. 110^th: Cleveland Police, from a special citywide unit under orders from Police Chief Dorothy Todd, take Palestinian Youth Movement Organizer Yousef Khalaf out of the assembly and issue him a citation for violating a noise ordinance by using a megaphone during the protest.

PHOTO BY CHUCK HOVEN

Sunday, November 24, 2024; Palestine Task Force Cle’s Rally Against Racist Ronayne – Demanding an End to Cuyahoga County’s Investment in Israel Bonds, Protest March from Baltic Children’s Park north on W. 110^th to Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne’s house on Lake Avenue: Stephanie Yohe and Edgardo Munoz call out County Executive Chris Ronayne for using tax dollars pay for Israeli bombs.

by Chuck Hoven

     (Plain Press January 2025) On Sunday, November 24^th about one hundred protesters responding to a call to “Rally Against Racist Ronayne – Demand an End to Israel Bonds” gathered at Baltic Children’s Park to get ready to march to Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne’s house. The goal of the protest was to get Cuyahoga County to divest from the $16 million it has invested in Israel Bonds.

                   According to a press release issued by the Palestine Task Force Cle before the rally: “Cuyahoga County has invested millions of taxpayer dollars directly into Israel through Israel Bonds, supporting a regime that the United Nations has recently cited for utilizing warfare methods in Gaza consistent with genocide, including use of starvation as a weapon of war”.

     The statement said members of “Cleveland Palestinian Advocacy Community and other concerned community members have continuously attended Cuyahoga County Council meetings to demand disinvestment, but their calls have gone unanswered.”

     The statement says: “Ronayne [Editor’s note:Christopher Ronayne is the Cuyahoga County Executive] has refused to meet with constituents advocating for disinvestment. In a show of anti-Palestinian racism, he has refused to meet with Palestinian constituents and instead has increased surveillance and policing of his constituents. Meanwhile Ronayne continues to engage with and support proponents of these controversial investments.”

     At the rally, the group held their signs as they marched down W. 110^th Street to Ronayne’s home on Lake Avenue with an escort from the Cleveland Division of Police. The group included students from local colleges, some veteran human rights protesters, members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, members of the Democratic Socialists of America, and a sizable contingent from Cleveland’s Palestinian community wearing Palestinian head scarfs.

     The signs displayed, many homemade, sent out messages to observers along the route to Ronayne’s house. Some of the messages said: “County Executive Chris Ronayne uses our tax dollars for Genocide”; “Israel Bombs, Ronayne Pays”; “Homeless in our Streets, $16 million for Genocide, Shame on you Ronayne”; “Money for War, Not the Poor – Divest $16 million”;  “Cleveland Divest from Israeli Bonds”; “Fight the Rich, not their wars”; “Cleveland Free Palestine”; “Glory to our Martyrs”; “The Blood of 16,000 + kids is on your hands too”; “We will dance on the ashes of colonialism”; and “Free Layan Nasser: Locked up in the West Bank for simply existing: Free Palestine!”

     Along the way the protesters chanted slogans such as, “Free, Free Palestine”, “Chris Ronayne you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide” and “Israel bombs, Ronayne Pays, how many kids have you killed today?”, “Every time Ronayne lies, a neighborhood in Gaza dies,” and “Cleveland, Cleveland, can’t you see, Israel is on a killing spree.”

     Arriving at Ronayne’s house the protesters observed about a dozen Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s deputies at the site. Nine of them were standing in front of the entire length of Ronayne’s front lawn guarding his house. Also on the scene were a contingent of Cleveland Police officers from a special unit that responds to issues citywide.

     While the Cleveland Police escorting the protesters blocked traffic on Lake Avenue, the protesters gathered in the street in front of Chris Ronayne’s house with the nine Sheriff’s deputies still standing on Ronayne’s front lawn just beyond the sidewalk. The protesters held up their signs and continued their chants.

     Shortly after they began their chants, members of the citywide Cleveland Police Unit, joined by some of the Sheriff’s deputies pulled five students from the group and cited them under City of Cleveland Ordinance 605.10– Unnecessary Noise.

     Four of the protesters that were cited and pulled out of the assembly were those using megaphones. One was cited for use of a drum. One young woman cited by police, was placed in handcuffs for a time.

     Some protesters questioned the police officers regarding their First Amendment rights, but officers said they were following orders from City of Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd.

     When Police Chief Todd arrived at the scene of the protest, she indicated that she had given the order to cite the protesters for use of megaphones. She said that while Cleveland Police had a duty to protect the rights of protesters, they also had a duty to residents of the neighborhood to be free to enjoy peace and quiet in their houses.

     [Editor’s Note: The Plain Press later contacted Chief of Police Dorothy Todd’s office for further clarification but has not received a response as of this publication]

     Protesters called the charges “bogus” and said they believed the citations were designed to intimidate them.