Bay Ridge, NY – On Wednesday, July 1, over 1000 people gathered in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to rally and march against the planned Zionist annexation of the West Bank. The international Day of Rage was locally organized by Within Our Lifetime and the NY4Palestine coalition.

The rally began at 4 p.m., but the crowd had already started growing before the start time. As the crowd swelled, Palestine flags waving by the dozens, a motley handful of counter-protesters gathered across the street. They had a few Israeli flags and none of them were wearing masks. While they attempted to chant, the pro-Palestine crowd easily drowned them out and the counter-protest ended quickly and quietly.

The protest had over 40 organizations endorsing from all across New York City and the rally had a handful of those organizations form a robust and impressive speakers list, from the Red Nation to the International League of Peoples Struggle. Each speaker was able to highlight how the liberation of Palestine was part and parcel to bringing down U.S. imperialism and systematically winning liberation for all.

It began raining towards the end of the rally, but not enough to dissuade the protesters from marching. Over a 1000 took to the streets of Brooklyn and marched throughout the Bay Ridge neighborhood.

#BayRidgeNY #Palestine #PeoplesStruggles #FreePalestine #NY4Palestine #WithinOurLifetime #MiddleEast

Brooklyn, NY – Forty activists and community members gathered in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn on November 17 in response to the Palestinian protesters killed and wounded in Gaza this past week. The Palestinian protesters were part of the Great Return March, and were met by Israeli Occupation Forces at the border.

To start off the event, the names of seven murdered by Israel were read aloud, followed by a moment of silence. The crowd then chanted and heard from different speakers.

Despite the fact that numerous Palestinians were murdered, continuous protesting has resulted in some setbacks for Israel. Nerdeen Kiswani from Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine emphasized how Israel has been forced to make concessions because of the resistance, including a ceasefire on Palestinian terms.

“They were so humiliated that the Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman actually resigned,” said Kiswani.

Other organizations, such as Project Solidarity and Committee to Stop FBI Repression, made the connection between what’s happening in Palestine to U.S. wars abroad, the migrant caravan, and the NYPD. They also emphasized the need for continued organization for Palestine and other movements.

The call was put out by NY4Palestine, a coalition of Palestine and solidarity organizations.

#BrooklynNY #OppressedNationalities #Palestine #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #NY4Palestine #GreatReturnMarch #CommitteeToStopFBIRepressionNYC

New York, NY – About 40 activists gathered outside the Israeli Consulate on the afternoon of Feb. 18, as a part of the national day of action in solidarity with the Palestinian girl, Ahed Tamimi.

On Dec. 19, 2017, when Ahed Tamimi was 16 years old, she was arrested by Israeli occupation troops in the middle of the night. The charges against her was that she had slapped an IDF soldier while attempting to defend herself, her family and her country. Along with Ahed, her mother, Nariman Tamimi, was arrested later that day when she went to ask about her daughter. On Jan. 11, Mohammad Tamimi (Ahed’s cousin) was arrested from his home. On Jan. 22, her brother, Osama Tamimi, was also arrested. With each arrest it becomes more clear that Israeli forces are targeting the militant and brave Tamimi family, who are known for leading protests in their hometown, Nabi Saleh.

Currently, all the Tamimis who have been arrested are still incarcerated. Ahed Tamimi is facing trial as she is one of the hundreds of Palestinian children detained and imprisoned in Israeli prisons.

The New York activists strove to ensure that passersby and attendees understood the importance of supporting Ahed Tamimi. While the pro-Palestine activists were chanting, they were faced with pro-Zionist forces – a smattering of members from the Jewish Defense League (JDL).

The JDL members were aggressive and confrontational, attempting to distract the pro-Palestine forces as they continued chanting and rallying. At one point, they began pointing out members of the crowd who had previously identified themselves as Jewish, calling them “Hitler” and saying, “I’m glad Hitler killed your family.”

Despite the JDL, the spirits and resolve to stand in solidarity with Ahed Tamimi and her family remained strong.

The protest was called for by the Samiound Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and attended by different organizations from the NY4Palestine coalition, such as NYC Students for Justice in Palestine.

Michela Martinazzi, from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression NY, was the chant leader and MC of the event and closed out the evening with a mic check, “I’m so happy to see all of you this evening. It’s important that we keep fighting for, celebrating, and emulating Ahed Tamimi’s example. We will not stop protesting until she is free. I will see you next time!”

#NewYorkNY #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #Israel #PoliticalPrisoners #PoliticalRepression #AhedTamimi #NY4Palestine #CSFRNY #MiddleEast