Appleton, WI – On May 15, over 100 people met at Houdini Plaza in Appleton to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Nakba ethnic cleansing during which over 750,000 Palestinians were forcefully expelled from their homes.

The event was organized by Appleton Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), along with many other Lawrence University student groups such as YDSA (Young Democratic Socialists of America), and GreenFire. Also participating were organizations from throughout the Fox Valley, including the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, the Green Bay Anti-war Committee, UW Green Bay SDS, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

FRSO member Tanner Ziebell ended the rally with a call to action, stating, “Nobody’s free until all of us are free. There exists no issue in the world unaffected by U.S. imperialism, and it is time for us to realize that fact and do something about it!” After this, the group then took to the streets of Appleton to march.

They marched through downtown and a section of Lawrence University until they reached Lawrence’s Main Hall. Once at Main Hall, the group held another rally where members of Appleton SDS spoke and called attention to their ongoing divestment campaign, and their planned walkout the next day.

Despite police interference and vague, thinly-veiled threats, the group marched back to Houdini Plaza undeterred. Amped up from the previous two rallies, the group chanted the entire walk.

This rally, like the others, received broad community support. SDS and the other Lawrence University student organizations have more planned to achieve their divestment goals before the school year is done.

#AppletonWI #Palestine #SDS