Minneapolis, MN -A two thousand-plus crowd of high school, college and even elementary school students gathered at the University of Minnesota student union, Nov. 2 to protest the war on Iraq and demand that military recruiters get out of their schools.
I wanted to share some really sad family news that we were just stricken with yesterday. My uncle Abdulrazaq (my father’s younger brother who is 50 years old) was in Iraq (in our home city of Samarra, Iraq) on Thursday January 5th, 2006 and at 8pm went to go meet with his business partners to finish financial exchanges and on his way back he was killed by American troops. Upon stealing the $10,000 that were in his coat pocket the troops that the Americans are so proud of and support, found that he did not have any weapons or explosives and then they dumped his body at the local hospital and walked away with his money.
Minneapolis, MN - More than 125 community and student activists attended A Conference for Iraq, Information to Resist Another Quagmire. The keynote address was given by Sami Rasouli, a long-time peace activist who has returned home to Iraq, to try to rebuild peace, in the face of U.S. occupation.
Asheville, NC - The chant, “U.S. out of Iraq! Let them have their country back!” echoed off the buildings of downtown Asheville as a spirited group of over 100 students, young people, workers and veterans marched through the city to say no to Bush’s war. The protesters chose to mark the three-year anniversary of the invasion by joining millions of others around the world to demand the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
To mark the third anniversary of the war, and now occupation, of Iraq, people around the globe marched, calling for U.S. troops to leave immediately. In Chicago, 10,000 protesters faced off against 1500 police in full riot gear during their evening march on Michigan Avenue on March 18. This was the first time in three years that organizers were able to get a permit to march on Michigan Avenue.
Atlanta, GA - In one of the largest anti-war rallies in the South, upwards of 4000 protesters – students, Black civil rights activists, trade unionists and military veterans – marched in Atlanta, April 1, demanding, “Peace in Iraq, justice at home!”
For 20 years, Iraqi American Sami Rasouli lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a peace activist and restaurant owner. He visited Iraq in 2004, and decided to move home and help rebuild his country. He sold his restaurant and returned to Najaf, where he founded the Muslim Peacemakers Team. Fight Back! interviewed him during his three-month U.S. speaking tour about the reality of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
Sara Rich is an activist and a tireless advocate for her daughter, Army Specialist Suzanne Swift, who is awaiting a court-martial for refusing to return to Iraq under the command of a sergeant who raped her. Today Sara Rich travels around the U.S., speaking out against the war and military sexual violence. Fight Back! interviewed Sara Rich on Oct. 28.
Fight Back! News Service is circulating the following analysis of the trial of Saddam Hussein, written by author and anti-war activist David Hungerford. The article is a powerful indictment of U.S. attempts to justify its war on Iraq.
Letter Delivered to Administration Demands Boycott and Divestment
Chapel Hill, NC – A delegation of students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) delivered a letter to Chancellor Thorp's office, Feb. 25, demanding that UNC divest from Israel. Holding a banner that said, “End U.S. aid to Israel!” the students explained their demands to the university administrator who received the letter in place of Chancellor Thorp. “We want our university to stop investing in the murder of Palestinian civilians,” said Maddy Miller, a member of SDS.
Washington, D.C. — Chants of “No return, no peace!” filled Lafayette Park, Sep16, as over 4500 demonstrators demanded the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the land they were forced from in 1948. As the protesters marched from Freedom Plaza to this park overlooking the White House, organizers marveled at the largest mobilization of Arab demonstrators since the Gulf War.
The ongoing massacre of Palestinians, by the U.S.-backed Israeli government has sparked demonstrations across the country. Protests have been held in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Minneapolis, and many other cities.
Chicago, IL - More than 3,500 Palestinians and their supporters braved the bitter cold to protest the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak here Nov. 13. Barak, speaking at the national convention of the United Jewish Communities, tried to garner support for his country's military campaign against Palestinian civilians in the illegally occupied territories of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem.
Palestinian children are shot down and murdered by Israeli troops every week. Their blood is on the streets and their funerals are pictured in our magazines. Using U.S. guns, mortars, tanks, and helicopters, the Israeli state has killed over 400 people since September. More than 10,000 Palestinians have been wounded.
Chicago, IL - Palestinian activists and their supporters held a silent demonstration on June 13 to protest Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian land. David Ivry, Israeli ambassador to the United States, was the keynote speaker at a black-tie dinner and fundraiser for Israel bonds at the Hilton Hotel and Towers downtown. The purchase of these bonds help finance illegal settlement projects in Palestine, where Jewish-only housing is built on stolen Palestinian land.
Since September 11, Israel has used the pretext of Bush's war against “terrorism” to illegally re-occupy Palestinian villages and cities in the areas administered by the Palestinian Authority. In the midst of this new Israeli siege, dozens of Palestinians were killed, and thousands injured and arrested. The U.S. and Israel have begun to pressure Yasser Arafat, the president of the Palestinian Authority, to crack down on the Intifada (or uprising) and quell the legal resistance to Israel's military occupation.