Miami, FL – Human rights advocates showed their support for the people of Gaza and Ferguson Missouri, Aug. 16. About 20 activists made their presence known at downtown Miami’s Torch of Friendship. The fact that a last minute action could pull 20 activists together in the middle of a rainstorm displayed the South Florida’s growing conscience when it comes to the issue of Israeli apartheid. Among the groups represented were members from Jewish Voice for Peace in South Florida, Occupy Miami, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Green Party of Miami-Dade & Broward Counties.
Detroit, MI – Judge Paul D. Borman was forced to remove himself from the case of Palestinian community leader Rasmea Odeh, Aug 11. Late last month, Judge Borman stridently denied a defense motion calling on him to step down. The motion asserted that his lifelong support for the state of Israel – whose arrest, torture and conviction of Odeh for alleged Jerusalem bombings in 1969 is at issue in this case – would not allow for a fair trial. Odeh has pleaded not guilty to the charge of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization and vehemently refutes the Israeli convictions, which were based on a forced confession after extended periods of vicious physical and sexual torture.
Minneapolis, MN – About 70 protesters gathered on May Day Plaza in the West Bank neighborhood here, Aug. 11, to stand in solidarity with Gaza. The protest coincided with a three-day ceasefire between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation forces. About 2000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza.
Asheville, NC – Western Carolinians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East rallied at the Vance Monument downtown here, Aug. 9, to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza and the West Bank.
Salt Lake City, UT – More than 50 people rallied here, Aug. 9, at the Wallace F. Bennet Federal Building in solidarity with Gaza, and to honor the lives lost in the U.S.-backed Israeli attacks against Gaza.
Minneapolis, MN – A Twin Cities protest in solidarity with Gaza, Aug. 6, included a dramatic expression of solidarity with the people of Gaza – a die-in at the front door of the largest newspaper in Minnesota.
Minneapolis, MN – About 40 progressive Jews and others gathered outside the offices of the Minneapolis Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), Aug. 5, to challenge JCRC’s conflation of Zionism and Judaism.
Chicago, IL – Anti-war activist Kait McIntyre appeared in Cook County Judicial Circuit court on the morning of Aug. 1. McIntyre was one of five activists arrested in a civil disobedience protest action July 16 to oppose Boeing Company providing weapons to Israel for the siege on Gaza. She proudly pled guilty to trespassing at Boeing headquarters. “Hospitals, homes for the disabled and playgrounds are being bombed and more and more children die. As a citizen of Chicago, which has one of the largest Palestinian communities in the U.S., there comes a time where you cannot ignore your conscience and you know more drastic actions have to be taken.”
Washington DC – Tens of thousands of people filled the streets here, Aug. 2, to oppose the Israeli assault on Gaza. Demonstrators, who came from cities across the country, called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel. The protest came at time when Israeli occupation forces massacring Gaza civilians are facing setbacks at the hands of the Palestinian resistance.
Grand Rapids, MI – Returning for a third time since the onset of the Israeli assault on Gaza, 100 people rallied in solidarity with Palestine at the Ford Federal Building here, Aug. 1. The crowd at the corner of Michigan Street and Ottawa Avenue chanted, “Israel, U.S.A., how many kids did you kill today?” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” Every time a car honked in support, the cheers of the crowd could be heard a half-mile away.
