PORTLAND, Maine — Dr. Yusuf Ebrahim, a resident physician at Maine Medical Center, was willing to block traffic and get arrested while protesting the war in Gaza last month. Now, the Iraqi-American internist is ready to face the consequences.
Ebrahim, along with 10 others, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning in Cumberland County District Court for his part in the Feb. 2 demonstration, which disrupted the flow of cars at the intersection of Franklin Street and Marginal Way.
District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris plans to charge group members with obstructing a public way, a Class E misdemeanor carrying maximum penalties of $1,000 in fines and 180 days in jail.
Ebrahim said he understands the risk he’s taking with his career, his finances and possibly his liberty, but he sees opposing the violence in Gaza as a kind of moral duty. Ebrahim grew up in New England and went to the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College; however, the shadow of Middle East conflicts has hung over him.
“My family survived the Iraq war,” he said, “and I have always felt being a physician, helping people, was the opposite of war.”
Thus, protesting the current Israeli military operations in Gaza feels like a natural extension of his duties as a healer, he said. Also, Ebrahim said he feels a kinship with the medical professionals struggling to help Gaza’s sick and injured at the contested heart of the conflict.
“I stand with my colleagues there who are working tirelessly to save lives,” he said, “while thousands of wounded are piling up at just a handful of hospitals.”
On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that explosions and shootings took place at Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s biggest medical facility, as Israeli forces stormed through it for a second straight day. Thousands of Palestinian patients, medical staff and displaced people were trapped inside, while fighting between troops and Hamas fighters raged in nearby districts. The AP could not independently verify reports that Israel killed 50 Hamas militants in the hospital.
Shifa had only partially resumed operations after a previous Israeli raid in November.
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 70,000 wounded since Israel occupied Gaza, according to local health officials cited by the AP. The war started after Hamas-led militants stormed Israel in October, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.
While the U.N. World Court has called on Israel to “take all measures” to prevent a genocide in Gaza, it has stopped short of labeling the invasion as such or calling for an immediate cease-fire.
Ebrahim belives the court is wrong to not declare a genocide. That’s why he felt the need to take to the streets in protest, a half a world and several oceans away. Despite the distance, he hopes American politicians are taking note.
“That street corner may be far from Gaza, but we believe it’s not at all disconnected,” Ebrahim said. “Because a lot of this is happening entirely because of the U.S. government directly supporting, aiding and abetting this genocide.”
Arrested along with Ebrahim on Feb. 2 were Ridgely Fuller, 77, of Belfast; Mark Roman, 76, of Solon; Jamila Levasseur, 69, of Waldo; Lisa Savage, 67, of Solon; Abby Fuller, 63, of Portland; Hallie Herz, 35, of Portland; Paige Milligan, 34, of Brunswick; Hale Linnet, 33, of Old Orchard Beach; Lou Hoecker, 29, of Portland and Nat Joyce, 26, of Portland.
The group is expected to be arraigned together while other protesters plan to gather again, this time outside the courthouse. Ebrahim said he’s ready to face a judge and prosecutor, and that his message remains the same.
“The message is: No business as usual during a genocide,” he said. “You know, we won’t sit still or be silent. We don’t think it’s normal that the world is just carrying on like nothing is happening.”