Dallas, TX – On May 12, about 80 people with the Dallas Palestine Coalition and allies gathered at Dealey Plaza in Downtown Dallas to mark the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, the Day of Catastrophe, when Zionists forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of their homes, paving the way for the creation of the apartheid state of Israel.

The Dallas Palestine Coalition held the rally and march to demand the right of return for all Palestinians, to reaffirm that Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine, demand an end to 11-year blockade of Gaza, and to call for freedom for all political prisoners.

Speaking to the rally at the plaza, Olinka Green, a notable African-American activist in Dallas, stated, “One thing that I want to address before I get started is that if you look at the people who were brought from Africa and you line them up right next to people of Palestine our oppression is the same. We were torn from our land; we were denied our rights as human beings. Your struggle is my struggle, I understand that, and I respect that. I would not be able to stand here and say these things if I did not respect the cause, the blood and the struggle that we share.”

After the speeches, participants marched through downtown Dallas with Palestinian flags and signs such as “End Israeli apartheid!” and “Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine!” Chants included “Intifada! Intifada! Long live the Intifada!” “Displacing lives since ‘48! Nothing here to celebrate!” “Free, free Palestine!” and “Justice is our demand! No peace on stolen land!”

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