This story was published between issues of the newspaper on The Virginia Defender Facebook page. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes.

By Danielle DeBlasio

RICHMOND, VA, Sept. 13 — Earlier this evening, a group of about 60 people met in Monroe Park to rally against the Virginia Israel Advisory Board, which is headquartered right in downtown Richmond. VIAB is a business promotion entity, funded by Virginia taxpayer money, that works to bring Israeli businesses to the Commonwealth. This is a completely unique situation: The VIAB is the state’s only entity set up to promote business with a single country.

The rally kicked off with remarks from several speakers who explained what VIAB is and how its presence in Richmond ties the city to the current genocide in Gaza and the West Bank.

Protestors then set off from the park to march to the VIAB office, but were quickly met with a heavy police presence. Firecrackers were released as people disengaged and dispersed. As of this report, one person was reported to be in police custody.