Chicago, IL – The U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) commemorated the Nakba, “Catastrophe” in English, which marks the ethnic cleansing of over 750,000 Palestinians, and the massacre of thousands more, by Zionist militia groups in 1948, in the wake of the establishment of the settler colonial state of Israel. Palestinians and their supporters all around the world remember the Nakba every year on or around May 15.

On May 14, USPCN-New York member Suzanne Adely moderated a webinar with George Khoury, a Nakba survivor and longtime Detroit-based organizer, and Rasmea Odeh, the famous former Palestinian political prisoner who, after a politically-charged prosecution that was an attack on her organizing and the Palestine national movement as a whole, was deported from the U.S. in 2017.

After George Khoury told his powerful Nakba story, Rasmea Odeh provided a historical analysis and talked about Palestinian resistance to Israeli colonialism. Both emphasized the need to continue organizing for justice and liberation, especially in the U.S., which provides Israel over $5 billion of military and other aid per year. The U.S. under Trump has taken even more extreme steps to support the racist state, like moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, accepting Israel’s declaration of full sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is stolen Syrian land, and proposing the “Deal of the Century,” a sham peace plan that ignores all Palestinian rights.

“The Nakba taught me that whatever is taken by force, it must be taken back by force, and thus we need to organize and tell our people: Your history was denied, your future was denied. The only way to get liberation is to organize,” stated Khoury at the end of his speech.

Odeh added to Khoury’s statement: “We will accept nothing less than our right of return, and to create a democratic state on our land.”

The next day, USPCNs Chicago chapter organized a Palestinian Car Caravan, in which 75 cars and over 100 community members and allies participated.

The caravan started in Chicago’s southwest suburbs, home to one of the largest communities of Palestinians and Arabs in the U.S., and drove to the Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago, where U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth have offices.

Simultaneously, USPCN organized a Twitter storm, asking supporters to call their Representatives in the U.S. Congress and demand that they support the No Way to Treat a Child bill (HR 2407), which calls for Israel to stop the detention of children, and take action to end the blockade on Gaza now.

One Palestinian from Chicagoland, who is a descendant of refugees barred from returning to their homes that were stolen in 1948, declared, “The Right of Return to our homes is a must! We will never forget. We will keep on organizing and fighting until we are able to return home.”

#ChicagoIL #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #Palestine #SpecialCoverage #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #alNakba #Antiracism #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #USPalestinianCommunityNetworkUSPCN

Chicago, IL – More than a 1200 joined together November 22, at the hall of the Chicago Teachers Union, to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The newly refounded Alliance will center its efforts on building the fight against police crimes and for community control of the police, and it will campaign for the release of political prisoners and the wrongfully convicted.

Longtime leaders of the Black liberation movement, Angela Davis and Frank Chapman, along with elected officials, trade unionists, and other progressive activists addressed the packed rally that opened the conference.

#ChicagoIL #StudentMovement #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #ChicanoLatino #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PoliticalPrisoners #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #NationalAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression #ConferenceToRefoundTheNationalAlliance

Freedom Road Socialist Organization joins with people around the globe in condemning the German authorities for trampling on the rights those who fight for the liberation of Palestine. On June 22, the German government banned prominent Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat from speaking at an event against Trump’s “deal of the century.” This outrageous act come on the heels of the German government’s preventing a speech by the Palestinian leader Rasmea Odeh, and her subsequent deportation.

The Israeli occupation Palestine is being challenged by the growing struggle of the Palestinian people, and a rising tide of anger across the Middle East. The brutality and callous cruelty of the occupation has led to a turn in public opinion internationally and the growing isolation of the Israel. So, the Western governments that back Israel have a problem. It’s hard to defend an entity that uses snipers to maim and kill protesters. Or that brutalizes kids. Or that carries out sexual assaults against women as a matter of policy. Fair-minded people reject these kinds of things, so the governments of Europe and the U.S. have adopted a “kill the messenger” approach.

What we see in the U.S. and Europe is an attempt to criminalize those working to free Palestine. Organizations that fight for freedom, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), are wrongly labeled as “terrorist.” There are attempts to put legal restrictions on those who advocated boycotts, sanctions, and divestment from Israel.

We in Freedom Road have some direct experience with this repression, having faced FBI raids and attacks from a grand jury, in part because of our support for Palestine. We continue to support the battle for Palestinian liberation, and we are proud to stand in solidarity with anyone who is being hit with repression and for those who are making contributions to this just cause.

No amount of repression in the U.S. or Europe will change the fact that the Israeli occupation will certainly come to an end. From the river to the sea, every inch of Palestine will be liberated.

Stand with those who stand for a free Palestine!

#Germany #Palestine #PeoplesStruggles #RasmeaOdeh #MiddleEast

New York, NY – A crowd gathered at The People’s Forum on June 9 to hear Rasmea Odeh and Suzanne Adely speak on the repression of the Palestinian solidarity movement by the United States and Israel. Rasmea Odeh is a famous Palestinian woman leader who has dedicated her life to the Palestinian struggle and liberation of her people. She was a former political prisoner of Israel, and had her human rights violated. Odeh later became the target of political repression in the United States in 2013, after FBI raids and grand jury subpoenas targeting the Antiwar 23 were defeated.

Leading up to the event, pro-Israel right-wingers attempted to stop Rasmea Odeh from speaking. They made many calls and sent emails to the People’s Forum with slurs and threats against Rasmea Odeh and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression NYC. The People’s Forum refused to pull the plug however. Thru teleconferencing, Odeh talked to her New York supporters about her hard-fought U.S. deportation case and her current organizing efforts for Palestine Liberation.

Collin of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression NYC introduced the event, speaking about the “Justice for Rasmea” campaign from 2013-2017, “Rasmea stood strong against this repression, and activists won real victories by organizing to support her. Not only did activists force the first judge to recuse himself for having direct ties to one of the businesses targeted in the crimes for which Rasmea was framed, but her defense committee also helped get Rasmea out of solitary confinement while her case was on appeal.”

Collin then introduced Rasmea Odeh by teleconference. Odeh spoke about the recent repression in Germany, where she was scheduled to speak at a cultural center in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. The German Interior Ministry invoked the Residence Act to block her from speaking and sent police to shut it down, including following her and harassing her afterwards.

During the New York event, Odeh spoke and answered audience questions for 30 minutes. Then Suzanne Adely, an international solidarity activist, labor lawyer, and Arab American, hosted a lively question and answer session about Rasmea Odeh and other cases of political repression. She touched upon Sami Al Arian, Claudia Jones, the LA 8, Mazzen al-Najjar, and others. Adely highlighted how groups continue to organize despite facing an onslaught of political repression from the U.S. government.

The event ended with the announcement that CSFR NY joined the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression ( read here) and will continue to organize against political repression and police harassment in New York City.

#NewYorkNY #Palestine #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh

The actions of these governments blatantly reflect their racist anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim views. But we want to draw attention to the underlying reason for their targeting of Rasmea. The attack on her right to speak is deeply tied to U.S. and German support for the Israeli apartheid and settler colonialism in Palestine. Moreover, the attack on Rasmea reflects these countries’ imperialist strategies for control of the Middle East. By the same token, these governments are clearly acting out of fear – fear that when Palestinian women and activists like Rasmea speak up, it chips away at such countries’ grasp on Palestine and the surrounding region.

The attacks on Rasmea and Palestine also relate to political repression taking place across the globe. Germany, the U.S. and Israel are attempting to silence Rasmea for the same fundamental reasons that the Duterte government has murdered and attacked activists and human rights defenders in the Philippines; that the U.S. government is trying to forcibly install a new government in Venezuela; and that the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group is surveilling and harassing leaders and activists in the Black Lives Matter movement. The imperialists who are in power are clearly afraid that people like Rasmea might inspire others to rise up and fight back against the racist and oppressive system in place.

We want to send a message to these imperialist powers, to say that fighting back is exactly what we plan to do. It is imperative that we fight back against this unjust system that tries to silence Palestinian women like Rasmea. We demand that Rasmea Odeh be permitted to speak in Germany, and we demand an end to state repression against all Muslim women, and all Palestinians who have boldly raised their voices against the imperialist and colonialist powers that are oppressing people across the world.

Activists are not terrorists! We stand in solidarity with Rasmea and all Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation.

-- NYC Committee to Stop FBI Repression

#NewYorkCityNY #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #politicalRepression #Antiracism #RasmeaOdeh

Rasmea Odeh, an historic figure in the Palestine national movement, is being threatened by German authorities with denial of her right to speak in Germany, as well as attempting to take away her visa.

The Chicago Alliance once again expresses our complete solidarity with our dear sister, Rasmea, and with her beloved Palestine. For a number of years, the Alliance and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network marched together to defend Rasmea from the political trial that she was subjected to by the U.S. Dept. of Justice; and the Palestinian organizations that Rasmea helped to lead marched together with the Black community in Chicago in our struggle for an end to police crimes by calling for community control of the police.

In 2014, I saw the Palestinian people in Ferguson, Missouri, expressing their solidarity with Black people there who had risen up to demand justice for Mike Brown, the innocent young Black man who was slain by a white police officer. That uprising reignited the Black liberation movement in the U.S.

I said then and I say again today that Black people and Palestinians have a future together. In Chicago, we face a police department that occupies our communities, as Palestinians are occupied by the Israeli military. Hundreds of Blacks and Latinos in Chicago were tortured by cops into confessing to crimes they did not commit, just as Rasmea was tortured in 1969 into such a confession. The Palestinian people are fighting for their liberation since their land was taken from them in 1948. Black people have been fighting for our liberation since we were stolen from Africa centuries ago.

Let Rasmea speak!

#ChicagoIL #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #AfricanAmerican #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #FrankChapman #ChicagoAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepression

Freedom Road Socialist Organization sharply condemns the decision by German authorities to prevent the respected Palestinian leader Rasmea Odeh from speaking in Berlin, March 15. According to reports we have reviewed, German police accosted Rasmea outside the hall where she was scheduled to appear, surrounded the venue with hundreds of cops, and handed her documents that canceled her visa. Police then followed Rasmea, demanding she go to another part of the city, and harassed her as she did so.

These acts of political repression were preceded by a noisy campaign by the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors and the right-wing media against Rasmea’s appearance in Germany. This repression should be opposed by everyone who cares about justice and democratic rights.

Rasmea Odeh was a long-time leader of the Palestinian American community in Chicago, until she was arrested on trumped-up charges, stripped of her U.S. citizenship and deported. Rasmea had done nothing wrong. Her real ‘crime’ in the eyes of the U.S. government was her commitment to ending the Zionist occupation of Palestine.

Rasmea is in fact is a hero whose lifetime of struggle embodies the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people. Freedom Road Socialist Organization has worked tirelessly in the past to oppose any act of repression against Rasmea and we will continue to do so now.

The forces of reaction who want to criminalize those who embrace Palestine’s freedom are doomed to failure. Support for Israel is waning. The Palestinian liberation forces, along with a growing camp of resistance in the Middle East, are growing stronger.

Let Rasmea speak her mind! End U.S. support for Israel! Freedom for all of Palestine!

#UnitedStates #PeoplesStruggles #RasmeaOdeh #PoliticalRepression

Today is the one year anniversary of my deportation, and I miss you all very much. I miss the colorfulness of my life with you, and the value that you added to it! My life now is as grey as everything else in Jordan, but it would be worse without the legacy of struggle that we built together. Our wonderful, strong relationships have deep roots that continue to grow, and these lovely memories accompany me every day, especially on the difficult ones.

This summer was busy and full, despite the fact that I did not have a regular work schedule. When people ask me how my day looks, I do not have an answer! Each day is different than the previous one, and it is extremely difficult to retain my commitment to order. I have never lived a life of such spontaneity. Others cannot understand this! To release this pressure, I go to the gym at least twice a week. Caring for my health and body reenergizes me!

Jordan links Palestine with all the other countries in the region, which causes a buzz here, especially during the summer, so on many days, I received visitors who were in transit to or from Palestine, as well as many from the U.S.

Some of these were already in my schedule, but I enjoyed offering space to those who were not, especially the young people, the oxygen of life and the instrument of change! I am eager to communicate with them and give them some of my time. (Coincidentally, I will be hanging out with two wonderful young Palestinian women from the U.S. today!)

Additionally, I am attempting to build a wide network of relationships with different segments of the citizenry, and restoring connections with old friends. Building and maintaining these relationships takes time and continuous effort, while I also keep up my activism through my travels and my writing.

My dear friends and supporters, I have already told you that you are my chosen family. This is not meant as a courtesy; it is a fact. You are an inseparable part of me, the blood that ran through my veins and the oxygen that kept me alive while the U.S. government tried to suffocate me! You embraced me and stood by my side at the toughest of times.

I spent more time with you than with my family. We combined joy with sadness, laughter and cheer with crying, precautions with courage, marches and demonstrations with strategic planning—all on the path to freedom, justice, and equality!

Lately, I have been pausing to recall the memories, both sweet and bitter, of my case, which persist in my heart and soul. They mean so much to me. I continue to follow your struggle in the U.S., as you, no doubt, follow my Palestinian people’s struggle here in the Arab World; and I continue to see the blossoming of our collective uprising against racism, exploitation, and injustice in the U.S., Palestine, and all across the world!

Our challenges are difficult, but we must elevate our will to struggle, and our determination to succeed, so that our tree of resistance is better able to withstand the storms that we face these days!

Before I close, I want to let you know that you are all, as individuals and collectively, valued treasures in my life; you are like bright full moons illuminating my darkest nights in the desert!

The power of your support flows in me despite my exile and deportation. I know that we will continue to make new memories together while accomplishing the goal of making life better for us all. I met you along my Palestinian life’s journey on the path of social, political, and national resistance, and you have helped me appreciate and value it.

Our future will be full of sunshine, happiness, and love. We will draw strength from each other, because “that which does not kill me will strengthen me,” and I add, “…will also provide me with courage, confidence, and steadfastness.”

Even with the pain that was inflicted on me by the unjust deportation that turned my life upside down and forced me to re-arrange my entire life, I will never be discouraged or disillusioned! As I have already said so many times, I will continue my organizing wherever I land!

And so on this occasion, I want to repeat a piece of the poem I read in Arabic at my farewell event last year:

لن أدع الابعاد يكسرني ولا المسافات تعزلني دروس الثورة علمتني بأن حبوب القمح إذا جفت تملأ سنابلها الوديان

I will not let the deportation break me Nor distance isolate me The lessons of the revolution taught me That if wheat grain dries It fills the valleys with stalks

I miss and love you all very much.

Rasmea Odeh September 19, 2018

#Jordan #Palestine #antiwar #RasmeaOdeh #PoliticalRepression

New York, NY – Around 30 protesters gathered in Washington Square Park, April 20 to stand in solidarity with Palestinians protesting on the border of Gaza.

This is the fourth week in a row that protesters have gathered to support their allies abroad during the Great Return March. The protest was called for by the group Within Our Lifetime. Palestinians have said that they will march for six weeks leading up to Nakba Day.

There were rounds of speeches and chants, along the lines of “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes!”

In the middle of the rally, a contingent of activists from a different protest joined in solidarity. The other protest was for the deportation of human rights activist, Jerome Aba. Aba was detained by the U.S. government for 24 hours before he was deported. During this time, he had to suffer inhumane treatment and torture.

The two groups began chanting together and the speeches drew connections to both causes.

Jessica Schwartz, an organizer with the Committee to Stop FBI NYC, said, “It is extremely fitting that the women’s committee put out a call for action, because women are often times at the forefront of struggle and face added violence under imperialism.

“Along with those brave fighters being targeted and killed in Palestine, Palestinians in the U.S. face repression for merely speaking out against their people’s oppression. Rasmea Odeh was deported to Jordan after a years long battle with the U.S. after being found guilty of trumped up charges. This was not merely an immigration case, it was a meticulous attack on her as an activist.”

The protest ended with a group picture and chants that spoke towards the further liberation of Palestine.

#NewYorkNY #AntiwarMovement #Gaza #Palestine #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #NYC #GreatReturnMarch #WashingtonSquarePark #MarchOfGreatReturn #MiddleEast

March 8 celebrates International Women’s Day (IWD). This important international holiday originates in the struggles of working women in the U.S. Now is a pivotal time in the history of the fight for women’s liberation. At this moment women are finding their voices, their strength, and solidarity in numbers.

There have been attacks on women’s equality on many fronts

Attacks ranged from the Trump administration’s revoking the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Act, which ensured all federal contractors had to report safety violations (including assaults and discrimination), to the Justice department scrapping 25 guiding documents for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The past summer, the military banned transgender soldiers from joining. While everyone must actively discourage anyone from joining the imperialist war machine, banning transgender people will only encourage further discrimination and violence against them.

The attacks on women extended to the Justice Department ruling that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn’t cover sexual orientation, putting thousands of queer people at a further disadvantage and open to harassment.

And in a move feared by many, the Trump administration passed a bill that effectively did away with provision of the Title X Family Planning program, which ensured access for low-income people to access birth control, abortions and cancer screenings.

These attacks on women are also taking place internationally. One example of many is the Philippines, where those who struggle for liberation, the women of the New People’s Army, are facing sexualized and gendered violence as the U.S.-backed president, Rodrigo Duterte, has called for their murder.

Women have shown that attacks on us will not be pass without a fight

This is very clear in the #MeToo movement. The movement was started over a decade ago by Tarana Burke, a civil rights activist, to contextualize the pervasiveness of sexual assault. It was revived in late 2017 with a tweet by Alyssa Milano that asked women to share their experiences to “give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”

Since then, thousands upon thousands of messages and posts have been shared by people recounting their harrowing experiences, along with the hashtag #MeToo. This led to the first major wave of sexual predators being called out and removed from authority. From Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and Louis CK to Brett Ratner and James Franco, these men have finally had to answer for their disgusting crimes and behaviors

The bold action by the teachers, largely women, of West Virginia circles us back to the origins of Women’s Day itself, when working women walked the strike lines to demand decent pay and working conditions in a sector that is devalued and viewed as inferior work.

On International Women’s Day we rise to honor our heroes, the women who have led, struggled and sacrificed for their communities.

Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, murdered because she refused to stand back as neo-Nazis marched into the city.

Erica Garner, a prominent and powerful Black Lives Matter activist in New York City who passed away this year.

Ahed Tamimi, a 16-year-old whose slap was seen around the world. Tamimi is a symbol of the Palestinian resistance – she called renewed attention to the conditions under Israeli occupation and the hundreds of children currently imprisoned.

Rasmea Odeh, a prominent Palestinian-American organizer, who powered through political repression to continue organizing in Jordan.

We rise for the hundreds of thousands who continue to march for immigration rights, against islamophobia, for workers’ rights, and who are keeping the streets alive with marching and chants.

On International Women’s Day we not only commemorate the contributions of the past and present. As we battle each and every abuse and manifestation of oppression, we look forward to the day that our class holds within our hands the power to remake society. One day we will have the opportunity to remake society in the image of liberation.

It is said, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” This past year has been marked with these weeks. Yet, with each of these weeks, the strength of the oppressed has only grown and their resilience only more resolute. For the next year, any blow dealt by the Trump administration and the ‘alt-right’ cronies will be met with loud and powerful resistance. History is in the favor of the people, and the people alone. We will fight back, and will win.

#US #PeoplesStruggles #InternationalWomensDay #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #frso #RasmeaOdeh #IWWD #March8th

New York, NY – Organizers gathered at the International Action Center, Jan. 16, for a panel called “After J20: Fighting Back Against Political Repression.” The panel was organized by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression – NYC (CSFR) as part of the #DaysOfRage. The #DaysOfRage is building towards a final rally on Jan. 20, which is the one-year anniversary of the inauguration of Trump.

The purpose of the panel was to bring up cases of political repression during the Trump era, and how organizers fought back for victories.

The panel was emceed by Michela Martinazzi, an organizer with the CSFR, who began the event by explaining why the event was important in this time. Martinazzi stated, “Because what is political repression? It’s when the state attacks people who are actively organizing to dismantle a system – it’s targeting based on one’s political beliefs and actions. It takes on a different character than other state attacks, such as attacks on gender or race, and therefore must be organized around differently.”

The first speaker was Leilani Dowell from the Worker’s World Party. Dowell gave an excellent and in-depth overview of the case of the Durham Fighters – a group of activists who tore down a Confederate statue back in August 2017. These organizers initially were facing felony charges but, as Dowell explained, through organizing their charges were dropped to misdemeanors. Dowell finished by saying, “Since that statue came down in August, we coined that phrase ‘do it like Durham,’ which is a statement we can get behind. It’s an understanding of militant struggle and never ceasing organizing despite what the racist state put against them. We have to incorporate that in our bodies, souls, and organizing until we tear down the rotten system.”

The next speaker was Christian Valencia, one of the 200 J20 defendants arrested during the Jan. 20, 2017 inauguration protests. Valencia explained the details leading up to the mass arrest of and blanket felony charging of the 200 people.

Talking about the J20 case, Valencia stated, “It’s been difficult because many people have dismissed the J20 defendants as a bunch of people causing trouble and wrecking stuff. And not getting that it’s actually very important, regardless of the politics involved, because that was the first clash between the real resistance, and not the coopted Democrats’ resistance, and the Trump administration.” Valencia then finished by saying, “We can’t really be [engaged] in sectarianism right now because we’re all in the same boat. We’re all fighting against this regime. They don’t care what our ideological differences are. They just care that we’re against them.”

The panel was finished with Jessica Schwartz, an organizer with CSFR, who elucidated on different cases of political repression and the different tactics that were used to win those respective cases. She brought up the cases of the Anti-War 23, Carlos Montes, Rasmea Odeh, the Jax5, and the Holy Land 5. Schwartz stated, “As activists, we must organize campaigns that target laws and institutions that seek to repress us into complacency. As we’ve seen from history, with programs like COINTELPRO, the enemy is always watching and ready to wreck our movements from the inside. However, it is up to us to remain strong and fight back, never cowering in the face of the enemy.”

The panel ended with a brief Q and A and the chant, “When activists are under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back!”

The final action for the #DaysOfRage is this Saturday at 4 p.m. at Grand Central Station. All the groups who organized for the week of action will be attending and protesting Trump, his administration and the evils of capitalism.

#NewYorkNY #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #GrandJuries #PoliticalRepression #CSFR #RasmeaOdeh #Antifascism #NYC #J20 #DurhamFighters

Chicago, IL — About 150 people gathered outside the international terminal, Sept. 19, at Chicago's O'Hare airport in support of Rasmea Odeh. The send-off rally was the last chance for supporters to say goodbye, as Rasmea was forced to depart the U.S. after an almost four-year legal and political struggle. Speakers applauded Rasmea and a defense campaign that put Israel on trial for its crimes, and lifted up the cause of Palestinian liberation.

Rasmea said, “They want to destroy me, but I am strong. They can't destroy me.”

When it was time to go board her flight to Jordan, the crowd followed Odeh into the airport. After countless hugs, she crossed the security line with her fist raised, to chants of, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

#ChicagoIL #ImmigrantRights #PeoplesStruggles #Deportation #politicalRepression #Antiracism #RasmeaOdeh

Detroit, MI – Palestinian American icon Rasmea Odeh made her final court appearance in Detroit on August 17. Odeh knew the sentence before she arrived. The defense and prosecution agreed to a sentence of removal from the U.S., and Judge Gerswhin Drain approved. Odeh was looking forward to making her public statement before the court.

Defense attorney Michael Deutsch spoke first, explaining how beloved and respected Rasmea Odeh is in Chicago, and all the good work with Palestinian immigrant women and their families. Deutsch explained, “This case should never have been brought.”

Then U.S. prosecutor Jonathan Tukel responded by talking about terrorism charges and that she was found guilty of fraud, but failing to mention Odeh’s successful appeal.

Finally Odeh was invited to speak. 150 Rasmea Odeh supporters who came to rally in pouring rain packed the courtroom and nearly filled the overflow room where they watched on large video monitors. Odeh addressed Judge Drain, saying her remarks were not directed at him personally, and she appreciated being allowed to tell her story.

In an effort to give context to why she was on trial, Odeh began to explain how her family, village, and people were forced at gunpoint from their homes and land, with many being shot and murdered by Zionists. “They turned us into a stranger in our own country. They pushed us into refugee camps in Palestine and other Arab countries.”

Judge Drain interrupted, saying the case is about false statements on applications, not about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Not missing a beat, Odeh replied by looking over at prosecutor Tukel and saying, “I am not a terrorist. My people are not terrorists. I want to prove that we are not terrorists.”

She added, “The U.S. must be held responsible for their support and financing of Israeli crimes.”

Drain interrupts again, backhandedly threatening Odeh with contempt of court, and repeating what he said, but adding “I don’t want to hear any more about this Israel-Paki...Palestine.”

There were three interruptions by Judge Drain, but when Odeh finished, the overflow room clapped and cheered for her.

Odeh now must report to ICE and work out a plan with them. Fight Back! will follow and report on this as details are revealed. Odeh will spend no time in jail, Judge Drain released her bond, and she loses her citizenship prior to being deported.

As 150 people rallied outside the Detroit court, Rasmea Odeh spoke in Arabic, saying, “I am angry the judge did not let me tell my story. This is not a case about lying on a form. It is a case of being Palestinian and our work in the community. It is political.”

She finished saying, “The U.S. is a partner in the crimes of Israel. We will continue to struggle for our cause! We will liberate our Palestine!”

#DetroitMI #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #Palestine #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #politicalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #MiddleEast

Chicago, IL – A standing room only crowd of over 1200 people packed the International Union of Operating Engineers hall for the August 12 farewell event in honor of Palestinian liberation icon Rasmea Odeh. The hosts were those forces that had worked tirelessly on her behalf for four years: the Rasmea Defense Committee, the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR), and the Coalition to Protect People’s Rights.

Guests were energetically greeted by volunteers: two dozen Arab American, African American and Latino youth from the community in which Rasmea has organized for more than a decade. The emcees, Hatem Abudayyeh and Nesreen Hasan of USPCN, thanked and acknowledged each of the 50 local and national organizations that endorsed the event.

As the lights dimmed on stage, Nesreen introduced a special video by Tom Callahan. Photos of Rasmea at community events flashed across the projector screens to the soundtrack of a powerful poem in Arabic and English by Rania Salem about Rasmea and Palestinian liberation. The video also featured interviews with community organizers who worked closely with Rasmea, including Fatmah Tabally of the Arab American Action Network and Rosi Carrasco of Organized Communities Against Deportations.

Emcee Nesreen Hasan highlighted that one of Rasmea’s greatest accomplishments as a community organizer was founding the over 800-member Arab Women’s Committee (AWC). In Arabic, Maysoon Gharbieh gave a moving speech about her experience in the AWC, explaining how it provided both an environment where she was comfortable to share her struggles as an immigrant Arab woman and the skills to challenge the racist attacks against her community.

Between speakers, political hip-hop artists Rebel Diaz and Shadia Mansour electrified the crowd with songs that praised resistance to political repression, police crimes, and the U.S.-Israeli occupation. Local singing duo KoStar performed the poignant Chi City Goddamn Goddamn, about the infamous Chicago police murder of Laquan McDonald.

Meredith Aby of CSFR spoke passionately about the mass mobilization of hundreds of supporters to every one of Rasmea’s Detroit and Cincinnati court hearings in her fight against persecution by the U.S. Attorney. Aby emphasized the major victory brought by these mobilizations: Rasmea will not be forced to spend a single day in prison or immigration detention. The goal of the U.S. government was a minimum sentence of five to seven years. Rasmea's legal team was also brought on stage and honored with awards for its incredible defense work.

Rasmea Odeh: The case of a Palestinian hero

After living in this country for 20 years, Rasmea was charged in 2013 with an immigration violation that was always just a pretext to criminalize the Palestine liberation movement.

The U.S. government alleges Rasmea did not disclose her ‘conviction’ in Palestine by an Israeli military court over 48 years ago. She was captured in a mass arrest of 500 Palestinians, and found guilty based on a confession coerced through torture, including electric shock and sexual assault.

Rasmea testified about her torture at the United Nations when she was released in 1979. Her lead attorney Michael Deutsch of the People’s Law Office insisted, “It was well known that she was convicted...The U.S. Embassy knew it, the State Department knew it, and Immigration should have known it.”

Through the massive organized defense campaign to win justice for Rasmea, the U.S.-backed state of Israel has been put on trial, and its policy of torture and sexual assault is on permanent record in a U.S. court of law.

African American-Palestinian solidarity

The entire hall shook with thunderous applause as keynote speaker and former African American political prisoner, Dr. Angela Davis, took the stage. For many years, Davis has been a vocal supporter of the Palestine liberation movement against the U.S.-Israeli occupation. It was Frank Chapman of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which was formed out of the struggle to free Angela Davis in the early 1970s, who raised Rasmea’s case to Davis.

Chapman was awarded for his commitment to African American-Palestinian solidarity, and he then introduced Davis to the stage. To a crowd of raised solidarity fists, Davis exclaimed, “Many of us are sad and angry that we could not achieve a complete victory in Rasmea’s case. As Fidel used to say, ‘We will turn a defeat into a victory!’”

Davis added that while Rasmea will be forced to leave her community by the U.S. government, her case has been raised to the national and international level, creating a base of mass support to resist future political attacks against the Palestinian and Arab American communities of Chicago and beyond.

As Rasmea graced the stage, she was greeted with a standing ovation and cheers for several minutes. She made a pledge of continued resistance, that no matter where she will go, she will always fight for Palestinian liberation.

The Rasmea Defense Committee is urging everyone to join us in Detroit on August 17 at 1:30 p.m., to show our love and support for Rasmea at her sentencing in Federal Court, 231 W. Lafayette Blvd. This will be her last court appearance and Rasmea is planning to make a statement.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #Israel #PoliticalPrisoners #politicalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #StopFBI

Fight Back News Service is following statement from the Rasmea Defense Committee, Committee to Stop FBI Repression, and U.S. Palestinian Community Network.

The Rasmea Defense Committee, Committee to Stop FBI Repression, and U.S. Palestinian Community Network are urging everyone to join us in Detroit, August 17, to show our love and support for Rasmea at her sentencing in federal court. The will be her last court appearance and Rasmea is planning to make a statement.

The plea agreement that has already been reached states that Rasmea will not get additional jail time – but she will have to leave the U.S.

Given the near daily attacks on Rasmea in the right-wing and pro-Israeli media, we expect that a fair amount of attention will be focused on the sentencing. It is critical that the courtroom be filled with her supporters.

WHEN: Thursday, August 17, at 1:30 PM Eastern Time (rally at 1:30 PM, hearing starts at 3 PM)

WHERE: U.S. District Court, 231 W. Lafayette Blvd., downtown Detroit, Michigan

#UnitedStates #ImmigrantRights #PoorPeoplesMovements #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PoliticalPrisoners #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #FreeRasmeaNowJustice4Rasmea

Chicago, IL – On July 13, over 75 Palestinian and Arab women gathered at Jerusalem Banquets to celebrate the release of Towards the Sun, a book written by members of the Arab Women's Committee (AWC).

In 2008, the Arab Women's Committee devised a writing project to help develop their ability to express the struggles they have faced as immigrant Arab women in the U.S. Towards the Sun includes 19 stories in both Arabic and English, and will be used to guide the committee in its organizing campaigns.

Rasmea Odeh founded the Arab Women's Committee under the umbrella of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) to organize and serve the needs of immigrant and refugee Arab women from primarily working-class backgrounds. Odeh recruited the now over 800 members of the committee by going door to door in the community, and speaking on the phone with every Arab name in the phone book. The Arab Women's Committee is a critical institution built by and embedded in the Arab community, providing services such as English and citizenship classes, counseling on domestic violence, and a welcoming space for Arab women to share intimate stories from within their homes and beyond.

Odeh is being forced out of the country by the U.S. government on bogus immigration charges. Odeh, her supporters, and her legal team say that the immigration charge was nothing but a pretext to attack this icon of the Palestine liberation movement.

Members of the Rasmea Defense Committee, led by the US Palestinian Community Network and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, are promoting a farewell event for Rasmea Odeh on Aug. 12.

Rasmea Odeh told Fight Back!, “The experiences and stories of the members of the Arab Women’s Committee convey all of the contradictions and challenges they had in the U.S. At the beginning, it was difficult because they considered these to be private matters that should not be discussed, even in front of each other!”

Odeh continued, “But over time, through workshops that trained them in writing, political education and a variety of other subjects, this project focused on empowering the participants to share their experiences. Because every immigrant Arab woman has similar experiences, I believed it would be very important to publish them in a book – it might inspire other women to overcome these challenges.”

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #PoorPeoplesMovements #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #ArabWomensCommittee

Chicago, IL – On July 13, over 75 Palestinian and Arab women gathered at Jerusalem Banquets to celebrate the release of Towards the Sun, a book written by members of the Arab Women's Committee (AWC).

In 2008, the Arab Women's Committee devised a writing project to help develop their ability to express the struggles they have faced as immigrant Arab women in the U.S. Towards the Sun includes 19 stories in both Arabic and English, and will be used to guide the committee in its organizing campaigns.

Rasmea Odeh founded the Arab Women's Committee under the umbrella of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) to organize and serve the needs of immigrant and refugee Arab women from primarily working-class backgrounds. Odeh recruited the now over 800 members of the committee by going door to door in the community, and speaking on the phone with every Arab name in the phone book. The Arab Women's Committee is a critical institution built by and embedded in the Arab community, providing services such as English and citizenship classes, counseling on domestic violence, and a welcoming space for Arab women to share intimate stories from within their homes and beyond.

Odeh is being forced out of the country by the U.S. government on bogus immigration charges. Odeh, her supporters, and her legal team say that the immigration charge was nothing but a pretext to attack this icon of the Palestine liberation movement.

Members of the Rasmea Defense Committee, led by the US Palestinian Community Network and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, are promoting a farewell event for Rasmea Odeh on Aug. 12.

Rasmea Odeh told Fight Back!, “The experiences and stories of the members of the Arab Women’s Committee convey all of the contradictions and challenges they had in the U.S. At the beginning, it was difficult because they considered these to be private matters that should not be discussed, even in front of each other!”

Odeh continued, “But over time, through workshops that trained them in writing, political education and a variety of other subjects, this project focused on empowering the participants to share their experiences. Because every immigrant Arab woman has similar experiences, I believed it would be very important to publish them in a book – it might inspire other women to overcome these challenges.”

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #PoorPeoplesMovements #WomensMovement #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #ArabWomensCommittee

Chicago, IL – El 18 de mayo en una manifestación en la ciudad de Chicago, Rasmea Odeh le dio la bienvenida al ex-prisionero político Oscar López Rivera. Oscar López duró 35 años en una prisión de los EE.UU. Fue encarcelado injustamente por haber luchador por la independencia de su patria Puerto Rico. Al igual que él, Rasmea Odeh también enfrenta represión y deportación por parte del gobierno de los EE.UU. debido a su activismo por la liberación de Palestina.

Al recibirlo, Rasmeah le dijo, “Donde quiera que yo me encuentre, estaré luchando por la independencia de Palestina y seguiré apoyando la independencia de Puerto Rico”. La multitud de alrededor de mil personas y mayormente puertorriqueña, aclamaron su apoyo al héroe nacional. López Rivera dijo en sus declaraciones “nosotros nunca desviamos de nuestro objetivo de descolonizar a Puerto Rico”. Agregando también “Yo he luchado toda mi vida contra el colonialismo. El colonialismo es un crimen contra la humanidad y los pueblos colonizados tienen el derecho a luchar por su liberación bajo cualquier circunstancia”.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #OscarLopezRivera

Chicago, IL – Rasmea Odeh embraces former political prisoner, Oscar López Rivera, at a rally in Chicago, on May 18. López Rivera spent 35 years in a U.S. prison. He was unjustly imprisoned for fighting for the independence of Puerto Rico, his homeland. Like him, Rasmea Odeh is up against repression – deportation by the U.S. government for her activism for a free Palestine.

Odeh said to him, “Wherever I land, I will continue my fight for Palestinian independence, and I will continue to support the independence of Puerto Rico.” The crowd of about 1000 people, mainly Puerto Rican, thundered support for their national hero. López Rivera said in his remarks, “We never lost sight of our goal to decolonize Puerto Rico.” He also stated, “I have struggled all my life against colonialism. Colonialism is a crime against humanity. Colonized people have the right to struggle for their liberation by any means necessary.”

#ChicagoIL #PuertoRico #PoliticalPrisoners #PuertoRicanPrisoners #RasmeaOdeh #OscarLopezRivera

Chicago, IL – Rasmea Odeh speaks to a massive crowd at the May Day rally at Union Park in Chicago, May 1. The International Workers Day action eventually grew to 20,000 people marching in the streets. Odeh, who represented the Arab American Action Network, highlighted organizing with Arab and Muslim immigrants to resist attacks coming from the Trump regime.

#ChicagoIL #ImmigrantRights #Labor #RasmeaOdeh #Mayday #PoliticalRepression