Chicago, IL – 8000 people marched here, Aug. 10, for Gaza. This march featured solidarity speeches from activists from many Latin American nations, including Mexico, Chile, and Ecuador, because of the stand their countries have taken in support of Gaza since Israel’s murderous assault began in July.

Marchers cheered for the Palestinian delegation in the peace talks in Cairo. Emcee Muhammad Sankari urged support for the protesters arrested at the Boeing Company last month, who go to court on Tuesday, Aug. 12, to face charges of trespassing. He also announced a protest on Saturday, Aug. 16, at Chicago’s Air and Water Show against sponsor Boeing, maker of Israel’s F15 fighter jets and Apache attack helicopters.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #PalestineSolidarity #Zionism #IsraeliOccupation

Durham, NC – Over 60 people gathered at a busy intersection in downtown Durham on Aug. 8 to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. Protesters chanted “Free, free Palestine!” and “End the occupation now!” as hundreds of people witnessed the rally from the road, many honking car horns in support.

The rally, organized by the Triangle Antiwar Committee, is the latest in a wave of protests in the area opposing the ongoing Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Among the speakers was Genna Cohen, an organizer with Jewish Voices for Peace’s campaign to demand that Durham cut ties with G4S, a private security contractor. “Durham should not do business with a company that profits off the occupation of Palestine,” Cohen said to cheers from the crowd. According to the campaign organizers, G4S profits from providing security services for military checkpoints, Israeli detention centers and illegal settlements.

#DurhamNC #AntiwarMovement #PalestineSolidarity #AntiwarCommittee #IsraeliOccupation #MiddleEast

St. Paul, MN – About 40 people gathered here for Women Against Military Madness’ weekly Friday Palestine vigil, Aug. 8, at the intersection of Summit and Snelling Avenues. Protesters chanted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

The protest coincided with the end of the ceasefire in Palestine. Israel resumed bombing Gaza Aug. 8, killing civilians, including a 10-year-old child. Israeli occupation forces also killed a Palestinian protester during a clash near Ramallah.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #Zionism #WomenAgainstMilitaryMadness #IsraeliOccupation

“Disarming the resistance is out of the question, and all factions hold tight to their weapons as long as there is occupation anywhere on the land of Palestine,” said Comrade Dr. Maher al-Taher, a member of the political bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

“There are various media reports that Israel will not accept the reconstruction of Gaza except after the removal of the weapons of the resistance, and it is demanding to supervise everything that enters the Strip. We have affirmed very clearly that the idea of disarming the resistance is a pipe dream and an illusion that is unacceptable to all. It is unacceptable to even discuss this issue in principle or see it as a debatable question. It is our inalienable right to resist this occupation,” said Taher.

He noted that the Palestinian delegation is united in its insistence to lift the siege imposed on Gaza and allow free movement of goods and people. “This demand is part of the political battle, which must be addressed as competently and with as much steadfastness and clarity as the resistance has done in the military battlefield.”

#Palestine #Zionism #IsraeliOccupation #DrMaherAlTaher #MiddleEast

Durham, NC – More than 200 people rallied and marched in downtown here, July 23, to protest the Israeli occupation's assault on Gaza and the people of Palestine.

A statement from the protest organizers noted, “This most recent Israeli assault on Gaza continues to escalate and the death and casualty numbers continue to rise in a Palestinian territory that has been under a state of siege, including a blockade on building materials and other basic supplies, since 2006.” The statement continued, “We believe that Israel is committing mass murder against all people living in Gaza, using killing as a tactic of ensuring the power of the Israeli settler state and the occupation of Palestine.”

The rally kicked off with rousing speeches from activists and moving testimony from Palestinians whose families have been affected by the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. The rally was held in the busy Five Points intersection in Durham, so hundreds of passersby heard the speeches and saw the demonstration. A petition to demand justice for Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh was circulated; many people took “Support Rasmea” pamphlets home with them and activists expressed their solidarity and support for the campaign.

After the rally, a vibrant, loud march kicked off through the streets of downtown, with protesters chanting “Free, free Palestine!” and “Gaza, Gaza don't you cry, Palestine will never die!”

The march went to the downtown public library, where speeches were made demanding that Durham county cut ties with G4S, a British private security company which plays a key role in Israel's occupation of Palestine. Durham County has a $1 million contract with G4S. A campaign is currently underway calling on Durham County to join the global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement by not renewing the contract with G4S.

From there, the march proceeded to the downtown jail. As prisoners tapped on their windows in support, organizers spoke about the repression visited on Palestinians and the struggles to end repression of oppressed nationalities here at home.

The Durham protest is the latest in a wave of actions here in solidarity with Palestine in recent days. Three protests have been held in Carrboro, Durham and Raleigh over the last five days and on July 25 two vigils will be held in Durham.

#DurhamNC #AntiwarMovement #PalestineSolidarity #Zionism #attacksOnGaza #IsraeliOccupation #MiddleEast

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

Milwaukee, WI – Dozens of Palestine solidarity activists gathered on the lakefront here, May 15, during rush hour to commemorate Nakba Day.

Al-Nakba or “The Catastrophe” refers to May 15, 1948, the day after Israeli “Independence Day.” In 1948, 700,000 Palestinians were expelled by Zionist troops under the pretext of establishing a Jewish state of Israel on Palestinian land. 400 Palestinian villages were depopulated and taken over or destroyed by the Israelis, laying the foundation for the continuing occupation of Palestine.

In response to continuing occupation and oppression of Palestinian people by the U.S. and Israel, activists held signs demanding “End U.S. aid to Israel,” and “Drop the charges against Rasmea Odeh!”

Members of the Milwaukee Palestine Solidarity Coalition responded to the national call to action to support Rasmea Odeh, a veteran Palestinian activist. Odeh is a 66-year-old community organizer who has dedicated her life to the empowerment of Palestinians, especially Palestinian women. She is the victim of a U.S. government attack which is intended to jail or deport her for allegedly lying on a 20-year old immigration form. Her trial is set to begin on June 10 in Detroit.

As the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel grows more successful by the day, activists are facing repression from the U.S. government. Activists in Milwaukee say they will continue to win victories for the BDS movement while defending Palestinian community leaders like Rasmea Odeh from political attacks.

#MilwaukeeWI #PalestineSolidarity #alNakba #IsraeliOccupation #BDS #RasmeaOdeh #MilwaukeePalestineSolidarityCoalition