Chicago, IL – Israel already controls the entirety of Palestinian life in the occupied territories, even in the areas that are supposedly run by the Palestinian Authority, but this annexation plan codifies the expropriation of Palestinian land and may secure Israeli sovereignty over 30% of the West Bank, including the border with Jordan called the Jordan Valley.

Annexation is illegal under international law, but that has never stopped Israel before. The occupation of the West Bank and annexation of Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights is illegal as well, and Israel has also violated the majority of so-called peace agreements with the Palestinians since the 1993 Oslo Accords because Israel does not want peace.

It wants to continue its racist, white settler-colonialist project in Palestine, ethnically cleansing the indigenous population and replacing them with European and U.S. Jews. Over 500,000 of these illegal settlers already live in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and annexation is the Zionist’s way of saying that the land stolen from Palestinians to build settlements and house colonizers now officially belongs to Israel.

Again, this plan and move by Israel would not be possible without the U.S. Both the Democrats and Republicans have allowed Israel to commit crimes against the Palestinians with impunity, but Trump's administration has definitely been the worst in history.

He and his son-in-law Jared Kushner clearly see the Palestinians as a non-entity, working only with their fellow racist, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the Deal of the Century, their ridiculous ‘peace proposal’ for the region.

This ‘Sham’ of the Century has already been rejected by Palestinians, Arabs, and all people of conscience. Nobody even discusses it anymore.

And this annexation plan is also rejected by the Palestinian masses and their supporters. People in Palestine and across the world are calling for Days of Rage on or around July 1, and protests are scheduled on every continent, including a number in U.S. cities like Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Santa Ana, Los Angeles, San Diego and Miami.

Palestinians have been resisting Zionist Israel, Arab reactionary regimes, and U.S. imperialism, for over seven decades, and will continue their struggle against racism, annexation, occupation and colonization – never surrendering until they win their Right of Return and national liberation.

#ChicagoIL #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #Palestine #US #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #Israel #HatemAbudayyeh #Antifascism #DonaldTrump

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people gathered here, Oct. 12 to hear an important talk by Hatem Abudayyeh, a National Coordinating Committee member of the U.S. Palestinian Communities Network (USPCN). Abudayyeh spoke about the lessons of the recent Israeli war on Gaza and the road ahead for the U.S. anti war and Palestine solidarity movement.

Abudayyeh told the crowd, “Israel lost the war both militarily and politically. Israel is the fifth largest military in the world and it still could not defeat or disarm the Palestinian resistance. When it came down to hand to hand fighting in Gaza they [the Israeli military] lost that too. They were not able to get all the tunnels – which was one of their publicly stated objectives. There were leaks from Israeli military officials that they were unaware of the training the resistance had. There's a dynamic here that's different which we haven't seen since 1982, a Palestinian resistance that can hold its own and had some victories.”

Speaking of the growing unity in the Palestinian movement for national liberation, Abudayyeh said, “There was a unified resistance in Palestine. That was a really important step. Palestine is not Hamas. Hamas is the strongest force in the resistance but they did not fight Israel alone. There was also unity amongst Palestinian civil society – within the 1948 borders [Israel] and within the West Bank too.”

In talking about the movement to boycott, divest and sanction (BDS) Israel, Abudayyeh highlighted the work done by the Chicago AWC in coalition with the USPCN to make war profiteers like Boeing suffer, and the work in coalition with the Longshoremen's union in California to prevent the docking of Israeli ships.

Abudayyeh also stressed the importance of defending veteran Palestinian leader Rasmea Odeh who is facing trumped up immigration charges as a result of her political activism, stating, “Rasmea's case is not just an immigration case. She's come under attack because she represents the Palestinian aspirations for a right to return.”

The event was organized by the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #AntiWarCommittee #HatemAbudayyeh

Fight Back! is circulating this important statement from the Rasmea Defense Committee.

In a bizarre and desperate move, prosecutors in the case of Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh filed a motion in Federal Court Oct. 3, which characterized the efforts of an important leader of the Rasmea Odeh defense campaign, Hatem Abudayyeh, as “jury tampering” and “almost certainly criminal.” The prosecution then asks Judge Gershwin Drain for an “Anonymous Jury,” which means that the names of the jurors are kept secret from the defense attorneys, and that an array of security measures are put it place during the trial that make it seem like 67-year-old Rasmea Odeh is a dangerous person.

There is no evidence at all for the baseless accusations against the movement in support of Rasmea. The prosecutor’s motion is a clumsy attempt at intimidation and should be condemned by everyone who is concerned about civil liberties.

Here are the facts. Rasmea Odeh is a beloved leader of the Palestinian community in Chicago who is facing trumped up immigration charges. Imprisoned by the Israelis in the late 1960s, due to her work to free Palestine, Rasmea was tortured and sexually abused. She is well-known and respected across the world. The federal government is threatening her with jail and deportation. As a result, a powerful and effective movement organized protests around the country, demanding “Justice for Rasmea.”

Now the prosecutors are waging an attack on everyone involved in this movement to support and defend Rasmea.

They talk about ‘jury tampering.’ Until there is a trial, there is no jury, so how could a jury possibly be tampered with? In any event, at no time have we ever tried to improperly influence a jury. Not once. What we are doing is organizing protests, having people sign petitions and holding educational events. We are encouraging people to attend Rasmea’s court appearances. We are shining a light on the unjust prosecution of Rasmea. We want the government to drop the charges.

In the prosecutor’s motion we are told, “Hatem Abudayyeh has orchestrated a concerted effort to influence the criminal proceedings against defendant, which has resulted, at each proceeding, in a large group outside the Courthouse protesting and parading, carrying signs demanding dismissal of charges and 'Justice for Rasmea' and displaying the Palestinian flag.” Imagine that. Palestinians, Arabs and progressive people responding to an injustice by holding a protest and engaging in activity that is protected by the First Amendment. In the world that the Detroit U.S. Attorney wants, speaking out as we have is, “almost certainly criminal.” On the contrary – it is criminal for the prosecutors to attempt to restrict our constitutional rights.

It is worth noting that there is a distinctly racist, anti-Arab undertone to the prosecutor’s motion, where spirited and dignified protests, with a majority of Palestinian American participants, are described as “hordes” and “mobs.” Again, the federal government is trying to sow fear among people in the U.S. by criminalizing and stereotyping Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims. As one of Rasmea's lawyers said when he was informed of the motion, it, “ is only intended to play the 'terrorism' card and is unacceptable.”

The prosecutors also have a problem with people who want to petition the government for a redress of grievances, so they complain in their motion that those who want the charges against Rasmea dropped “have previously attempted to flood Department of Justice telephone lines in an attempt to influence these proceedings.”

We will continue to hold call in days and we will organize even more people to participate in them.

We take the threats of the prosecution seriously. We urge all of our supporters to keep their eyes on Detroit and to be ready to respond to any attacks on leaders of the Rasmea defense campaign.

We see these threats as a sign that our campaign to defend Rasmea Odeh is working. We were successful in getting Zionist Judge Borman off the case. There are now thousands of people across the country engaged in organizing for Rasmea. We will not allow the government to intimidate us. This attack will bring more supporters and strengthen our work further. We will redouble our efforts to make sure the charges against Rasmea are dropped!

#UnitedStates #HatemAbudayyeh #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh

Recently, the FBI in Chicago returned to Hatem Abudayyeh the boxes of documents and personal effects they seized from his home four years ago.

Abudayyeh, a well known organizer in the Palestinian community of Chicago, had his home raided on Sept. 24, 2010, and was subpoenaed to a federal grand jury. The investigation involves a total of 23 people: anti-war and international solidarity activists, seven of them Palestinian.

“This is another victory, but it’s not over,” commented Abudayyeh. “According to Barry Jonas, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is the prosecutor in our case, the government has an eight year statute of limitations on this investigation.”

Lawyers for the activists also believe that the statute gives the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago four more years to investigate.

“There’s no doubt that they copied all the documents, in addition to the thousands of documents seized from the homes of the other anti-war activists, so we’re not out of the woods yet,” continued Abudayyeh. “But this witch hunt must end. They’ve got nothing. All we did was work to end U.S. support for Israel’s occupation of Palestine, and that is not a crime.”

Rasmea Odeh the new target of Jonas

On Oct. 22, 2013, Barry Jonas played a role in the arrest of Rasmea Odeh, a legendary Palestinian leader in Chicago. Since her arrest, Odeh’s case has been linked to the case of the Anti-war 23.

When all 23 refused to testify, with the support of a broad mass movement, the grand jury ground to a halt. The Department of Justice did not stop their efforts to suppress the movements for Palestine and against war, however. They first arrested Carlos Montes, a veteran Chicano activist from East Los Angeles. Thousands of people from around the country spent over a year defeating the prosecution of Montes.

Then the Department of Homeland Security came after Odeh on the pretext that she failed to disclose in her application for citizenship that she had been unjustly imprisoned by the Israeli occupiers of Palestine and tortured into confessing to a crime that she did not commit.

Abudayyeh is the director of the Arab American Action Network, and Odeh is his co-worker.

Jonas was present in court the morning Odeh was arrested. He has a long history of persecution of Palestinians in this country for their efforts to support their homeland. He was the prosecutor in the case of the Holy Land Five, the leaders of the largest Muslim charity in the U.S. They are in prison and sentenced for up to 65 years.

Prosecutors and judiciary work together to uphold Israel’s criminal occupation

The case against Odeh turns on a confession extracted through sadistic, sexual torture by the Israelis. Barry Jonas upholds tortured confessions, as do many judges. Odeh’s lawyers objected to Paul Borman in Detroit, the first judge assigned to her case, because of his close ties to Israel and support for the occupation of Palestine. They feared that he would be one of those judges for whom Israel’s record of torture posed no problem. Borman was compelled by legal action and public pressure to recuse himself and step down from the case.

Abudayyeh concluded: “Our efforts helped push Borman out of Rasmea’s case, but we have to redouble our efforts to support and defend her.”

#ChicagoIL #HatemAbudayyeh #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #AntiWar23 #PoliticalRepression

Chicago, IL – Hundreds of protesters stood across the street from the Israeli consulate here, July 22, shouting, “Hey, Israel, waddya say? How many kids did you kill today?” They aimed their voices at a smaller crowd that waived Israeli flags and who gathered directly in front of the consulate in a show of support for the murderous assault on Gaza over the past two weeks.

While the pro-Israel rally was only a few hundred people, compared to the 700 that came out to support the people of Gaza, that didn’t stop the Zionists from acting aggressively. According to Hatem Abudayyeh of the U.S. Palestine Community Network and the citywide Coalition for Justice in Palestine, “The most rabid of them came across the street when their event ended to confront us.”

The Chicago Police Department sent their mounted police and others to face off, not with the approaching crowd from the Israeli side, but against the Palestinians and their allies. Abudayyeh said, “If our side had done that, gone across the street to disrupt the Israeli demo, the cops would’ve been all over us.”

Women leaders of Students for Justice in Palestine-Chicago led most of the rally’s chants.

After the Zionist event dispersed, the youthful protesters took off on a march across the Loop to the Chicago Tribune building. They held a die-in there to dramatize that Palestinians in Gaza are still dying under the guns, bombs and missiles of the Israeli attack.

For the Palestinian community in Chicago and the solidarity movement, Chicago won’t be quiet until the U.S.-backed siege of Gaza is over.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #PalestineSolidarity #Zionism #HatemAbudayyeh #attacksOnGaza #USImperialism #IsraeliOccupation #MiddleEast

Last week, two FBI agents entered the small business of a Palestinian American in Chicagoland and began asking him questions about community leader Hatem Abudayyeh (who is still under investigation as one of the Midwest 23 activists) and Rasmea Odeh, the community icon facing trial this June. The United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) denounce this attempt at harassment and intimidation, and call on all organizers and activists around the country to remember: Don’t talk to the FBI! The person visited by the FBI last week refused to answer any questions about Abudayyeh or Odeh, and told the agents to call his attorney when they insisted on continuing their interrogation. Everyone has the right to remain silent, and should always utilize that right when visited by the FBI or other law enforcement agencies.

If you are contacted by the FBI or other law enforcement, you should refuse to answer questions and IMMEDIATELY call the National Lawyers Guild Chicago hotline at 312-913-0039. The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) also produces important “Know Your Rights” literature in English and Arabic.

In addition, a dynamic new organization, Palestine Solidarity Legal Support, which focuses specifically on defending the rights of those active in Palestine support work, has published an important legal and tactical guide to Palestinian human rights advocacy in the U.S. Also, youth activists with the community-based Arab American Action Network in Chicago produced a popular video in 2012, reminding community members of their rights when approached by the FBI.

These FBI visits and intimidation tactics are not new to the Arab, Muslim and South Asian communities, which have been the most affected by U.S. law enforcement’s techniques of widespread surveillance, entrapment and harassment, especially since 9/11. The Department of Justice will continue to come after those of us who are doing effective and impactful work, especially those of us in the Palestine support movement. But we have rights that must be known, learned and defended.

Abudayyeh’s family home was raided by the FBI in September of 2010, and over 3 and a half years later, he still has not had all his property returned. The Midwest 23 were all subpoenaed to a federal grand jury, and all refused to testify, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas has repeatedly told Midwest 23 attorneys that the “investigation is ongoing.” CSFR activists have insisted throughout that the investigation is nothing but a “witch hunt,” an attempt by federal law enforcement to harass, intimidate and pressure anti-war and international solidarity activists into informing on friends and colleagues in the social justice movements. And this has proven to be the case, as no arrests or indictments have been made. Nevertheless, the Midwest 23 cannot put this chapter of their lives behind them, as it seems that the FBI is still sniffing around for information.

The FBI and other federal and local law enforcement have used informants, surveillance, infiltration and other nefarious methods for decades in this country, targeting especially oppressed nationality groups like the Black and Chicano liberation movements, the Puerto Rican independence movement and the American Indian Movement. Recently, anti-war and anti-austerity activists like the Midwest 23, the NATO 5, Occupy and others have also come under attack, but the people facing some of the most vicious current state repression are Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims, including Rasmea Odeh, who is facing 10 years in prison, revocation of her U.S. citizenship, and deportation for the ridiculous allegation that she lied on an immigration application two decades ago.

You Have the Right to Remain Silent! Don’t Talk to the FBI! Palestine Support Work is Not a Crime!

#ChicagoIL #HatemAbudayyeh #FBI #AntiWar23 #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh

Detroit, MI – More than 100 people joined a rally in solidarity with Palestinian women’s leader Rasmea Odeh as she went to court here Nov.13. Agents of the Department of Homeland Security arrested Odeh on Oct. 22 at her home in Evergreen Park, a suburb of Chicago. Odeh is charged with immigration fraud. Allegedly, in her application for citizenship, she did not mention that she was arrested in Palestine 45 years ago, by an Israeli military court that detains Palestinians without charge – a court that has over 200 children in prison today and does not recognize the rights of Palestinians to due process.

Hatem Abudayyeh, who works with Rasmea Odeh and is one of the Anti-War 23 raided by the FBI three years ago, said outside the court, “Rasmea is guilty of nothing and this is a ridiculous charge. She is a 65-year-old leader of Palestinian, Arab-American and Muslim women in this country. The immigration charge is a pretext to go after her. Just as the U.S. government used political repression against African American, labor and other movements in the past, it is now repressing movements for social justice in our country again today. The U.S. and Israeli governments are angry because we are effective at organizing and changing attitudes of the people in this country about war and occupation in the Middle East. The boycott, divest and sanctions movement against Israeli Apartheid is growing and spreading; making a dent. The U.S. government is not able to criminalize the political activity of the Anti-War 23 and they will not be able to do it to Rasmea Odeh either!”

Another protester, Farah Erzouki, came with 12 students from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Erzouki, who is with Students for Justice in Palestine, said, “We represent the SJP both in Michigan and nationally and came to show solidarity and support for Rasmea Odeh. We oppose the U.S. government targeting people’s political beliefs. It affects groups like SJP on campus, with many chapters and leaders facing disciplinary charges for expressing their free speech or protesting on campus. So we plan to leaflet on campus and do educational forums. We oppose the repression of all people, but especially Palestinians.”

Students for a Democratic Society in Chicago sent Kait McIntyre to Detroit to speak at the rally: “Rasmea’s dedication to justice is shown by her leadership on the Arab Women’s Committee and leading work in the areas of civil liberties and immigration rights at the Arab American Action Network. We believe her work should be applauded, not condemned!”

Protesters came from Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Grand Rapids and Detroit, Michigan, as well as from Chicago and Milwaukee. Solidarity rallies also took place in Oakland, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Tampa, Gainesville, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City.

At today’s arraignment lawyer Jim Fennerty explained that Rasmea Odeh pled not guilty. The lawyers will begin to go through 600 pages of documents and plan for a trial. There will be more protests at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, in Detroit, in the coming months. Detroit is Odeh’s original city of U.S. residence.

Before travelling home by bus with scores of supporters from Chicago, Rasmea was smiling and in good spirits. She joined the crowd in front of the court building, stating, “Thank you for your support. Thank you from me. It means a lot for me and my people!”

#DetroitMI #PalestineSolidarity #HomelandSecurity #HatemAbudayyeh #politicalRepression #AntiWar23 #InjusticeSystem #RasmeaOdeh

Chicago, IL – Michael Deutsch of the National Lawyers Guild and the People’s Law Office spoke Nov. 12 about the case of Rasmea Yousef Odeh, a 65-year-old, Palestinian American, women's rights activist who was recently indicted and tomorrow faces arraignment Nov. 13 in U.S. District Court in Detroit. The immigration charge against Odeh could result in ten years in prison and deportation for violations in her application for citizenship.

Deutsch said the situation, “appears to be the Department of Homeland Security behaving in a discriminatory fashion, targeting Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians for selective prosecution.”

He recounted the history since 9/11 of the singling out of these communities by the U.S. government, especially in Chicago, including the case of Dr. Muhammad Salah, who the U.S. Attorney prosecuted for aiding people living under Israeli occupation. Salah’s trial featured Israeli agents testifying in secret with evidence obtained through torture.

Deutsch described the case of the 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists whose homes were raided and who were subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney in 2010 for their efforts in support of Palestinians. The U.S. Attorney refuses to end this investigation. “The investigation of Rasmea Odeh seems to grow out of the case of the 23, because her colleague at the Arab American Action Network, Hatem Abudayyeh, was one of those raided and subpoenaed.”

From these experiences, Deutsch stated, “We know that the U.S. government works closely with Israeli officials, and therefore it is a certainty that the U.S. government knew of Odeh’s legal history at the time she emigrated and at the time she applied for citizenship. Why then is she being charged now after 20 years of model citizenship and good deeds in service of her community?”

Deutsch also cited a report by the ACLU from August of this year, “Muslims Need Not Apply,” which exposes the “Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program” of the Immigration Services. “This program targets Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern and South Asian immigrants to deny them their requests for citizenship,” explained Deutsch.

These examples together were the basis of his statements of concern about discriminatory, selective prosecution.

Hatem Abudayyeh – a co-worker of Rasmea Odeh for almost ten years and who also represented the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and the Committee Against Political Repression – reminded everyone that Odeh was born in the same exact year that her people were pushed out of Palestine in 1948 and, because of that experience, she has dedicated her whole life to social justice. She is a mentor to dozens of activists and organizers across the country and leads a women's rights organization of over 600 members.

Abudayyeh also said that Odeh is receiving massive support from all across the world, including almost 100 organizations in the U.S. that have written letters or signed onto statements condemning the indictment.

“We are taking a charter bus and a car caravan to be with Rasmea tomorrow at her arraignment in Detroit. Hundreds from Michigan will meet us there. And hundreds more in Gainesville, Philadelphia, D.C., New York, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Salt Lake City and other towns across the U.S. will be rallying in support of Rasmea and to demand that U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade drop the charges now.”

Margaret Jackson, interim Regional Director of the American Friends Service Committee, spoke against the racism of the U.S. government for this political attack on a Palestinian woman and stated, “As a person of color, I can tell you I’ve experienced racism in this society.” To show her support of the human rights work that Rasmea has done in Chicago, she declared, “I’m proud to stand with Rasmea Odeh.”

#ChicagoIL #PalestineSolidarity #HomelandSecurity #AntiRacism #HatemAbudayyeh #politicalRepression #AntiWar23 #InjusticeSystem #FBIRepression #RasmeaOdeh #MichaelDeutsch

Chicago, IL – Over 300 people rallied and marched here, Aug. 29, to say, “Hands off Syria!” in response to the U.S. threat of a military attack. Half of the people present were Syrians of all backgrounds – Christians and Muslims, Assyrians and Arabs.

The Syrians came with the Syrian American Forum (SAF), a group that has worked over the past several years to try to prevent U.S. intervention in their country. The anti-war groups included the Anti-War Committee – Chicago (AWC), ANSWER Coalition and the March 19th Committee. There was also a contingent from the Iraq Veterans Against the War.

According to one of the emcees, Andy Thayer of Gay Liberation Network, “This protest was organized in a little more than 48 hours after President Obama announced that cruise missile strikes could begin as soon as Thursday.” Hatem Abudayyeh of U.S. Palestinian Community Network-Chicago, explained, “We will protest today and we will hold emergency response actions if and when the U.S. missiles strike Syria.”

Kait McIntyre of AWC led the crowd in chants of “Money for jobs, not for war!” Many speakers denounced the pretext for war that President Obama is using – the claim that the Syrian government had used chemical gas on its civilian population. McIntyre said, “Why would the Syrian government choose now to use gas, when they just welcomed the UN into the country to investigate suspected uses of gas by the rebels?”

Syrian speakers included Dr. Matar Matar and Mark Ahmad of SAF. Dr. Matar passionately called for anti-war protesters to defend Syria, to the cheers from the crowd. A young Syrian American student took the stage and pled with the crowd to continue efforts to stop the war on her homeland.

The high point of the protest was a march up State Street, where hundreds of Chicagoans stopped to look, many taking photos and giving thumbs up. A recent Reuters poll shows that most people in this country don’t support going to war with Syria, and this was evident to the marchers.

The march was led by Syrians holding their national flag with the two stars emblazoned on it. The sound was bouncing off the buildings and the march picked up people as it went. Abudayyeh and McIntyre led the marchers in chants of “Hands off Syria, no new wars!” At the end the crowd broke into, “Long live Syria!” in front of the ABC News building.

A mass meeting was called by the AWC for Sunday, Aug. 31 at 4:00 p.m. to get better organized for the emergency response plan and to fight to try to stop the attack on Syria from happening.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #Syria #HatemAbudayyeh #USImperialism #chemicalWeapons #SyrianAmericanForum

Chicago, IL – An Israeli legal theorist and former officer in the Israel Defense Forces spoke Feb. 25 at the University of Chicago. Professor Amos Guiora helped provide the justifications for ‘targeted killing’ programs like the one pursued by the Obama administration. 40 protesters, including ten from the campus’ Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), turned out.

The talk, titled “Legitimate Target: A Criteria Based Approach to Targeted Killing,” laid out a formula developed and used countless times by the Israeli government before ultimately being adopted by the Bush and Obama administrations. Joe Iosbaker, a member of the Anti-War Committee of Chicago, said, “Guiora’s talk shows a clear tie between Israeli atrocities in Gaza and the U.S. drone killing program.”

The Bush administration criticized targeted killings by Israel, but the failure of U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made Bush and then Obama turn to killer drones to continue the attacks on people who resist U.S. domination. Like Israel, the U.S. uses self-defense as the justification for the drone wars. “When Guiora was Israel's Legal Advisor for the Gaza Strip, he said Palestinians killed and injured are ‘legitimate targets,’” said Hatem Abudayyeh of the United States Palestinian Community Network. “Guiora’s use of words like ‘collateral damage’ and ‘legitimate targets’ has now been adopted by the U.S. to cover the thousands massacred by extrajudicial U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen.”

According to Kait McIntyre, an organizer with the Anti-War Committee, “We are holding this protest to say no to the drone wars in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia or Palestine; no to the Israeli occupation of Palestine; no to the threats of new U.S. wars in Syria, Iran or in Mali; and we want the money spent on war to go instead to meet human needs.”

After the picket, most of the crowd packed into the talk by Guiora. He criticized the U.S. administration for mishandling the drone killing policy and called for a judicial review of any targeted killings. When he claimed that Israel had always been a model of morality in their occupation of Gaza and targeted killings of Palestinians, the students couldn’t take it anymore. The entire front row of the audience stood up, picked up their folding chairs, turned around and sat back down with their backs to the speaker. A short time later, the protesters walked out.

Leyla Gutierrez of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Chicago made the following statement about the protest:

“The presence of yet another former member of the Israel Defense Forces on the University of Chicago campus should be reason enough to come out in protest, but when said member is also supporting the targeted drone killing by the United States government, resistance becomes imperative. The presence of members of various anti-war and pro-justice organizations around Chicago, including the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)-Chicago chapter and the Anti-War Committee of Chicago was definitely felt at the International House event—“Legitimate Target: A Criteria Based Approach to Targeted Killing”—this Monday.

“Initially we sat down and listened to former IDF member Amos Guiora criticize the blurring of lines within the rule of law that Obama's White Paper on drone policy has created. He voiced opposition to the excess of power the executive branch has when it comes to drone killings. Soon enough, however, he mentioned his 20 years’ experience in the IDF as a foundation to his views on morality in armed warfare. At this point, it became too much to bear and we turned our chairs around in protest to his ramblings. He had lost all credibility. Sami Kishawi, President of SJP-UChicago, explained to the public our reasons for opposing this man's ‘authority’ on the subject of morality in targeted killing, while various audience members also voiced their disapproval of his words. Guiora thanked us in Hebrew for ‘our politeness’ and those of us who speak Hebrew answered ‘you are welcome’ and ‘thanked’ him for his supposedly factual and informative lecture. At this point, we decided it behooved us to walk out since the words of this self-proclaimed ‘peace-lover’ became comical.

“The Administration was not supportive of our measures, encouraging us instead to dialogue through Q & A. Taking part in such a Q&A would not have been a viable option since the University has a history of filtering out difficult questions in controversial events. People who wish to address questions to the speaker are required to write them down and hand them to a third party who then decides which will be asked to the speaker. This policy has been in place since Ehud Olmert, former Israeli prime minister, delivered a speech at the University of Chicago in 2009.”

#ChicagoIllinois #ChicagoIL #Palestine #HatemAbudayyeh #Drone #MiddleEast

Minneapolis, MN – A standing room only crowd of more than 125 people turned out here, Feb. 23, to hear Hatem Abudayyeh, a prominent Chicago-based Palestinian activist who talked about the growing struggle for the liberation of Palestine and the repression against Palestine solidarity activists here in the U.S.

Abudayyeh spoke on recent developments in Palestine, including the siege of Gaza, the hunger strike of Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails, and the growing isolation and desperation of the Israeli government.

Speaking of the heroic hunger strikes in the Israeli occupation prisons, Abudayyeh talked about the need for solidarity work in the U.S. and said that in Palestine the fight to free the prisoners created the basis to build more unity in the Palestinian national movement.

Abudayyeh is one of the anti-war and international solidarity activists who were raided by the FBI on Sept. 24, 2010. At the time, he received a subpoena to appear in front of a Chicago grand jury investigating “material support for terrorism,” and refused to go.

“The FBI and the Justice Department have been trying to repress the Palestinian national movement in the U.S. for many years,” said Abudayyeh. After telling the audience about the raid on his home and the raids directed against other anti-war and Palestine solidarity activists, he said, “There is no crime in supporting the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.”

On continuing the fight against repression, Abudayyeh said, “We need to keep going after the U.S. Attorneys’ office and demand they end the investigation.” He added that a protest was planned against Chicago’s Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Jonas, who is helping to head up the investigation into the anti-war and international solidarity activists.

After Abudayyeh’s speech, there was a lively question and answer period. One of the questions dealt ties between the U.S. and Israel. “There is some confusion about the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. It is a proxy for the U.S. in the Arab world. It was established to block the aspirations of the Arab peoples. That is the role that it plays for U.S. imperialism.”

Another question came up about the goals of the Palestinian national movement and the issue of a one or ‘two state solution.’ Abudayyeh urged the establishment of a single, democratic, secular state in all of Palestine. Speaking of Israel, he said, “A racist colonial apartheid state has no right to exist.”

The event was endorsed by American Muslims for Palestine, Coalition for Palestinian Rights, Communities United Against Police Brutality, MayDay Bookstore, Middle East Peace Now, Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Students for a Democratic Society at the U of M, Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Veterans for Peace, the Welfare Rights Committee, Women Against Military Madness, and the Women's Student Activist Collective.

#MinneapolisMN #PalestineSolidarity #HatemAbudayyeh #IsraeliOccupation #AntiWar23 #FBIRepression

Minneapolis, MN – Members of the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression assembled here, Feb. 5, to prepare a mailing of over 900 post cards to its Twin Cities members, as part of outreach for a major speaking event featuring Palestinian activist Hatem Abudayyeh. Phone banks and mass leafleting events are planned for coming days.

Abudayyeh will be speaking on the growing struggle to end the occupation of Palestine and the repression that is being unleashed on Palestine solidarity activists here in the U.S. The event will take place on Feb. 23, 3:30 pm, at 4200 Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis.

Abudayyeh is one of the anti-war and international solidarity activists who were raided by the FBI, on Sept. 24, 2010. Like them, he was called to a Chicago grand jury investigating “material support for terrorism.” Abudayyeh is the executive director of the Arab American Action Network in Chicago, a founding advisory board member of the National Network for Arab American Communities and one of the main organizers of the U.S. Palestine Community Network's two national conferences in 2008 and 2010, each attended by over 1200 people.

Jess Sundin, of the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression, says that activists are going all out to make this event with Abudayyeh a success: “This program will be a great place to find out about struggle to liberate Palestine and the resistance we are organizing against attempts by the Justice Department to criminalize international solidarity.”

The event is endorsed by Americans Muslims for Palestine, Coalition for Palestinian Rights, Communities United Against Police Brutality, MayDay Bookstore, Middle East Peace Now, Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Students for a Democratic Society at the U of M, Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Veterans for Peace, the Welfare Rights Committee, Women Against Military Madness, and the Women's Student Activist Collective.

#MinneapolisMN #PalestineSolidarity #HatemAbudayyeh #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression

Sarah Chambers, Chicago Teachers Union. Sarah is a member of the CTU bargaining committee and was strike captain at Saucedo Academy where she teaches.

Pat Hunt, Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda. Pat was one of the initiators of the protests against NATO, a spokesperson for the coalition and one of the main leaders of the massive march to McCormick Place.

Magda Castaneda, Committee Against Political Repression. Magda played a leading role in rallying the Chicano community in Chicago in the victorious fight to defend Carlos Montes.

Warehouse Workers for Justice. An organizing committee of workers in Walmart and other multinational corporate warehouses who organized, fought the boss and won.

The event is a fundraiser for Fight Back!/¡Lucha y Resiste! newspaper. It will run from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m., with dinner at 5:00 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 125 E. 26th Street. Tickets are $30, but only $5 for children and the unemployed.

Emcees for the night will be Hatem Abudayyeh of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and Kait McIntyre of the Anti War Committee in Chicago. Abudayyeh will speak about the recent victory by Palestinians in Gaza in their resistance to the murderous assault by the Israeli military. McIntyre will talk about the continued work of the Anti War Committee in opposing U.S. wars – wars in Afghanistan and Syria, the Drone War in Pakistan and the U.S.-backed assault on Gaza.

Joe Iosbaker, a Chicago leader of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which helps to produce Fight Back!, said, “From the march on NATO to the teacher’s strike, this was another incredible year in Chicago.” In explaining the history of this event, he stated, “We started an alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving celebration 20 years ago on the 500th anniversary of the European conquest of the Americas. The leaders we are honoring – coming from the protest movements, union struggles and victories like Carlos Montes defeating the FBI and Los Angeles District Attorney attack on him – these are what we’re giving thanks for.”

Go to the People’s Thanksgiving Facebook page for tickets and more information: http://www.facebook.com/events/476580712373165/

#ChicagoIL #HatemAbudayyeh #PeoplesThanksgiving #CarlosMontes #FightBackNews

Chicago, IL – The military bombardment of Gaza by Israel’s military was applauded by 300 supporters of Israel at a rally organized by the Jewish United Fund (JUF) here, Nov. 20. 100 opponents of the war, including activists from Chicago’s Palestinian community and Palestine solidarity activists, held a counter-protest in response.

On the side of the street defending Israel’s aggression – which has resulted in the deaths of 110 Palestinians, mostly civilians – were the liberal Democratic Congresspersons Jan Schakowsky, Danny Davis, Bill Foster and Mike Quigley. Across the street, facing off the pro-war rally, was a high energy and very passionate crowd of mostly young people.

The pro-Israel event was called to reinforce the lies that Israel is the ‘victim’ in the current conflict, and that the Palestinians ‘provoked’ the current fighting. In fact, Israel violated the truce when it assassinated one of the highest ranking leaders in Hamas, the Palestinian liberation group that is the elected government in Gaza. The chants of, “End the Siege of Gaza now,” and “Free, free Palestine,” are conveying the truth: Israel is the aggressor in this conflict, and the Palestinians continue to be occupied.

Hatem Abudayyeh of the United States Palestinian Community Network, said, “We’re calling for an end to violence and war. JUF and the other Zionist organizations and individuals here today are supporting the war. By calling this rally, their message is clear – if you support Israel, you support war and killing.”

#ChicagoIL #Gaza #Palestine #HatemAbudayyeh #Zionists #UnitedStatesPalestinianCommunityNetwork #MiddleEast