US Embassy Delivers Protesters’ Message To Washington

The US Embassy in Iceland says they have received the written statement from protesters who oppose the Gaza attacks, and “have delivered this message back to appropriate colleagues in Washington”.

As reported, protesters assembled in front of the US embassy yesterday, in opposition to US support for Israel while the attacks on Gaza continue. Vísir reports that some 2,000 people attended the protests, and delivered a written statement to embassy officials. The statement, addressed to US President Barack Obama, called upon US authorities to put an end to Israel’s use of force against Gaza.

Today, the US embassy posted a response, along with a photo of the statement (shown above). The embassy’s response is as follows:

We had quite a crowd in front of the U.S. Embassy yesterday to convey a message to the U.S. Government about the current situation in Gaza. We greatly appreciate the fact that Iceland is a country where thousands of people can gather to peacefully use their freedom of speech to express their opinions in such a manner. This is an issue about which many Icelanders, and many Americans, have very deeply-held opinions based on strong moral convictions. While those of us working at the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavik are not in the forefront of shaping policy on this issue, we take seriously our responsibility as representatives of the President of the United States. We want to assure all who showed up yesterday that we accepted and read the letter presented to us by Sveinn Rúnar Hauksson on behalf of those gathered on Laufásvegur yesterday. We have delivered this message back to appropriate colleagues in Washington. Thank you.