Emily Weinstein doesn’t know what will happen after her friends finish rappelling down El Capitan, but the co-founder of Climbers With Palestine said they are prepared to face what awaits them on the Yosemite valley floor.
The four climbers left early Monday morning to scale the granite dome with no intention of reaching the top of the monolith.
Instead, halfway up the Nose route, the rock climbers stopped to unfurl a 25-foot-by-15-foot banner reading “Stop the Genocide” in the colors of the Palestinian flag.
They hung the banner, staying with it overnight and ensuring it wouldn’t cause any hazards. By Tuesday afternoon, they started their climb down as news of their demonstration began to reverberate through the valley.
As she waited for her friends to descend, Weinstein stopped by a market to pick up “celebratory beers.” The writer and Berkeley resident, who identifies as Jewish American, explained to SFGATE why the group chose El Capitan.
“Martin Luther nailed his theses on the church door,” she said. “We nailed our message to the most iconic bulletin board for the world’s rock climbers.”
A reaction from Yosemite authorities
Since images of the banner appeared online late Monday, Climbers With Palestine has been anticipating the reaction from Yosemite authorities. They did not inform park officials of the demonstration and decided to take down the banner slightly earlier than planned.
“We did that because there was some sense of threat of repercussion from the park,” Weinstein said.
SFGATE contacted Yosemite’s spokesperson to understand the legality of a demonstration like this on El Capitan, but did not receive an answer. While the park forbids advertising, Weinstein said that does not apply to their activism.
“What would we be advertising? This is not an advertisement,” she said. “This is exercising our rights for freedom of speech as Americans.”
The California-based collective demands “a free Palestine” and began organizing after the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7 last year. Weinstein co-founded the group with Miranda Oakley, a Palestinian-American climbing guide who lives in the Sierra.
Earlier this year, the group hosted events in Joshua Tree and Bishop and held another one outside Yosemite on June 15. Weinstein said the public fundraisers, which include Q&As via Zoom with climbers in Palestine, raised money for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and Doctors Without Borders, among others.
“This is only the beginning of a conversation. We’re looking to open a conversation so we can all talk more about we can do to sop this genocide,” she said, referring to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Weinstein said she’s climbed for 13 years, but has yet to ascend El Capitan.
While preparing to receive Oakley and the other climbers in the meadow beneath the dome, uncertain of how the National Park Service will react, Weinstein recognized that the park could take disciplinary action that could bar her from ever attempting the storied climb.
“It’s come up,” she said. “I think that would really suck. I don’t think any of us are prepared for that. We’re trying to take this step by step. This is America, and we can have due process. We have faith in the judicial system.”
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