Chicago, IL – Maya Arcilla was angry as she opened the protest rally at the Federal Plaza in Chicago. A human rights activist from the Philippines, Jerome Succor Aba, had been held by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, and then subject to psychological torture during a 28-hour period inside the San Francisco airport.

Chicago, IL – Over 10,000 marched here, July 20, to condemn Israel’s murderous assault on Gaza. The protest began with a die-in of young people. They held the names of Palestinian civilians who have been killed. The names of all the over 400 dead were read. One of the readers was Ahmed Hamad, a member of Students for Justice in Palestine-Chicago, who lost six family members in Gaza when Israel bombed their house.

Gainesville, FL – Two dozen students gathered in Gainesville, July 19, at a Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) day school. Students from the University of Florida, Florida State University, the University of South Florida, and for the first time in SDS’s history, from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville attended. Months of planning the day school on SDS National Working Committee phone calls paid off nicely.