Anaheim, CA – “You join the heroes who stood up and said, ‘War? Not in our name! Death? Not in our name! Money toward genocide? Not in our name!’” declared Kareem Youssef, member of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), to a crowd of over 20 protesters in front of a Super King Market on March 3.

The action was part of the larger “Boycott Sadaf” campaign, whose goal is to remove Sadaf Food products from grocery stores. Sadaf Foods is a Zionist company that sources its products in occupied Palestine and tries to normalize the state of Israel.

Activists took the parking lot chanting, “Super King, hear our voice! Zionist food is not a choice!” and “Not another nickel, not another dime! No more money for Israel’s crimes!”

They were confronted by security guards who tried to intimidate them into moving out of the parking lot, but Youssef and others asserted their right to protest Super King market for shelving Sadaf Food products. As seven police SUVs and one motorcycle officer poured into the lot, another organizer from USPCN said he had spoken with the manager of Super King before staging this action, and the manager sent him to customer service. “How ridiculous! They want us to go through a bureaucracy when we tell them to stop funding genocide, when we tell them that you’re profiting off of the stolen food while our people are starving in Gaza, while children are starving! And instead, they call the cops on us. Shame on Super King! Shame on Sadaf! Boycott Sadaf!”

Diana Terreros, member of Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization, stated that “CSO stands in unequivocal solidarity with the Palestinian resistance against the occupation of Israel, who is committing a genocide and has been dispossessing Palestinians for 75 years.” She also spoke on the recent victory of the Boycott Sadaf campaign in Garden Grove, where an action forced Harvest Fresh market to deshelve its Sadaf products just 30 minutes into the rally. Terreros stated, “We will keep fighting against these Zionist corporations! Our struggles as Chicanos and Palestinians may be different, but we are united against the common enemy of U.S. imperialism, and together we can win.”

Even as the police tried to violate protesters’ First Amendment rights, activists urged customers to boycott Super King until the manager made a contractual agreement to deshelve its Sadaf Food products. Some customers even joined the ranks of activists, taking up signs and shouting back at police and security. The police were forced to stand and watch.

Palestinian flags waved in the lot as Youssef closed the boycott action by warning, “We will be checking on different stores seeking Sadaf across Southern California until every single one of these Southern California stores removes Sadaf Foods from their shelves! Because this is what we can do to make an impact and to address Zionism ourselves, and show them that people power, just us, is enough to cost Sadaf millions!”

The boycott was organized by USPCN, and it included activists from Free Democratic Movement for Palestine, Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, the Palestinian American Women’s Association, Community Service Organization Orange County, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

#AnaheimCA #International #AntiWarMovement #MiddleEast #Palestine #BDS #USPCN #AlAwda #PAWA #CSOOC #FRSO

Pompano Beach, FL – On Saturday, March 2, over 200 cars traced a route across South Florida maintaining minimum legal speeds on interstates and along busy beachfront roads to protest U.S. support for Israel.

The caravan was launched in remembrance of the over 30,000 Palestinians who have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. In honor of the martyrs, dozens of cars carried posters with the pictures and personal information of individual Palestinians murdered by Israel.

The caravan was led and tailed by video trucks displaying the truth of Israel’s crimes and had several cars with speakers on megaphones making educational and political speeches were distributed throughout. Participants distributed flyers with information about the history of Palestine and its occupation by the Zionists.

The hundreds of vehicles brought traffic to a crawl and drew cheering crowds at two intersections. Shouts of “Free Palestine” and “Stop the genocide” were heard from both the demonstrators’ speakers and from beachgoers. Many vehicles were adorned with decorations that were prepared during the two hours it took for the drivers to gather. These included flags, posters and painted messages that read “30,000 killed by Israel,” “End all aid to Israel” and “Victory to Palestine.”

Efforts by police and Zionists to harass the demonstration failed to prevent the vehicles from completing the entire planned route despite multiple citations and a Zionist motorcyclist who broke a side-view mirror.

At the conclusion, organizers said that this rally was double the size of the first rally a month before and made calls for the new participants to join in the planning of a third car rally for Palestine in South Florida.

Many organizations contributed to the event such as South-Florida Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Palestine Car Rally, Al-Awda, Jewish Voices for Peace of South Florida, Students for Justice in Palestine at Florida International University, Democratic Socialists of America, and Jose Marti Youth.

#PompanoBeachFL #MiamiFL #FtLauderdaleFL #BocaRatonFL #SouthFlorida #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #FRSO #JVP #AlAwda #SJP #DSA #JMY

Pompano Beach, FL – On January 28, over 100 vehicles drove as a caravan across Fort Lauderdale at minimum speed to show solidarity with Palestine. The “Car Rally for Palestine” demonstrated the pride and solidarity of those in the South Florida community feel towards Palestine’s resistance during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Led by a video truck which played music and displayed images and facts about the atrocities the Zionist occupation forces have visited upon Palestine, drivers decorated their cars with painted and real Palestinian flags and wore Keffiyehs. Slogans of “Long live Palestine” and “Free Palestine” rang out as occupants shouted from windows and waved flags from sun roofs on Interstate 95.

The slow-moving possession backed up traffic and drew the attention of motorists and beachgoers wherever it went. Viewers were confronted by facts wherever they looked. Special emphasis given to the thousands of children buried under the rubble of Gaza by U.S. weapons and the thousands more kidnapped from their families into “administrative detention.”

Organizer Alexandra Capecci explained that this car rally was meant to “show that there is a community in South Florida that supports Palestine, and by being in a caravan we were able to stay safe and spread awareness while showing people that aren’t as familiar with the movement that they can get involved and inspire them to get involved and feel comfortable.”

Many organizations were represented at the event such as Palestine Car Rally, Students for Justice in Palestine at Florida International University, Al-Awda, Jewish Voices for Peace of South Florida, Democratic Socialists of America, Jose Marti Youth, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#PompanoBeachFL #AntiWarMovement #International #Palestine #SJP #JVP #AlAwda #DSA #JMY #FRSO

Miami, FL – Thousands of people from across South Florida took to the streets of Miami two nights in a row this past weekend in solidarity with Palestinians who continue to resist Israeli violence and the ongoing occupation of Palestine. The calls to action were put out by South Florida Jewish Voices for Peace and Al Awda: The Palestinian Right to Return Coalition and were supported by most progressive community organizations throughout the area.

On Saturday night, May 15, thousands of protesters flooded Biscayne Park and the Torch of Friendship before taking over the streets of one of the busiest areas in South Florida. Activists held signs that read, “Palestine will be free” and “Stop the genocide in Gaza,” as others waved large Palestinian flags. Chants of “Free, free Palestine,” reverberated from the glassy Miami skyscrapers as protesters marched through the financial district of downtown Miami.

Sunday night’s protest took place in Wynwood, Miami’s art and design district. Once again, an unending sea of protesters took to the streets, shutting down the entire district known for its murals, drinks and overpriced eateries. Notable signs included, “Jews for justice in Palestine,” and “Israel is an apartheid state.” Protesters chanted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” as their banners and flags waved in the wind. Even the passing Miami rainstorm did not deter protesters from marching and chanting.

Perhaps most impressive was the amount of support from onlookers, shoppers, restaurant employees and customers. Cars honked in support, passersby raised fists in solidarity, patrons stood from their tables and clapped. Unlike past Palestine demonstrations in the area, no counter-protesters showed up.

Organizers reported that both nights of protest were each the largest gatherings for Palestine South Florida has ever witnessed. They vowed to continue the movement with two upcoming events Tuesday, May 18, and Thursday, May 20 in Fort Lauderdale.

#MiamiFL #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Palestine #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #AlAwda #JewishVoicesForPeace

New York, NY – Approximately 4000 Palestinians and allies rallied and marched in the center of New York city in protest of President Trump moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

Currently, the U.S. Embassy is in Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel (Occupied Palestine). Moving the embassy to Jerusalem would end up emboldening Israel’s criminal occupation. Even imperialist countries, such as France, have denounced the President Trump’s move.

The protesters in New York joined the with Palestinians, who called for three days of rage in response to Trump’s action. The event started in Times Square, where the sheer number of people overflowed the police barricades and spilled out into the streets. A 25-foot Palestinian flag covered the crowd, undulating as the people moved.

A few pro-Zionist forces were drowned out by thousands of voices chanting, “Free, free Palestine!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

The crowd chanted and swelled in size for over two hours. At the end of the rally there was a short list of speakers, including Lamis Deek from Al-Awda NY. She spoke about the importance of Palestinian struggle and how Israeli occupation is a hindrance to peace. She said, “Wherever there is Israel there is violence. And where there is Palestine, there is freedom!” to which the whole crowd erupted in cheers.

The march began with people marching filed in a line, talking up several city blocks, chanting the whole way, waving hundreds of Palestinian flags.

The march ended in front of the CNN building by Columbus Circle, right near Trump Towers, a symbolic moment highlighting the connection between the U.S.'s brutal history of colonialism and Israel's occupation of Palestine. Despite a large police presence, the people kept chanting and waving Palestinian flags, declaring that Palestine one day will be free.

#NewYorkNY #Palestine #Jerusalem #AlAwda #MiddleEast

Fort Lauderdale, FL – On the weekend of Nov. 14, Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, held its Twelfth Annual International Convention here at the Westin Hotel. The successful event included speeches by prominent activists, academics, artists and journalists from Palestine and the pro-Palestine movement throughout the U.S. Supporters from across the country discussed plans for building the Palestine freedom movement.

Anas Amireh, one of the lead organizers of the South Florida chapter of Al-Awda, proclaimed, “We are activists for Palestine!” Amireh continued, “We in Al-Awda bring all religions, all factions, all societies, to one core goal: to serve the Palestinian cause and to make 100% sure that no agreement or resolution is created in the name of Palestine without the Palestinian right of return!”

One of the main issues addressed at the convention was maintaining momentum of the Palestine solidarity movement. Discussions centered on how to better organize and unify pro-Palestine local and international groups. Panelists also discussed how to get more people out to protests and events and how to bring the story of Palestine to various communities who also face oppression in the U.S.

Organizations represented on the panels included the National Lawyers Guild, Florida Palestine Network, Electronic Intifada, People’s Opposition to War, Imperialism, and Racism (POWIR), Students for Justice in Palestine, and many others.

Pamela Maldonado was on the opening panel called “Empowering Our Coalition.” She said, “POWIR organizes with Al-Awda South Florida and has been a part of numerous rallies to demand justice for Palestine and for all Palestinian refugees right to return.” She continued, “As an anti-imperialist group we understand that Israel has always been funded and is still being funded by the U.S. government, and that these forces of oppression are connected. We continue to organize against our U.S. tax dollars being used to continue the ethnic cleansing that is taking place in Palestine and against the U.S. government persecuting activists that speak up for justice.”

Many convention-goers were interested to hear about the suppression of free speech at a major American university. The University of Illinois fired Professor Salaita, a newly-hired expert teaching American Indian studies. Salaita posted several messages this past summer to his Twitter account criticizing Israel's war on the people of Gaza. Now Illinois students and professors are waging a campaign to get Salaita reinstated. Salaita is speaking at many colleges and universities about his views and the issue of academic freedom. There is a growing movement by professors and academic groups to boycott the University of Illinois for its hostile actions. The suppression of free speech by university officials and backed by the Illinois Board of Trustees exposed the role of big money donors in controlling the agenda of a state university.

Another major issue of the Al-Awda convention was solidarity with Arab American and Muslim political prisoners in the U.S. and how to maintain support for them. The case of Rasmea Odeh, the 67-year-old Palestinian American activist who was sent to jail on Nov. 10 was a big focus. Odeh was brought to trial because the Department of Homeland Security claimed that she falsified her citizenship papers when she filed them over ten years ago. The highly politicized trial came at a time when activism for Palestine is at its peak. Likewise, the U.S. government’s repression of Arab Americans and Palestine solidarity activists continues to grow.

Odeh’s trial is an attack on the Palestinian community and a threat from the U.S. government to all who fight against U.S.-supported aggression abroad. Panelists at the convention discussed Odeh’s trial, ways to continue the fight to free her and how to keep the momentum for this Palestinian icon going. Letter-writing campaigns, protests and call-in days are being encouraged.

The convention ended the evening of Nov. 15 with a gala that included Palestinian music and food and a performance by the Handala Dabke Troupe, a South Florida-based dance group that performs traditional and modern Palestinian pieces to preserve their culture and song. The troupe announced that they are auditioning this year for “America’s Got Talent” to bring their cultural resistance to a wider audience.

“We in Al-Awda are pure and solid activists,” Amireh of Al-Awda concluded. “We are fighting the good fight! The fight for a one-state solution and the fight for the Palestinian right of return!”

#FortLauderdaleFL #Palestine #MiddleEast #AlAwda #PalestineRightToReturnCoalition #Conference

Fort Lauderdale, FL – Over 250 people gathered at the Federal Courthouse here, Aug. 2 to protest U.S. support for Israeli terrorism in Gaza. As the bombs continued to drop on the people of Gaza, people of South Florida joined together to stand in solidarity with Palestine and demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel. This was the third major rally for Palestine in South Florida in three weeks.

The rally began in the evening, with protesters chanting “Free, free Palestine!” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, this racist war has got to go!” Palestinian flags waved high above the gathering and signs called for peace with justice for Palestine. Cars honked in approval and passersby joined in the gathering.

In the past two weeks, national leaders and people of the world have risen up to denounce Israeli war crimes in Gaza and to support Palestine. Since the Israeli Operation Protective Edge began over a month ago, more than 1700 Palestinians have been killed. Gaza has no electricity, entire towns are leveled, the hospitals there are overwhelmed, bodies are decaying in the streets, and no place – including shelters – is safe from Israeli aggression.

About an hour after the protest started, the chants came to an end. The crowd became somber and quiet as the protesters formed a large circle at the front of the courthouse for a memorial to the victims in Gaza. People were asked to come into the center one by one to read aloud about 1000 names of innocent men, women and children murdered by Israeli missiles and bombs.

Emotions ran high as the names and ages of the fallen were read by people of all ages, races and religions. Pain, sadness and anger overtook many who approached the megaphone in the center of the circle. It was soon evident entire families were wiped out by Israel, and that many of the people killed by Israel in the past month were children. The youngest victim memorialized at the rally was four months old.

As names of innocent victims were read to a silent crowd, a group of about 15 counter-protesters waving American and Israeli flags across the street began shouting. Their disrespect for the dead was obvious as they chanted, “Go Israel!” and “Go home terrorists!” in between names.

After the names were read, however, the voices of the few counter-protesters were drowned out by the roar of 250 people chanting, “We. Are. We are all Palestine! We. Are. We are all Palestine!” Protesters say they will continue to organize until there is justice for Palestine.

The protest was organized by Al-Awda South Florida, People’s Opposition to War, Imperialism, and Racism (POWIR), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the Green Party of Broward County.

#FortLauderdaleFL #AntiwarMovement #Gaza #Palestine #AlAwda #POWIR #StudentsForJusticeInPalestine #MiddleEast

(Right of Return March Organizers)”)

Chicago, IL - The streets of downtown Chicago were filled with chants of “Free, free Palestine! Democratic Palestine!” on Sunday, Sept. 29. More than 1200 activists took over city streets and rallied at the Federal Plaza to demand the right of return to Palestine for all Palestinian refugees.

The national demonstration was organized by Al Awda to commemorate the 2-year anniversary of the second Intifada – the uprising of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories against the apartheid-like conditions under which they live. There was also a strong message of “No war on Iraq,” making this rally the largest anti-war protest in Chicago since November 2001, when the U.S. attacked and occupied Afghanistan.

#ChicagoIL #ChiccagoIL #News #Palestine #AlAwda #rightOfReturn #MiddleEast

The convention date coincided with Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, the second anniversary of the fall of the Jenin refugee camp. The gathering acquired additional importance when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited George W. Bush two days before the convention. Bush again pledged full support to Israel, going so far as to state that the Palestinians should drop their demand for the right to return – and that the U.S. would not push Israel into withdrawing from, or ending its illegal military occupation of, the West Bank.

Participants at the convention rejected the Bush-Sharon proclamations, as well as other attempts to liquidate the right to return, including the so-called ‘Geneva Accord’ and the U.S.-sponsored ‘Road Map.’ The convention resolved to challenge all designs that deviate from the Palestinian national program, especially the right of return. Those at the meeting also determined that a letter should be sent to the Palestinian Authority and its representatives, notifying them of the convention’s resolutions and decisions.

Participants reaffirmed that the right to return to Palestine is an “inalienable, collective and individual” one. It is a right that cannot be diminished by the passage of time or by any treaties, edicts, declarations, political agreements or modifications in international law. The right to return is neither negotiable nor open to concessions or interpretation.

Equally significant, the convention adopted the Points of Unity, which stress the indivisibility of historic Palestine (which includes the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and present day ‘Israel’) and which call for the creation of a democratic state for all its citizens in all of historic Palestine. This reflects the fact that the struggle for return is inseparable from the larger Palestinian struggle for national liberation and self-determination.

At the opening plenary session, keynote speakers Karma Nabulsi, a former Palestine Liberation Organization representative now living in London, and Ali El-Kassed, a long-time Palestine solidarity activist from New York, spoke of the over 5 million Palestinian refugees who were exiled from their land and homes upon the founding of the state of ‘Israel’ in 1948 – an event called Al Nakba, the “Catastrophe” by Palestinians and others in the Arab world – and the essence of the right to return as it relates to Palestinian national consciousness.

“There can be no real solution to the Arab-Israeli, or Palestinian-Israeli, conflict without the full implementation of the right to return,” said El-Kassed in an interview after his address, “because the Palestinians living in refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan will never forget their homes and land in pre-1948 Palestine. The struggle for the right to return is the most revolutionary and progressive struggle in the world today, because, when we’re victorious, it will be a huge blow to Israeli settler-colonialism and U.S. imperialism. This is an important movement, and it has an impressive, coordinated character throughout North America, which we haven’t had in a long time.”

The final day of the convention called for a national week of action from May 15-22 to commemorate Al-Nakba; days of action from Sept. 17-28 to commemorate the Israeli-supported massacres at the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982 and the current breakout of the Intifada on Sept. 28 2000; organizing campaigns to support Palestinian refugees in Iraq and in Montreal, where dozens have been threatened with deportation; and identifying the years 2004 and 2005, in North America, as the Year of the Palestinian Right of Return.

At the convention’s conclusion, hundreds of the participants joined other community members in a protest at the Israeli Consulate on Second Avenue in Manhattan, demonstrating against the assassination of the Hamas leader Abdelaziz Rantisi, whose murder was announced to stunned conventioneers the day before.

Background for this article provided by 2004 Al Awda Convention Committee

#NewYorkNY #News #Palestine #AlAwda #RightToReturn #MiddleEast

For immediate release

June 30, 2006

Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, condemns in the strongest possible terms the Israeli war crimes committed against the Palestinian people, including the comprehensive siege imposed on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. We call upon the international community to take up their responsibility in protecting the Palestinian people from this aggression, and terminating the continuing Israeli policy of collective

punishment.

Since Tuesday, June 27, 2006, Israel destroyed vital bridges, water and electricity stations. As a consequence more than two-thirds of the people have been denied access to water and electricity. Children, the sick and elderly are the first to be affected.

Israel also arrested more than 64 elected Palestinian Legislative Council members, city mayors, cabinet ministers and lawmakers.

Israel, the US and European Union governments have put the Palestinian people under siege for the past few months as collective punishment because they did not approve of the results of the democratic elections Palestinians held. Palestinians understood that the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip which took place this past year was meant to turn it into the largest prison with the largest population of prisoners in the world. The

acquiescence of world governments to this indicates complicity in these war crimes.

Nothing justifies the Israeli savagery, including the elimination of water and electricity access to hundreds of thousands of people. Racist media coverage in North America has been trying to minimize the importance of these war crimes.

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, calls upon all people who support the Palestinian struggle for self determination and return, to demand of their representatives, the media and their governments to ensure that the genocidal Zionist State of Israel ends its siege and fully compensates for the destruction of life and infrastructure that it has

visited upon the Palestinian people. The potential future cost to human life the destruction of the water and power supply may cause cannot yet be determined.

Al-Awda calls upon the international community, Palestine solidarity activists and groups, Arab community organizations including community centers, mosques and churches, to demand:

• Ending the siege imposed on the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
• The protection of civilian lives and property, as stipulated in International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law.
• The immediate release of all political prisoners, including all elected representatives of the Palestinian people.
• To provide Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip and West Bank with financial and material support, and to Demand the implementation of their inalienable right to return to their homes and lands from which they have been dispossessed since the imposition of the Zionist state in 1948 and thereafter.
• An end to all Zionist occupation, Apartheid and all other war crimes
• An end to all U.S. aid to Israel which supports the continuing occupation
• Immediate reparations and compensation for all destruction carried out by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere.

To find out about a demonstration in your area to protest the siege, please visit the messages posted at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-News/messages

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition

#Palestine #Gaza #Statement #AlAwda #WestBank #MiddleEast