Minneapolis, MN – It was an unseasonably warm spring day in Minneapolis, as around 50 people gathered in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood to mark the 50th annual observance of Palestinian Land Day.

Land Day is a commemoration of the 1976 general strike against the Israeli government’s seizure of Arab-owned land in the Galilee region. By the end of the day, six unarmed Palestinians were dead and over a hundred were injured. Since then, the day has become a commemoration of the Palestinians’ defiant struggle for their land, as well as a day of solidarity.

For the 50th observance of Land Day, the Mayday Plaza in Minneapolis served as the venue. Layna Crandall of the MN Anti War Committee (AWC) told the crowd, “We chose this location because we often hold protests in Mayday Plaza, but Cedar-Riverside is also where a large part of our Somali community lives, and is close by to Little Earth, which houses many of our native community members. This year we wanted to connect all of these struggles.”

Community members demonstrated support through honks, waves and raised fists throughout the protest

The indigenous dance group Danzaketzalb declared their solidarity with the struggle. Seppo Niemi-Colvin of the AWC stated Land Day “serves as a reminder that we still need to preserve and defend Palestinian and indigenous land, and fight to return what Israel and empire have stolen.”

Niemi-Colvin stated, “A key aspect of our divestment campaign is that where the enemy touches us is where we touch the enemy. Companies such as Palantir or Elbit may seem far off and hard to reach, but through state investments we are tied together and we can deal a blow by severing that connection. The point of days of action like Land Day is not just what we can accomplish on that day alone, but it is the building and flexing of organizational muscles that continue beyond that day.”

Maamoun Slayhi of American Muslims for Palestine stated, “I grew up knowing what a fighter jet sounds like. I grew up knowing what a bomb sounds like. I grew up knowing what it looks like when they fall. And we all knew that there was a part of our land that no longer belonged to us. It felt like a piece of us had been taken, because if at any time you tried to go down there, you could be attacked.”

Morgan Budiandri of the MN Immigrant Rights Action stated, “The parallels of Israeli apartheid and U.S. racial oppression are deafening. The perpetrators of genocide are the same as those of deportation. Both systems purposely dehumanize men, women and children to try to break them. But the desire for justice cannot be broken.”

Nadiyah Salawdeh of the US Palestinian Community Network stated, “Land Day is about honoring those that we have lost in the fight for our land and for our liberation. It is also about recommitting ourselves to the fight that is still to come.”

White Wolf of the White Earth Nation closed the event with a traditional song of healing.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #LandDay

Grand Rapids, MI – On Wednesday, April 9, 20 people rallied outside Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids to commemorate Palestine’s Land Day. Held on March 30, Land Day is commemorated around world. It marks the 1976 killing of six Palestinians, with hundreds more injured by Israeli occupation forces for protesting the theft of land in the West Bank.

Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, marked the event late due to inclement weather on the original day, and chose to celebrate the poetry and culture of Palestine.

Reading poems by writers like Mahmoud Darwish, Saed J. Abu-Hijleh, Refaat Alareer, and Maya Abu Hayyat, the speakers paid homage to Palestine’s rich national heritage.

During the rally, some passing drivers parked their cars in the road and joined the assembled protesters in chanting “From the river to the sea – Palestine will be free!”

Alongside the cultural aspect, the rally brought attention to Israel’s recent escalation of the genocide and the murder of nearly 1500 Palestinians since March 18.

Summing up the lasting resiliency of the Palestinian struggle for liberation, one of the poems read aloud – Passport by Mahmoud Darwish – reads near the end:

“Ask not the name of any tree.

Ask not the valley about its mother

From my brow bursts the sword of light

And from my hand springs the river's water...

The people's hearts are my identity.

Go, take my passport away from me.”

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #LandDay

Milwaukee, WI – On Saturday, March 29, 30 vehicles took to the streets in a car caravan to commemorate Land Day. Land Day, held on March 30 every year, recognizes the day in 1976 when Palestinians took to the streets to protest Israel’s theft of their land. Six Palestinians were killed and over 100 injured by Israeli forces.

This year’s local event, led by the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee, began with a rally as participants finished up decorating their cars with signs, car paint and Palestinian flags. Vehicles had car toppers and posters – reading, “Free free Palestine,” “Palestinians will return” and “Stop the genocide” – jutting out of windows.

Emily Harris of the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee spoke first. “Commemorating Land Day means gathering together and reaffirming the love and ownership Palestinians have for their land. We must continue to demand their right to return, and in the U.S., we must denounce the forced deportation of those who stand alongside Palestine!” said Harris, to cheers from the crowd.

The event had four key demands; “End the genocide now! Trump – hands off Gaza! Demand the right to return! And free Mahmoud Khalil!” Speakers touched on various aspects of these demands, bringing it all back to the central goal of Palestinian liberation.

Yaseen Najeeb from Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine remarked, “How can you claim to be indigenous to the land of olives when the majority of your population is allergic to olive oil?”

Blake Jones from Freedom Road Socialist Organization pointed out, “Our struggles are connected, from the picket lines here to the streets of Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan, the Congo and across Latin America. The same system that bombs Gaza represses oppressed nationalities and working-class communities here.”

The emcee for the event, Kayla Kuo from the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee, read out a statement provided by Milwaukee 4 Yemen that highlighted the recent attacks on Yemen and relating it to the Palestinian struggle.

“The world cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the tragedy unfolding in Yemen and Palestine, where the innocent pay the price for political agendas and military interests. The people of Yemen refuse to be forgotten. Their resilience in the face of relentless aggression is a testament to their strength, but resilience alone cannot stop bombs from falling or children from starving. It is up to us – to those who refuse to be complicit in silence—to amplify their voices, demand an end to U.S. complicity, and push for accountability.”

After speeches, the cars left the lot for the caravan in the streets. They took to a slow crawl, catching the eyes of other cars and passersby alike, with many cars honking and people showing their support with thumbs up and waves.

After the car rally, the crowd met back at the starting location. Kuo closed the event stating, “Both the Biden and the Trump administration have prevented Palestinians from returning to Palestine. At the same time, that the Trump administration is deporting anyone that quote ‘poses a threat to national security and U.S. foreign interests’ as we’ve seen with pro-Palestinian students and Venezuelan immigrants. The real threat to the U.S. empire is liberation and people power!”

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #LandDay #MilwaukeeAWC

Minneapolis – On March 30, around 2500 protesters gathered along Lake Street where it crosses a narrow isthmus between Lake of the Isles and Bde Maka Ska in the Chain of Lakes. Organized by the local Free Palestine Coalition, the action marked Land Day, which commemorates the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation and land theft.

Despite intimidation attempts by Minneapolis police, protesters took the street and marched to the Lake Street/Excelsior Boulevard interchange, which forms a major bottleneck for traffic heading to and from the upscale western suburbs of the Twin Cities. The crowd took over and occupied the intersection. Some stranded motorists left their vehicles and joined the protest. Speeches by Palestinian activists and others took place before and after the march, as well as during the road shutdown.

Land Day began on March 30, 1976, when Israeli occupation forces, the IDF, murdered six Palestinian citizens of Israel who were protesting new confiscations of Palestinian land. Since then, the day has been commemorated by Palestinians and the solidarity movement as a time to reaffirm the right of Palestinians to return to their land stolen by the Zionist occupation.

In 2018, Land Day also marked the beginning of the Great March of Return protests in Gaza, which saw hundreds of unarmed Palestinians killed and thousands more injured by IDF snipers.

Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine explained, “For Palestinians, our land does not mean resource extraction. Our land does not mean numbers and spreadsheets, profits and margins. Our land is what gives us life, and we are what give our land life. This is something the Zionists will never understand.”

The event featured special guest Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian American lawyer, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, and organizer of freedom flotillas that attempt to bypass Israel’s sea blockade of Gaza. “Israel has spent decades trying to tear us apart. And we still say no. They continue this apartheid, continually confiscating land, not only in the West Bank but inside ’48.”

Speakers also drew attention to the struggle for Land Back waged by indigenous peoples inside the United States borders. At the protest, nearby Bde Maka Ska served as a symbol of that struggle, having had its name changed in 2018 from Lake Calhoun – named for notorious American slaver John C. Calhoun – back to its original Dakota name.

Gabriela Diaz, alumni of the American Indian Studies program at the University of Minnesota, said, “Pacific Islanders, Palestinians and American Indians have many shared experiences as global indigenous First Peoples. We have suffered incommensurable loss under Western imperialism and colonization. Dispossession, environmental desecration, climate crises, land theft, nuclear testing, settler and other kinds of colonialisms, and the destruction of the things closest to our hearts, are just a few of the things that tie us together.”

Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg of Jewish Voice for Peace-Twin Cities spoke, “I wanted to learn my people’s history before Zionism,” she said. “I felt in my core that I had inherited a tradition that honored life and interconnectedness, and that Zionism was a manipulation of our trauma and oppression, and a system of supremacy that at its core was not Jewish.”

The protest came days after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution ordering an immediate, unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. The United States, which abstained from voting on the resolution, characterized the resolution as “non-binding,” while Israel’s foreign minister declared, “Israel will not cease fire.” According to international law, a resolution of the Security Council is binding on all United Nations member states.

As of press time, over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed by Israel since October, according to the health ministry. Recent weeks have seen famine taking hold in parts of Gaza as Israel’s siege on basic supplies continues, along with renewed IDF raids on several of Gaza’s hospital complexes.

“We know that a ceasefire is the bare minimum. We must continue to demand a total dismantling of the settler-colonial apartheid state,” Arraf told the protest. “Because Biden wants our vote, he tells us that he’s trying to protect civilians – while sending Israel bunker-buster bombs that demolish entire neighborhoods. We will not be fooled.”

Despite Israel’s ongoing genocide, Herzallah was optimistic of eventual victory for the Palestinian resistance, saying, “What we are doing today, and what Gaza is doing today, is showing the world that there is an alternative: that justice can be brought by the people.”

#MinneapolisMN #TwinCitiesMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #MNFreePalestineCoalition #JVP #MNAWC #LandDay #Feature

Chicago – On March 30, thousands of Palestinians, Arab Americans and others took to the streets of Chicago to protest the ongoing genocide in Palestine and to demand an end to all U.S. aid to Israel. Protesters rallied in the Federal Plaza and then marched to and occupied Michigan Avenue- a major street in downtown Chicago. This action was the 30th mass mobilization called by the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine (CJP) since the Al-Aqsa Flood began on October 7.

March 30 in particular holds special significance for the people of Palestine because it marks two important events in the history of the Palestinian liberation movement: Land Day in 1976 and the Great March of Return in 2018. Both protest movements began in opposition and resistance to Zionist Israel’s illegal occupation and theft of the land of Palestine.

According to a social media post by the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), a member of CJP, “The Israeli government’s expropriation of thousands of donums of Palestinian land sparked what is now known as Land Day, and years later, the Great March of Return was intentionally organized on March 30 by Palestinians in Gaza to honor the six lives lost in 1976. The Great March of Return lasted until December of 2019, and even though Israel murdered 214 protesters and injured over 36,000 people, Gazans remained steadfast and continued weekly Friday mobilizations demanding the #RightofReturn. The Palestinian resistance has always been strong and well organized, and the Palestinian peoples’ dedication to our land is one of the driving forces behind all of the movement’s successes.”

This was especially evident in Chicago’s downtown march as one of the most popular chants was “Get up and take a stand! We’re taking back our land!” 

Chicagoans were not the only people in attendance. Emma Sheerin, a Sinn Féin party representative from the north of Ireland was also present and stood in solidarity with protesters and organizers of the march. This comes just a week after the USPCN and Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression met with Naledi Pandor, the South African Minister of International Relations And Cooperation. Speakers asked attendees of the march to demand that their congressional representatives vote against the United States South Africa Bilateral Relations Review bill, which could potentially place sanctions on South Africa for its support of Palestine.

Members of USPCN and other organizations also passed out fliers informing protesters of the upcoming April 13 conference to prepare for the March on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19 through the 22. 

“We want to make one thing clear to Genocide Joe, Killer Kamala, and every elected official who feeds us lip service: you will have no rest, no sleep, no peace until Palestine is free!” said Nick Sous, a member of USPCN.

#ChicagoIL #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #LandDay #USPCN #SinnFein #CJP

Minneapolis, MN – On March 30, over 50 activists gathered to show solidarity with Palestinians in their struggle against Israeli apartheid and occupation. They waved Palestinian flags and dropped banners on the footbridge over Interstate 94 between the Walker Sculpture Garden and Loring Park – across all eight lanes of traffic – demanding an end of U.S. aid to Israel, an end of Israeli occupation, the right of return for Palestinians, and an end to vaccine apartheid. The response from people passing by was overwhelmingly positive with a lot of honks from cars.

The action coincided with Land Day, which commemorates the events of March 1976, when the state of Israel announced it was going to steal more Palestinian land. In response to that announcement, Palestinians – under a brutal 18-year military occupation at the time – organized a general strike and marched in protest from the Galilee to the Negev. On March 30, 1976, Israeli soldiers (IDF) shot into the crowds of unarmed protesters, injuring hundreds of the Palestinian protesting and murdering six. Hundreds more were arrested and taken to Israeli prisons.

The first Land Day was the largest organized protest against Israeli land theft up to that point. It was a giant leap for the Palestinian national cause and has been a day of commemoration ever since. Land Day’s significance in the Palestinian political calendar was compounded in 2018, when hundreds were killed and thousands injured by Israeli sniper fire as Palestinians demanded the Right of Return to their stolen land with mass protests in Gaza, called the Great March of Return.

Mariam El-Khatib from American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) told the crowd, “You know sometimes we say it’s been 45 years since Land Day, it’s been 73 years since Al Nakba, it’s been all these years since all these events, but it’s really important to recognize that Palestinians have been resisting every single year, and they resist every single day.”

El-Khatib continued, “Every day they’re going through checkpoints, every day they’re having to deal with the harassment of the soldiers, every day they’re having to deal with their existence being criminalized. We all believe it: Palestine will be free.”

Currently, 5 million Palestinians are living under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza. For decades now, the Israeli regime has purposefully destabilized medicine, electricity, housing and water in these regions, and it’s no surprise that this vindictive policy extends to the COVID-19 response.

As a result, thousands of Palestinians are dying, and there is a malicious lack of a plan to distribute vaccines. This has been a year of immense hardships for Palestine.

“Palestinians show us that not giving up means something. Even as conditions worsen in Palestine, the political situation here is finally showing a glimmer of hope,” said Wyatt Miller of the Anti-War Committee (AWC), “Elected officials in U.S. Congress have made proposals to reduce aid to Israel. Things that were once politically taboo, like the Right of Return, are now part of the conversation. They’re trying to outlaw criticism of Israel on college campuses precisely because people are finally starting to pay attention.”

The protest was organized by the MN Anti-War Committee and American Muslims for Palestine MN; it was cosponsored by Women Against Military Madness, Jewish Voices for Peace, Climate Justice Committee, and Students for Justice in Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #LandDay #GreatMarchOfReturn #AntiWarCommitteeAWC

Minneapolis, MN – Protesters stood outside the offices of Senator Amy Klobuchar, April 10, to call attention to the Palestinians being killed by the Israeli military. This emergency bannering comes as Palestinians are being killed during the Great March of Return, which began on Land Day, March 30, and will continue for six weeks until Al Nakba on May 15.

A statement from protest organizer, the Anti-War Committee, said, “It has been 70 years since the Deir Yassin massacre. In 1948, the Palestinian village was attacked by Israeli commandos and 100 women, men and children were slaughtered. Every year Palestinians demand the right to return to their homeland, but this year it coincides with a growing resistance movement in Gaza. We want folks in the Twin Cities to join us and stand in solidarity with Palestine to demand an end to U.S. support for Israel's war crimes.”

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, speaking for the MN Anti-War Committee, addressed the crowd of 25 people, “Yesterday marked the 70th anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre. Today Palestinians are still protesting for the right to return to their homeland while they are shot at by snipers with live ammunition, are shot at with rubber bullets, and are tear gassed. We are here to draw attention to the recent Israeli military attacks on the Great March of Return in Gaza and to call for an end to U.S. aid to Israel.”

Aby-Keirstead continued, “Not only is the Israeli occupation of Palestine immoral, we are subsidizing it! According to the Congressional Budget Office the U.S. has provided Israel $134.7 billion in assistance and missile defense funding. Almost all U.S. aid to Israel is in the form of military assistance.”

Senator Klobuchar was unwilling to meet with the Anti-War Committee on April 10 and the committee plans to continue to pressure their senators to end U.S. aid to Israel and to demand freedom for Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #AntiWarCommittee #AlNakba #LandDay #GreatMarchOfReturn #MiddleEast

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Jamil Mizher, member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and leader of its branch in Gaza.

“We pay tribute to the martyrs who rose today, on Land Day, in the mass rallies for return that brought together hundreds of thousands of our people in the Gaza Strip. The March of Return is a popular referendum to uphold our rights and constants, especially the right of return, which can never be bargained for or traded,” said Comrade Jamil Mizher, member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and leader of its branch in Gaza. “This march has thwarted all of the bets of the occupation on undermining the unity of the Palestinian people.”

Mizher made his comments as he participated with a large number of leaders, cadres and members of the Front on the eastern border of the Strip. “Our people and their action across the Gaza Strip today have opened a new stage with their blood and sacrifice, confirming their adherence to their full national rights, to resistance and intifada and confrontation of all forms of Zionist aggression, siege and liquidation projects like the ‘deal of the century.'”

He noted that the Great Return March does not end today but is a continuous program of activities that will escalate toward the anniversary of the Nakba on May 15. “Today, our people have demonstrated that they are alive, ready to sacrifice, united and capable of defeating all conspiracies against Palestinian rights and principles. This is a major event and requires all to prioritize the supreme national interest above all narrow, partisan considerations and rise to the level of sacrifice and greatness embodied by the Palestinian masses.”

Further, Mizher said that the Palestinian people were united today in confronting all of the schemes to deny their rights, including the “Deal of the Century,” the declaration of the transfer of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and the targeting of refugee rights. The Marches of Return impose a new equation on the occupation and the international community and make clear that the Palestinian people will never abandon their rights and will determinedly confront all such attempts.

“The criminal attack by Zionist soldiers on Palestinians today in the March of Return is proof of the state of chaos that has persisted for many days and of their utter inability to break the will of resistance and steadfastness among the Palestinian people who gathered in their thousands today,” Mizher said.

“This unified national scene today reflects the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their attachment to their land, the land of their ancestors for generations. This is the true expression of the will of our people…confrontation of the occupation is the most effective means to restore national unity and rearrange the Palestinian house,” noted Mizher.

He concluded by saluting the Palestinian masses in the homeland and in exile, especially those in Occupied Palestine ’48, who today commemorated the anniversary of Land Day alongside their people in the Gaza Strip, confirming to the occupier that all Palestinians are united