Minneapolis, MN - Around 400 protesters gathered at the Islamic Cultural Community Center here, Jan. 2 to protest against the Israeli attack on Gaza. Most of the protesters were Muslim and Arab. The crowd was passionate and demanded an end to U.S. aid to Israel and an end to the bombing of Gaza. The protesters marched throughout the neighborhood that is home to many Arab people. The marchers were greeted by honks and many people joined the march as it went by.
Durham, NC - Over 120 protesters representing dozens of organizations and many nationalities rallied here, Jan. 3, to support the people of Gaza and denounce the U.S.-supported Israeli attacks on Palestinians. Protesters chanted, “We want justice for all Gaza!” and “Free Palestine.” Several local anti-war leaders spoke at the rally and emphasized the importance of linking the struggle against the occupation in Iraq with the struggle for liberation and peace in Palestine.
Cincinnati, OH - 300 people protested the Israeli military invasion of Gaza on Saturday, Jan. 3. The protest sent a message that U.S. support for Israel must end. Gathering at Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati, the mostly Palestinian and Arab-American protesters were joined by dozens of social justice and solidarity activists from local communities, including Christian and Muslim peace activists. The Palestinian organizers circulated amongst white and African-American activists, thanking them for their support.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following three statements from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The PFLP is one of the organizations leading the fight to end the occupation of Palestine.
Milwaukee, WI – It snowed, yet hundreds gathered outside the Milwaukee Federal Building here, in the late afternoon, Jan. 6, for the “Stop Israeli Invasion of Gaza!” rally.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) on the Jan. 8 UN Security Council resolution on Gaza.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat. Ahmad Sa’adat is a Palestinian political prisoner and the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He is being held by the Israeli authorities. Fight Back!’s 2003 interview with Ahmad Sa’adat can be read at: http://www.fightbacknews.org/2003-3-summer/pflp.htm
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Addaneer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association on occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day.
Israeli right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu, who stated that Israel did not “go far enough” in its 22-day invasion and massacre of 1400 Palestinians in Gaza earlier this year and who has never accepted even the possibility of an independent state for the Palestinians, is now the new prime minister. He was sworn in on April 1, after being asked in February by President Shimon Peres to form a coalition government.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat, which summarizes and contains excerpts from an important letter from the imprisoned leader of the Popular Front for the liberation of Palestine.
Israel has added another offense to its long roster of crimes by attacking Lebanon. It is conducting an air war that intentionally targets civilians; even refugees fleeing in their cars are killed. Israel is systematically destroying the infrastructure of southern Lebanon by targeting people's basic needs – apartment buildings, warehouses full of food, gas stations, powers plants, bridges and roads. Almost a million people have been driven from their homes. Now Israeli ground troops have crossed the border into Lebanon.
Caracas, Venezuela – Despite the rain, 500 people demonstrated here, at Plaza Venezuela, Aug. 1, to protest Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, and the U.S. support for Israel’s` offensives. Speakers, poets and singers denounced U.S. imperialism and Zionism from the stage.
Washington, DC – People from around the country gathered here on August 12 to demonstrate against Israeli/ U.S. wars in Lebanon and Palestine. The demonstrators, mostly Arab-Americans, demanded an end to US aid to Israel and the end of Israeli occupation in Palestine and Lebanon. Families, with children and grandmothers, joined with students in front of the White House, chanting “No justice! No peace! US out of the middle east!” and “Israel is the terrorist – occupied people have the right to resist!” Organizers stated that about 30,000 people were in attendace.
On Saturday, August 12th, thousands of people marched through the streets of San Francisco chanting “One-Two-Three-Four, We don’t want your racist war! Five-Six-Seven-Eight, Israel is a terrorist state!” to protest the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Thousands of Arab Americans, waving flags of Lebanon and Palestine, brought both a militant and mass character to the march.
Chianciano, Italy – An historic conference with leaders of the Iraqi national resistance was held here last week. It was the first time that representatives of the Iraqi resistance have been able to speak in the West. Organizers had previously attempted to hold the conference in the fall of 2005, only to have the Italian government withhold visas from the Iraqi participants after intense pressure from the United States government. The scope of the conference extended beyond Iraq to include the resistance movements in Palestine and Lebanon, as well as representatives from the antiwar and liberation movements in countries from around the world.
The Bush administration is still threatening Iran, and a wider war in the Middle East. The U.S. government has made much of Iran’s nuclear energy program. Iran says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and now U.S. intelligence agencies agree with that characterization. But this makes little difference to Bush and Cheney. They are still talking about turning up the heat on Iran and looking to impose more sanctions – which are in and of themselves a form of war, and as we saw with Yugoslavia and Iraq, a buildup to open military action.
Jess Sundin is a leading member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. She traveled to Iraq in 1998 and has played a important role in the Twin Cities anti-war movement since then. We interviewed her after the State of the Union address, where President Bush attempted to bolster support for his plans to expand the war in Iraq.
