Jacksonville, FL – On May 15, over 200 Palestinians and their supporters rallied in downtown Jacksonville to demand an end to the attacks on Gaza. The year date marked the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba. Al Nakba is the day in 1948 in which at least 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes by Zionist terror groups and settlers.

The event was hosted by the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network and the Jacksonville Community Action Committee. Attendees marched around James Weldon Park chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Event organizer Sara Tabiya said, “Now is the time for consistent action urging U.S. officials to end funding to the Zionist state. Palestinians across colonial boundaries in Palestine have united and issued a call to all those listening: to continue protesting, striking and fighting back – and we have a duty to answer that call here in the belly of the beast.”

Please follow the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network on social media for future for updates on next action steps.

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Jacksonville, FL – Over two dozen students and community activists gathered on April 9 to begin holding events for Israeli Apartheid Week at the University of North Florida (UNF). Students for Justice in Palestine at UNF led a vigil to honor Palestinian martyrs killed by Israel with help from the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network.

The vigil was held in front of the student union on campus with a symbolic apartheid wall constructed and painted in the background. Several activists gave speeches and led the audience through chants like “Free, free Palestine!” and “Netanyahu you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!” Some of the speakers discussed how this year marked 70 years since Al-Nakba, “the catastrophe,” which saw many Palestinians forced off their land in 1948. Near the end of the vigil, the names of many martyrs were read aloud over the microphone before several Muslim, Christian and Jewish students led short prayers from their own traditions.

“Israeli Apartheid Week at UNF this year is an opportunity to raise awareness of Israel’s crimes while paying homage to the Palestinian resistance against them. The vigil, with the Separation Wall apparent in the background, started off this occasion in a solemn way. I look forward to the rest of the events this week,” said Albert Kishek, a local organizer with Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network and former member of Students for Justice in Palestine at Florida State University.

“The vigil had amazing energy and attendance. On 70 years of Nakba, it’s important for all revolutionaries to organize against the settler colonial state and draw the connections between imperialism overseas and repression at home, which we were able to draw by making the connections of state repression that targets Palestinians in our home and Black Americans in the belly of the beast,” said Sara Mahmoud, another organizer with JPSN and active fighter against police crimes.

Several more events are planned over the course of the week to raise awareness about Israeli apartheid and Palestinian resistance, including a local demonstration on April 14 at 2 p.m. in front of the Duval County Courthouse in downtown Jacksonville. This event is in solidarity with the Great March of Return.

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March 30, 2018 marks 42 years since the martyrdom of 6 Palestinians by Israeli forces during a general strike to protest against the approval of continued land theft by Zionist settlers. These martyrs were among thousands of Palestinian protesters and strikers across all of historic Palestine, from the 1948 lands under Israeli occupation to the West Bank and Gaza, who bravely rose up against Israel’s expropriation of 2,000 hectares of privately owned Palestinian land. This wasn’t an isolated occurrence, but rather gives insight into the historical relationship between Israeli society and Palestinian society, of colonizer and indigenous, of oppressor and oppressed. This massacre gave birth to Land Day, and its annual commemoration since is a crucial and defining aspect of Palestinian resistance, resilience, and collective memory.

Today Palestinians in Gaza embark upon the Great Return March, a 46-day tent-city protest held at the israeli-Gaza border, with the goal of bringing attention to the internationally-recognized right of return; that is that all Palestinians, whether internally displaced or in external diaspora have a political right to return to their homes and that they have the right to seek to achieve this. This peaceful act of resistance will continue throughout the entirety of April, following into May and ending on the 70th annual commemoration of al-Nakba on May 15th. The apartheid state of Israel, as it has done since its inception, is responding with immense and inhumane force, dispatching snipers, drones, and other military tools at the border to put down a civilian-led protest. Entire families and their young and old are taking part. It is with regret, sorrow, and deep anger we issue this statement, as at least 12 Palestinians have been martyred by Zionist forces today, at a commemoration for past martyrs.

As we observe 70 years of dispossession, colonization, and ethnic cleansing on one hand, and anti-colonial resistance, courage, and love for homeland on the other, we recognize the conditions in Gaza remain dire, with some projections claiming it will be uninhabitable by the end of 2018. We recognize the inalienable right of return for all Palestinians, the illegitimacy of the settler-colonial zionist state, the resilience of the Palestinian people and their determined goal for return.

We, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network alongside Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine, honor and uplift the just struggle waged by the Palestinian people against their oppressors, the Zionist colonizers backed by external imperialist powers. We honor and uplift Palestinians in Gaza, our greatest heroes, who are showing the world what resistance and love for homeland look like. Through their example of resilience and strength, we are reminded that the liberation of Palestine will come within our lifetime, and we recognize the Great March of Return as yet another blow to the Zionist state.

As Palestinians continue to put their bodies directly on the line to resist Zionist violence, we emphasize our role in uplifting their actions and building for Palestine in any capacity we can wherever we are in the world. The Great March of return must be supplemented by engaging the diaspora in their right to return, as well as demanding the international community continues to condemn and isolate Israel while extending support to Palestine. Without any doubt, what is happening today is yet another massacre and it is our responsibility to raise awareness, protest, and organize for Palestine at this crucial time. The next 45 days mark a period of extreme urgency and we will act accordingly. We encourage everyone to do the same. Support local Palestine organizations in your area, follow our social media platforms for information on rallies and updates, and email us to inquire about how you can help and get involved. It is crucial to direct attention to Gaza as israel commits yet another massacre with impunity. We are watching. We are fighting.

Bil rouh! Bil dam! Nafdeek ya Falasteen!

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Jacksonville, FL – On Dec. 2, over 45 people gathered at the University of North Florida in the Student Union Building for a panel hosted by the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN). The panel was focused on explaining the Balfour declaration and its ramifications. The Balfour declaration was a statement the British government issued in 1917 announcing support for building a Zionist state in Palestine.

Sara Haj-Yahia, co-founder of JPSN and member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, moderated the event. Haj-Yahia stated, “This event was vital with the current political climate regarding the colonization of Palestine. Attendance was great and shows that the community here is ready and capable of furthering the fight for Palestinian liberation.”

Haj-Yahia continued, “Ahead of the current administration's plans to recognize Palestinian Al-Quds [Jerusalem] as the capital of the colonial state of Israel, it’s really important for there to be local efforts working against normalization.”

There were three other panelists along with Haj-Yahia. They included Fernando Figueroa, a leading member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization who helped in the defense of Palestinian freedom fighter Rasmea Odeh; Monique Williamson, president of UNF Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); and a representative of the Palestinian Youth Movement USA chapter.

A banner hung at the front of the room reading “Free Palestine – end the occupation.” There was a wide variety of tasty food, much of it prepared and donated by local Palestinian and Arab community members. At the end of the panel, the JPSN announced that monthly meetings would begin early next year to develop further solidarity with Palestine.

“The time is now to educate ourselves and organize for Palestinian liberation. Zionism is a pathetic giant that crumbles with every blow we strike,” said Figueroa regarding the panel, “Whether we are discussing the Balfour declaration from 100 years ago or Trump’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, we know that the Palestinian cause grows stronger daily by an increasing base of support for liberation – a base that we’ve begun developing in Jacksonville.”

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