But about two dozen UNO students and members of the General Union of Palestinian Students at UNO, joined by the community group Palestine Solidarity Committee, also showed up. These protesters staged a silent walk-out in the middle of the event, some holding signs. As they walked out en masse, they were joined by many others who were upset by anti-Arab and anti-gay marriage comments from the rally's speakers.

“The way they promoted it I found it a bit hateful,” said Maiadah Bader, a Palestinian UNO student, “they were trying to instigate us but we held our ground.”

“The rally was a mousetrap set up to incite a provocation from us,” said Palestine Solidarity Committee member Olga Rocheeva, “They were photographing protesters up close trying to provoke a response, in a political climate where Arabs and Muslims are facing repression.”

Members of the Palestine Solidarity Committee of New Orleans handed out informational fliers detailing life under Israeli apartheid and occupation. The flier included information on the hummus brand Sabra, a product sold on UNO's campus which has been widely criticized for its connection to Israeli military groups. Sabra and Tribe hummus brands have been the targets of successful boycott campaigns at numerous campuses across the country.

Jazz musician enters boycott debate

Renowned trumpet player and New Orleans native Kermit Ruffins played the national anthem for the event hosted by the “Allies of Israel” organization. Ruffins is purportedly considering a tour date in Israel, despite growing international pressure on musicians to respect the cultural and economic boycott of the apartheid state. Palestinian civil society made the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions – “BDS” – of Israel in 2005 based on the model that helped topple South African apartheid.

In recent weeks the mega-music festival Lollapalooza was forced to cancel their event in Israel due to lack of participants and Stevie Wonder cancelled a show for an Israeli Defense Forces fundraiser after a huge public outcry. Activists are hopeful that Ruffins will join hundreds of artists and musicians who refuse to endorse apartheid and occupation.

Palestine solidarity activism on the rise

In 2010, activists in New Orleans disrupted a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and held many large rallies in 2012 during Israel's Operation Pillar of Cloud, which killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians living in Gaza.

As the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement continues to gain momentum, activists in New Orleans look forward to local victories. In reference to the Jan. 28 rally, one protester remarked, “They don't know it yet, but they have awoken a sleeping giant.”

#NewOrleansLA #StudentMovement #PalestineSolidarityGroup #DanielPipes #UniversityOfNewOrleans #BDS #MiddleEast

This continues the repression unleashed by Fitzgerald on the anti-war movement since Sept. 24, when 14 subpoenas were delivered to anti-war, labor, and solidarity activists in coordinated raids involving more than 70 federal agents. Armed FBI agents raided homes, taking computers, phones, passports, documents, notebooks and even children’s artwork. Since then, a total of 23 subpoenas have been served to activists around the country.

Maureen Murphy said, “Along with several others, I am being summoned to appear before the Grand Jury on Tuesday, Jan. 25, in the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago. We are being targeted for the work we do to end U.S. funding of the Israeli occupation, ending the war in Afghanistan and ending the occupation of Iraq. What is at stake for all of us is our right to dissent and organize to change harmful US foreign policy.” Murphy is also the managing editor of the widely-read website, The Electronic Intifada.

In addition, three women in Minneapolis – Tracy Molm, Anh Pham, and Sara Martin – are threatened with reactivated subpoenas by Fitzgerald’s office and new Grand Jury dates. Tom Burke of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression explained, “It is likely the three individuals, like all the others so far, will continue to refuse to take part in Fitzgerald’s witch hunt. Fitzgerald can then call for putting them in jail as long as he wants.”

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #PalestineSolidarityGroup #September24FBIRaids #grandJury #ElectronicIntifada

Denunciamos al Buro de Investigaciones Federales, FBI. Por el hostigamiento a los activistas del movimiento Anti-Guerra y de Solidaridad en varios estados a través de país.

El FBI comenzó visitando seis casas en Chicago y Minneapolis esta ma ñana, Viernes, 24 de septiembre de 2010, a la 08:00 a.m. Tiempo del Centro. El FBI entrego Citatorios de Corte para testificar ante un Gran Jurado Federal a cerca de una docena de activistas en Illinois and Minnesota. Ellos además intentaron de intimidar a otros activistas en California y en Carolina del Norte.

“El gobierno espera usar un Gran Jurado para tender una trampa para acusarlos falsamente de actividades ilegales a los activistas. El objetivo de esas redadas es hostigar y tratar de intimidar el movimiento contra las guerras y ocupaciones militares de U.S.A. y a los que se oponen al apoyo de U.S.A. a regimes represivos,” dijo el activista de solidaridad con Colombia Tom Burke, uno de los que recibió un Citatorio de Corte por el FBI. “Ellos están diseñando para suprimir la oposición y la libertad de expresión, a dividir el movimiento pacifista y despejar el camino para mas intervenciones militares de U.S.A. en el Medio Oriente y Latinoamérica.

Esta supresión de los derechos democráticos esta dirigida hacia aquellos quienes dedican mucho de su tiempo y energía para apoyar las luchas de los pueblos de Palestina y Colombia contra la ocupación y guerras financiadas por U.S.A. Los activistas están involucrados con bien conocidos grupos anti-guerra, incluyendo muchos de los líderes de las grandes protestas en contra de la Convención Nacional de los Republicanos en St. Paul, MN. En Septiembre de 2008. El FBI enfatiza que el Gran Jurado estuvo investigando a los activistas por posibles cargos de terrorismo. Esto es un intento del gobierno de U.S.A. para silenciar a esos que apoyan la Resistencia a la opresión en el Medio Oriente y Latinoamérica.

Los activistas involucrados No han hecho nada ilegal y están rechazando a ser atraídos dentro de conversaciones con el FBI acerca de sus puntos de vista político ó la organización contra las guerras y ocupaciones. Los activistas están involucrados con muchos grupos, incluyendo el Grupo de Solidaridad con Palestina, Estudiantes por una Sociedad Democrática, el Comite Anti-Guerra Ciudades-Gemelas, Red de Accion por Colombia, la Organizacion Socialista Camino de Libertad y el Comite Nacional por la Libertad de Ricardo Palmera (Un Prisionero Político Colombiano).

Steff Yorek un activista anti-guerra por mucho tiempo y uno de los activistas a quienes sus casas fueron cateadas, llamó las redadas “Una indignante expedición de pesca.”

Nosotros Urgimos a todos los activistas progresistas a mostrar solidaridad con estos individuos señalados como objetivos por el gobierno de U.S.A. Los activistas tienen el derecho a No hablar con el FBI y son animados a negarse cortésmente, solo decir “NO.”

Por favor contactarse: info@colombiasolidarity.org ó info@fightbacknews.org si le gustaría proveer apoyo a los activistas.

#EstadosUnidos #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #PalestineSolidarityGroup #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #AntiWarCommittee #ColombiaActionNetwork #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #FederalBureauOfInvestigationFBI

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following national call to action from the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee.

We denounce the Federal Bureau of Investigation harassment of anti-war and solidarity activists. The FBI raided seven houses and an office in Chicago and Minneapolis on Friday, September 24, 2010. The FBI handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to eleven activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. The FBI also attempted to intimidate activists in California and North Carolina.

This suppression of civil rights is aimed at those who dedicate their time and energy to supporting the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funded occupation and war. The FBI has indicated that the grand jury is investigating the activists for possible material support of terrorism charges.

The activists involved have done nothing wrong and are refusing to be pulled into conversations with the FBI about their political views or organizing against war and occupation. The activists are involved with many groups, including: the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee, the Palestine Solidarity Group, the Colombia Action Network, Students for a Democratic Society, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization. These activists came together with many others to organize the 2008 anti-war marches on the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.

We ask people of conscience to join us in fighting this political repression, as we continue working to build the movements against US war and occupation.

Take Action:

Call the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at 202-353-1555 or write an email to: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov.

Demand:

• Stop the repression against anti-war and international solidarity activists.
• Immediately return all confiscated materials: computers, cell phones, papers, documents, etc.
• End the grand jury proceedings against anti-war activists.

Plan and Support national days of protest at FBI offices or Federal Buildings, September 27 and 28th.

A demonstration has been called at the Minneapolis FBI Office Monday, 4:30, September 27th(111 Washington Ave. S.).

In Solidarity, the Anti-War Committee – www.antiwarcommittee.org

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #StateRepression #PalestineSolidarityGroup #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #AntiWarCommittee #ColombiaActionNetwork #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganizationFRSO #FederalBureauOfInvestigationFBI #September24FBIRaids

We denounce the Federal Bureau of Investigation harassment of anti-war and solidarity activists in several states across the country. The FBI began turning over six houses in Chicago and Minneapolis this morning, Friday, September 24, 2010, at 8:00 am central time. The FBI handed subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury to about a dozen activists in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. They also attempted to intimidate activists in California and North Carolina.

“The government hopes to use a grand jury to frame up activists. The goal of these raids is to harass and try to intimidate the movement against U.S. wars and occupations, and those who oppose U.S. support for repressive regimes,” said Colombia solidarity activist Tom Burke, one of those handed a subpoena by the FBI. “They are designed to suppress dissent and free speech, to divide the peace movement, and to pave the way for more U.S. military intervention in the Middle East and Latin America.”

This suppression of democratic rights is aimed towards those who dedicate much of their time and energy to supporting the struggles of the Palestinian and Colombian peoples against U.S. funded occupation and war. The activists are involved with well-known anti-war groups including many of the leaders of the huge protest against the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN in September 2008. The FBI agents emphasized that the grand jury was going to investigate the activists for possible terrorism charges. This is a U.S. government attempt to silence those who support resistance to oppression in the Middle East and Latin America.

The activists involved have done nothing wrong and are refusing to be pulled into conversations with the FBI about their political views or organizing against war and occupation. The activists are involved with many groups, including: the Palestine Solidarity Group, Students for a Democratic Society, the Twin-Cities Anti-War Committee, the Colombia Action Network, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera (a Colombian Political Prisoner).

Steff Yorek, a long-time antiwar activist and one of the activists whose homes was searched, called the raids “An outrageous fishing expedition.”

We urge all progressive activists to show solidarity with those individuals targeted by the U.S. Government. Activists have the right not to speak with the FBI and are encouraged to politely refuse, just say “No”.

Please contact info@colombiasolidarity.org or info@fightbacknews.org if you would like to provide support to the targeted activists.

Contact: Tom Burke, 773-844-3612; Steff Yorek, 612-865-8234

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #StateRepression #PalestineSolidarityGroup #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #NationalCommitteeToFreeRicardoPalmera #AntiWarCommittee #ColombiaActionNetwork #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #FBI #FederalBureauOfInvestigationFBI #September24FBIRaids

Chicago, IL – Chicago police at downtown Millennium Park arrested an activist who was participating in a protest organized by the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago, Aug. 23. At the Chicago Sister Cities annual International Festival, more than 30 activists protested Israel’s inclusion in the program and called for the cutting of Chicago ties with Israeli apartheid.

The activist was arrested while the protest was ending outside of the International Festival tent. The protesters were on their way out when the police began shoving the activists and grabbed the young Arab male protester and placed him under arrest.

Minutes earlier, after picketing and chanting directly outside of the front entrance of the tent, activists brought the message into the actual venue. Protesters chanted in the tent for a few minutes to make the message clear: “Drop Petach Tikva!” – Chicago’s sister city in Israel. The pianist who was performing in the hall at the time stood at attention out of respect once he heard the protesters’ message.

The Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG) and allies brought the message directly into the festival because for the last year and a half, the Chicago Sister Cities International has refused to meet with PSG and members of the community to hear about Petach Tikva’s special role in Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people.

Petach Tikva – an officially segregated city, the first Jewish-only settlement in historic Palestine and the site of the primary detention center where Israeli forces abuse and torture Palestinian political prisoners – has been dubbed by the rights group Amnesty International as “Israel’s Guantanamo.”

Upholding the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions measures on apartheid Israel, PSG and its allies object to business-as-usual with Israel. Under the false premise of promoting culture and education, Petach Tikva’s inclusion in Chicago Sister Cities promotes Israel-U.S. business ties while it whitewashes Israel’s occupation and human rights abuses.

Anel Montes, a manager with the Chicago Sister Cities, repeated the program’s refusal to take a principled stance or meet with activists, using the false language of ‘neutrality.’ However, Chicago Sister Cities has made its position clear by maintaining its relationship with Petach Tikva, whose committee members belong to organizations that have played a role in the dispossession of the Palestinian people and are committed to promoting U.S. aid to apartheid Israel.

The Palestine Solidarity Group and allies claimed a victory. Petach Tikva was not visible at the festival because war-profiteering corporations Motorola and Boeing, the main sponsors of the Chicago Sister Cities International, don’t want protesters raining on their public relations parade. PSG and its allies will keep up the pressure until Chicago Sister Cities drops Israel’s Guantanamo.

#ChicagoIL #PalestineSolidarityGroup #PetachTikva #MiddleEast

Chicago, IL – Approximately 20 protestors marched at 7am, March 3, outside the Palmer House Hilton, in opposition to an official Sister Cities relationship between the City of Chicago and the municipality of Petach Tikva in Israel. The event was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago (PSG) in response to the Annual International Business Breakfast keynoted by Mayor Daley.

The Palestinian Solidarity Group (PSG) rejects use of the Sister Cities program to normalize Israeli apartheid, demanding that Israel instead be held accountable for its human rights violations. PSG also protests the relationship between the Petach Tikva Sister Cities program and Israeli governmental institutions and other organizations that have played a role in the colonization of Palestinian land and the continued dispossession of the Palestinian people.

PSG was joined by activists from Voices for Creative Nonviolence and the International Anti-Zionist Network. “Mayor Daley, choose a side, cut ties with apartheid!” and “Petach Tikva is no sister of Chicago!” were amongst the picketers’ chants.

Petach Tikva symbolizes the dispossession and colonization of the Palestinian homeland. The first Jewish-only settlement in historic Palestine, known in Israel as the “mother of all settlements,” Petach Tikva is built on the remains of depopulated Palestinian villages whose descendents are denied the right to return home. Petach Tikva is an officially segregated city where Palestinian citizens of Israel are subjected to institutional racism and an apartheid legal system. Petach Tikva is also home to one of the largest interrogation and detention centers in Israel, where Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip are illegally transferred for interrogation and routinely subjected to torture.

#ChicagoIL #PalestineSolidarityGroup #MiddleEast

On the morning of Tuesday, March 14th, 2006, Israeli occupation forces accompanied by large numbers of tanks, armored vehicles, and helicopters advanced on and surrounded the Palestinian Authority’s (PA’s) Jericho compound and prison in which the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Ahmad Saadat, four of his comrades, Fu'ad ash-Shawbaki, and many others were imprisoned. These forces bombarded the compound with artillery and rockets, destroying the buildings and battering the prison itself. All the prisoners were arrested and abducted, two Palestinians were killed, and twenty-three more injured—in total disregard of all international laws.

This heinous crime is another demonstration of systematic state terrorism perpetrated by the government of Ehud Olmert, acting Prime Minister of Israel, who replaced the Butcher of Beirut, Ariel Sharon, after Sharon’s stroke a few months ago. The victory by Hamas in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections and the immediate response from Israel, the United States, and the European Union (demanding that the Palestinians renounce all resistance and uphold obsolete PA-signed agreements) was a predictor of this Israeli escalation. Olmert has also recently unveiled plans to annex Palestinian land in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Jordan Valley, and unilaterally establish new borders for the “state” of Israel.

The Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG)—Chicago condemns Olmert’s plans and actions, especially this blatant assault on Jericho and Palestinian sovereignty, as well as U.S. and British complicity in the operation. Saadat and his four comrades were illegally arrested by the PA in 2002, and despite calls by the Palestinian High Court of Justice to release them, had been imprisoned in Jericho under U.S. and British “guardianship” since that time. When the Anglo-American guards, ostensibly guaranteeing the “security” of the prisoners, pulled out, the Israeli occupation forces immediately moved in and began their siege. The PSG regards this as proof, once more, that relying on American promises and guarantees leads to nothing but death, destruction, and the surrender of Palestinian national rights.

There were mass, popular outbursts of protest in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, throughout the Arab World, and in other countries where the Palestinian Diaspora resides (including actions led by Minneapolis’ Anti-War Committee and PSG-Chicago, respectively, in the U.S.). But the “international community” stayed silent, another example of the double standard these governments apply when dealing with the rights of the Palestinian and Arab people.

Israel, the U.S., and England targeted Saadat and the other political prisoners in an attempt to break the will of the Palestinian people and impede their ability to continue the resistance to occupation and U.S. imperialism. But the determination of the Palestinian people cannot be weakened, nor can that of the brave Iraqi resistance to U.S. war and occupation. On March 18th, as hundreds of thousands throughout the world, including here in Chicago, demand Troops Home Now! and an End to War and Occupation!, the Palestinian people, and their leaders like Saadat, will continue to represent the steadfast will of oppressed peoples everywhere. And the banner of struggle and liberation will continue to wave until all the national rights of the Iraqis and the Palestinians are secured.

Free All Palestinian Political Prisoners!

Liberation for Palestine and Iraq!

#ChicagoIL #PalestineSolidarityGroup #AhmadSaadat #Statement #JerichoRaid #MiddleEast

“The blood of Gaza is on your hands!” was the chant that rang out in front of the Auditorium Theater here, Feb. 8. The 60 protesters called for boycotting the performance of the Israeli Batsheba Dance Company. The dance troop is touring the U.S. as goodwill ambassadors for the Zionist state. The invasion of Gaza, in which over 1300 Palestinians were killed, including over 300 children, has put the eyes of the world on Israel. Picketers also challenged the concert-goers, saying, “Don’t dance on Gaza’s graves!” The organizers, including the International Solidarity Movement and the Palestine Solidarity Group, vowed to continue and expand the “Boycott/Divest/Sanction” campaign.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #News #Gaza #PalestineSolidarityGroup

The delegation included members of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, 8th Day Center for Justice, Francis of Assisi House Catholic Worker, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Palestine Solidarity Group, and Strangers and Guests Catholic Worker Farm. The protesters were demanding a meeting with Durbin and that he take steps to stop Israel’s murderous campaign.

A letter delivered to Senator Durbin by the activists stated, “By not calling for a halt to the violence and by arming Israel, United States officials are aiding and abetting war crimes…We call upon the U.S. to demand that Israel immediately withdraw from the Gaza Strip and end its bombardment of the occupied territory and urge Senator Durbin to initiate a binding vote to that effect.”

Durbin’s staff would only offer a follow-up meeting with other staff, and no commitment to helping stop Israel’s war. In response, ten of the protestors refused to leave and were arrested several hours later. Four of them were carried out by the police. The ten were charged with being ‘non compliant with the directions of a federal officer.’

Among those arrested was a Palestinian woman, Manal Farhan, who told Fight Back!, “We turned up the volume on these demands. I am hopeful that this action has encouraged others to push for an end to the siege on Gaza, to get all Israeli troops out and to stop U.S. aid to Israel.”

The previous day, Jan. 15, the Palestine Solidarity Group picketed Mayor Daley at a breakfast for the Chicago Sister City International program, demanding an end to Chicago’s sister city relationship with Petach Tikva. Petach Tikva, the first Jewish-only settlement in Palestine, was established before the founding the Israel state, on land owned by Palestinians from a village called Mlabbes. Mlabbes was subsequently wiped off the map.

Chicago police threw protesters out of the hotel where the event was held, so they picketed outside for 30 minutes, where the temperature was -40˚ F. Hatem Abudayyeh of the Palestine Solidarity Group remarked, “With the invasion of Gaza, the Sister City program with Israel has become a target for a campaign of boycott and sanctions. We don’t want our city’s resources supporting Israel’s illegal occupation and the killing of Palestinian civilians.”

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #News #Gaza #SenatorDurbin #PalestineSolidarityGroup