Philadelphia, PA– On May 18, hundreds of people gathered outside Philadelphia City Hall to rally and march in remembrance of the 76th anniversary of the Nakba. Protesters marched west throughout the city, eventually arriving at Drexel University. With the support and protection of the people, student organizers established a new encampment on Drexel’s Korman quad.

Nakba Day commemorates the violent displacement of Palestinians that occurred during and after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which resulted in the establishment of the state of Israel. The term “Nakba” means “catastrophe” in Arabic and reflects the mass exodus of 400,000 plus Palestinians from their homes and homeland, and the subsequent loss of 15,000 Palestinian lives.

Philadelphia, PA – During the North American SEIU convention on May 21, around 50 union members and staff led a walkout against Vice President Kamala Harris. The International hosted around 4000 people including delegates, guests and staff.

About ten minutes into Harris’ speech, about 50 delegates, guests and staff stood up and started chanting “Free Palestine!” Harris paused and stuttered for a moment, and some delegates broke out into “Four more years.” Protesters soon overshadowed them. They walked to the entrance and pulled out hidden cloth signs, reading “Workers of the world unite” and “Free Gaza.” They chanted “Harris, Harris you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide” and sang the union anthem Which side are you on? .

Brussels, Belgium – A packed house of several hundred people witnessed a dramatic legal proceeding this past weekend. May 18 and 19. An International People’s Tribunal was held, initiated by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and the Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle.

In its conclusion, the tribunal named Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former President Rodrigo Duterte, U.S. President Joe Biden and the U.S. government all guilty of charges of war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law.

Los Angeles, CA – On May 17, Chicanos from the Boyle Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles, California held a rally for the 76th anniversary of the Nakba. Chants like “Desde el río hasta el mar, Palestina va ganar!” rang through the Cesar E. Chavez and Soto intersection. The rally was organized by members of Centro CSO, a Chicano-led grassroots organization, fighting for oppressed people in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles.

Irvine, CA – At least 20 police departments besieged the University of California, Irvine Gaza solidarity encampment on May 15, as student protesters marked the anniversary of the 1948 Nakba. Earlier that morning, protesters reclaimed UCI Physical Sciences Lecture Hall and renamed it in honor of Alex Odeh, a Palestinian American activist who was assassinated in Santa Ana, California in 1985 by three members of the Jewish Defense League.

Milwaukee, WI – Trade unionists, community members, and elected officials gathered for a commemoration of the “Bay View Massacre” on Sunday, May 5, in Milwaukee. A sunny afternoon of activities paid homage to the seven martyrs who were shot and killed by the Wisconsin State Militia during the 1886 nationwide general strike for the eight-hour day. The historic event followed closely on the heels of the actions in Chicago which would eventually lead to the creation of May Day. The Wisconsin Labor History Society has organized the commemoration of the Bay View Massacre every year since 1986, and it has become an important labor tradition.

Denver, CO – On Tuesday, May 7, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally and sit-in at the Aerospace and Engineering Sciences (AES) building at the Metropolitan State University of Denver. Since April 25, students have been camping on the Tivoli Quad on campus to demand that the University of Colorado and the Metropolitan State University of Denver divest from Israel.

Although student leaders have met with the administration of both universities multiple times, thus far negotiations have stalled, and the schools seem unwilling to grant the students' demands. MSU Denver specifically has a partnership with Lockheed Martin, with an entire floor of the AES building dedicated to Lockheed manufacturing.

Grand Rapids, MI – On Wednesday, May 8, an educational event on the link between policing in the United States and the occupation in Palestine was held before a march and die-in to stand against a ground invasion of Rafah.

The event hosted by the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (GRAARPR) and Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids (PSGR) took place at the East Congregational Church.

The Israeli occupiers of Palestine have dramatically stepped up their attacks on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza over the past 24 hours. Homes have been targeted and children killed. The aircraft doing the bombings are made in the United States. The war materiel being used is supplied by the Biden administration. A genocide is being carried out in Palestine and Washington, D.C. is facilitating it.

Chicago, IL – On May 3, the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention held a rally and march to celebrate International Workers Day. The 400 attendees heeded the call from the coalition to come stand with Palestine for May Day and vowed to show up again to protest against the Democratic National Convention (DNC) when the convention comes to Chicago August 19 through 22.

Minneapolis, MN – On May 1, over 500 people took to the streets on International Workers Day to march for immigrant and workers’ rights. The rally and march was organized by a coalition initiated by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and MN Workers United (MWU).

Each year, International Workers Day is celebrated around the world with a call for solidarity with all workers and for union rights. International Workers Day has its origin in the fight for an eight-hour workday in the United States, where there were massive strikes and sharp confrontations in May of 1886.

Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday May 1, Minneapolis 4 Community Control of the Police (M4CCP) held a press conference in the Public Safety Center, the temporary home to city hall offices, to turn in their petitions to put community control of the police on the November ballot.

Milwaukee, WI – May 2 marks the fourth day since students, faculty and community supporters flocked to Mitchell Lawn at UW-Milwaukee on April 29 after a massive rally and march. The end of the march saw the rapid assembly of tents and the official launch of an encampment for Palestine, bringing Milwaukee into the national movement sparked by the actions of heroic students at Columbia University and Cal Poly Humboldt.

Chicago, IL – At an April 30 press conference, speakers announced that a motion for a preliminary injunction has been filed in federal court by the Coalition to March on the DNC. They are asking a federal judge to block the city of Chicago from enforcing its ordinance regulating parade permits, as it violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Speakers at the press conference included Chris Williams, Attorney; Hatem Abudayyeh, US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN); Faayani Aboma Mijana, Coalition to March on the DNC; and Liz Rathburn, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) – University of Illinois at Chicago.

New Orleans, LA – On Monday, April 29, around 5 p.m., Students for a Democratic Society at Loyola and Tulane universities held a joint rally and march which gathered over 300 people. Students, university staff and community allies marched on both Tulane and Loyola’s campuses. The protesters paused on a sidewalk in front of Tulane’s admissions building and Gibson Hall, the oldest structure. Suddenly, the students took to the lawn in front of the building to set up their camping site.

Denver, CO – On Saturday, April 27, the Auraria Encampment for Palestine entered its third day. Despite police violence and the arrest of 44 protesters the day before, campers were in high spirits to continue.

The encampment is organized by Students for a Democratic Society with community support from the Colorado Palestine Coalition. Throughout the day, hundreds of students, faculty and community supporters spent time at the camp. At 1 p.m., there was a rally featuring speakers from SDS, supportive city council members, and veteran organizers from groups such as the American Indian Movement.

Something big is happening. From Columbia University to UCLA and points in between, the student movement that stands with Palestine has been erecting encampments on campuses. The results have been powerful. The demand for universities and colleges to divest from, and break all ties with, Israeli apartheid serves to weaken the apartheid regime.

Denver, CO – On Saturday, April 27, the Auraria Campus Encampment for Palestine entered its third day. Despite freezing temperatures and downpouring rain, dozens of protesters have remained through the second night at the encampment.

The previous day the encampment faced attacks from the Denver Police Department. After arresting over 70 protesters, DPD retreated from the encampment before returning a few hours later. Dozens of riot police surrounded the encampment and issued an order to disperse. The crowd linked arms and did not move.

In a radical act of solidarity with the Palestinian people, university students across the country have escalated the struggles on their campuses with the campus encampment movement. At Emory University in Atlanta, students, faculty and community members created one such encampment demanding for the immediate and total divestment from the Israeli apartheid state. The Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol were called to the encampment by the Emory administration where they brutalized, beat and arrested dozens of protesters.

Arcata, CA – On Monday, April 22, around 4 p.m., roughly 30 students began a sit-in in Siemens Hall at Cal Poly Humboldt, California, to show solidarity with Palestine and with other campuses that are doing the same. While many students on other campuses are setting up encampments, theirs is the first in the movement to take over a building so far, and an admin building, no less. This also made them the first state university to join the movement.