Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN).

The Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) calls on all cities nationally to mark another year of genocide and resistance!

AWAN calls on all anti-war, anti-imperialist organizations around the country for a week of action from September 22-26th. During this year's UN General Assembly High-level Week, Palestine will take center stage due to the genocide and starvation in Gaza. A free Palestine will be the main focus both inside the UN, outside on the streets, and at protests across the country! That week Netanyahu will come to the U.S. to try to justify his efforts to steal Gaza and the ongoing genocide. There will be protests in NYC, but we need protests across the country to demand that we hold war criminals accountable! Arrest Netanyahu! End aid to Israel! End the siege of Gaza!

Resistance is justified when people are occupied!

End all U.S. aid to Israel!

End the siege of Gaza!

#AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Gaza #AWAN

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Coalition for Justice In Palestine held another protest against the genocide in Gaza on Saturday, August 30, as Israel’s campaign of destruction and famine nears its 23rd month. The coalition mobilized about 100 Chicagoans to the riverwalk near Trump Tower even as many Chicago-area activists and organizers were attending the People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit, Michigan the same day.

The protest demanded an immediate end to the genocide, sanctions imposed on and divestment from the state of Israel, an arms embargo, the right of Palestinian return, and justice for journalists martyred while covering the genocide. Many protesters held signs honoring the Al-Jazeera crew that was murdered by Israel three weeks before.

In addition to targeting journalists, Israel’s war crimes include the indiscriminate, forced starvation of the people of Gaza as the Israeli occupation forces block the flow of food and essential aid into the occupied territories. On Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that the known number of people who have starved to death reached at least 317, including 121 children.

With the “looming threat of an intensified military operation in Gaza, any escalation will further devastate Palestinians already living under famine conditions,” said Nadia Alyafai, a leader with the U.S. Palestinian Community Network who spoke at the protest. “And we know who will suffer the most: the sick, malnourished children, the elderly and people with disabilities who can’t evacuate, who continue to be displaced, and now have nowhere to go.”

“The media, the US, and the Zionist entity continue to lie about access to aid — but we have the pictures, we have witnesses on the ground — this is a man-made famine,” Alyafai said.

Alyafai then stated, “A few hours ago, the genocidal Zionist entity targeted my homeland, Yemen, killing the prime minister alongside several other ministers in the Yemeni government,” Alyafai continued, “This comes after the people of Yemen have continued to stand for the Palestinian people by any means necessary: blocking ships and cargo in the Red Sea, and taking the streets to resist the genocidal Zionist entity.”

The crowd cheered in response and chanted “Yemen Yemen stand your ground! They will never break you down!”

Alyafai closed her remarks by calling out Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs and the Illinois Board of Investments for investing state tax dollars in Israeli Bonds, despite Israel’s genocidal war crimes.

“We have been fighting and marching every week demanding the very basic rights guaranteed to all of humanity – Palestinians are not lesser than any other human being on Earth,” said Tarek Muhammad Khalil with American Muslims for Palestine, who was next to speak. “If anything, I would venture to argue the people of Gaza have shown us that they are better than us – that their face is stronger than us. They have renewed our faith by giving us strength. We should not be looking down to them but we should be looking up to them, because they have shown us the way!”

“We call for an end to the occupation of Palestinian lands by the illegal Zionist entity – and in Chicago we also call to an end to the occupation of Black and brown working-class neighborhoods by a police force who was trained alongside the racist IOF soldiers,” said a member of the Chicago Alliance against Racism and Political Repression (CAARPR). “Our Palestinian comrades gave unwavering support to us during the George Floyd rebellion, and have always stood with us in our fight for community control of the police – and just as they have stood with us year after year, I can promise you that CAARPR will always stand shoulder to shoulder with you until we see a free Palestine.”

After the rally, the protesters took Michigan Avenue and marched south, past the Art Institute of Chicago. Demonstrators called out to the shoppers to join them, chanting “Out of the sidewalks, into the streets!”

Protesters will be back out again in Chicago next week on Saturday.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Gaza #CCJP #CAARPR

Seattle, WA – On Monday, February 17, members of Seattle Against War, University of Washington Students for a Democratic Society, and Resist US-Led War, with support from Raging Grannies, held a rally at Othello Light Rail Station to protest Trump's plan to occupy Gaza. The protest was called by Seattle Against War as an emergency action. After Trump's comments claiming the U.S. has authority to occupy Gaza, local organizations rallied to show Seattle that they will not sit by and watch Trump's plan unfold.

Rae Lee, a member of Seattle Against War, stated, “I really think a supposed progressive Democrat like Representative Adam Smith, who says they are opposed to Trump, should be stopping our tax dollars from funding genocide.”

Members from Resist US-Led War promoted the message that Gaza is not up for sale, and that fighting back against Israel’s and Trump's plans was the way forward. Chants of “Free Palestine” and “Adam Smith, we charge you with genocide” were heard between speeches.

“Adam Smith claimed that people in his district don’t care about Palestinians. He is wrong. We care and we see how he is a puppet of AIPAC and weapons companies. He claimed he gave us what we care about: affordable housing, safety and health care. We could have community control of the police instead of an evil, racist collaboration between the IDF and Seattle Police Department,” said Dre Say, a member of SAW.

The rally drew many honks and signs of encouragement from the local community. Towards the end of the rally, a local group, Raging Grannies, sang songs against war and in support of the children in Gaza.

#SeattleWA #WA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Gaza #Trump

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the International League of Peoples’ Struggle.

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle celebrates the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire deal between the Palestinian resistance forces and the genocidal occupation state that has waged a war of extermination against the Palestinian people for more than the past year, in actuality for now more than a century.

Since the launch of the October 7th 2023 Al Aqsa Flood operation, more than 46,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed as well as more than 110,00 injured. This is only the confirmed killings, and adding up the number of missing under the rubble and deaths from injuries, cold, and forced starvation would bring the total deaths to potentially well over 200,000, with thousands suffering amputations. This is a crime of unimaginable brutality committed by the Zionists and funded and protected by the most savage imperialist profiteers, most notably the United States. At this point we should also remember the thousands of political prisoners that remain in Zionist detention, and the fight for their freedom must continue.

This ceasefire is a victory for the Palestinian people who have endured the most horrific, brutal, and blatantly racist genocidal violence for more than a year. It was only achieved due to the heroic steadfastness of the Palestinian people to remain on their rightful land at all costs, and of the Palestinian resistance to fight on to defend that right and that land. Praise must also be given to the unconditional support for Palestine from region-wide Axis of Resistance in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Iran against whom the imperialists and Zionists are preparing to continue their war, and the anti-imperialist movement must waste no time in learning the hard-fought lessons from this period of united struggle against a united target. The leadership over the many decades and the countless martyrs of Palestine fighting for the eventual end of the occupation will forever be remembered as having given their lives for this stage towards the full liberation of Palestine.

The ceasefire is not due to any good will on the part of the Zionists or their imperialist, fascist funders, but instead was forced due to the military defeats and international isolation of the Zionists diplomatically. The grotesque face of ‘Israel’ has been fully exposed to the world and it can never go back to showing itself as the only ‘democracy in the Middle East.’ It is not only the Zionist state that has lost all credibility but also the United States, the most vicious of imperialist powers through history. The Biden administration has finally pressured the Zionist entity to take the ceasefire deal in order to ‘steal a victory’ from the incoming Trump presidency, showcasing the political games of the imperialists at the expense of the Palestinian people. Nevertheless, the Zionist entity is in deep economic, political, and diplomatic crises despite all of the military aid and training the U.S. has given it, signaling that the ceasefire is only the start of the end for the settler-colony.

The ILPS celebrates this peoples’ victory but also knows that the Zionist occupation and the genocidal war in general are not over. The Zionist apartheid state has violated the Lebanon ceasefire every day since it was made, and we know they will do the same in Gaza. Already, US Senator and incoming Secretary of State for President Trump, Marco Rubio during his confirmation speech stated, “How can any nation-state on the planet coexist side by side with a group of savages like Hamas?” These are blood-chilling words and people of the world must be ready to fight against more deadly wars of aggression, to be thrust on our territories and countries. The willful aiding and abetting of the US, the NATO powers and the wider Western world is the deadliest tool in supporting the genocide.

The people of the world, especially in the US and the imperialist countries, must continue to take to the streets and fight in unconditional solidarity with the Palestinian people to pressure and break the will of the imperialists to keep funding the Zionists until the resistance is victorious and Palestine is free from the river to the sea!

#International #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Gaza #Ceasefire #ILPS #Statement

Orlando, FL – A group of 300 people gathered outside of Loch Haven Park, March 2, in downtown Orlando to protest Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza and to demand, “No business as usual,” while the United States continues to aid, fund, and supply Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people.

The protest was called for by Central Florida’s End to Genocide Coalition and was meant to disrupt the MadSoul Music Festival going on inside the park and raise awareness about the crimes being committed against the Palestinian people by Israel and the United States.

The MadSoul festival itself was a fundraising event presented by local Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost. It was attended by various musical and political stars such as Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and musical producer Lin Manual Miranda. But the people of central Florida were not going to allow Democrats, no matter how purportedly progressive, to celebrate and carry on with their, “business as usual,” while aiding and abetting the occupation of and war against Palestine.

“I’m here protesting today in solidarity with the people in Palestine resisting their occupiers, and to oppose the ongoing genocide being committed by Israel, backed by the United States,” said Edmund Anglero, of the Orlando chapter of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “The two major parties are equally as complicit in Israel’s war crimes, and we will continue organizing and protesting for Palestine until the ruling class in this country stops arming and funding Israel. We will continue protesting until Palestine is free!”

The protest began at the corner of the Lock Haven Park, with hundreds of people shouting chants, such as, “Joe Biden, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!” They held signs that read, “End U.S. aid to Israel” and “Palestine will be free!”

After hearing from several speakers, the protesters began to march toward the festival itself.

As the march circled around the perimeter of the park, dozens of festivalgoers stopped what they were doing, abandoned the festivities, and joined in on the protest, chanting from inside the event itself. People, largely youth, from across the MadSoul festival marched on the inside of the park fence, fists in the air.

For two hours, activists both inside and outside of the festival had managed to drown out musical artists and politicians, shouting chants of, “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes!” and “From the sea to the river, Palestine will live forever!”

#OrlandoFL #EndtoGenocideCoalition #Palestine #Gaza #MadSoulFestival

Columbia Heights, MN – On February 12, the Columbia Heights city council heard public testimony for a resolution calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as well as ending U.S. aid to Israel. The Twin Cities-based Free Palestine Coalition organized community members to pack the council chamber in support of the draft resolution.

The Columbia Heights resolution comes on the heels of Minneapolis city council’s passage of a similar resolution, touted as the most progressive in the country. That resolution faced a veto from Mayor Jacob Frey, which was overturned on February 8 by the council supermajority.

If passed, Columbia Heights would join Minneapolis in a wave of U.S. cities now calling not only for a ceasefire in Gaza, but for ending military aid to Israel. Like the Minneapolis resolution, the Columbia Heights draft characterizes Israel’s campaign in Gaza as genocidal, citing the Genocide Convention case brought by South Africa to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). On January 26, the ICJ ruled that there was plausible evidence of Israel committing genocide against Palestinians.

The Columbia Heights draft goes beyond the Minneapolis resolution, calling for an end to Israeli apartheid and Israel’s occupation and blockade of Palestinian land.

Taher Herzallah, a Columbia Heights resident and leader in American Muslims for Palestine spoke at the city council meeting. He explained the significance of the turnout, “Tonight was a historic night in Columbia Heights as we gathered to discuss the ceasefire resolution. It was incredible to see a diverse group of residents and neighbors come together unequivocally condemning the barbaric Israeli genocide in Gaza and demanding that their elected officials take a principled stand against it. The unity and passion of the community gives me strength as a Gazan to continue these efforts to shed light on my people's suffering on a local level.”

Donia Abu Ammo, Columbia Heights resident and student leader in Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of MN agreed, “It was inspiring and powerful to witness so many community members attend the council meeting to discuss the ceasefire resolution brought by Columbia Heights residents. I hope I can proudly say that my city stood on the right side of history and voted to end the genocide occurring in Palestine. The resolution's language is of the strongest and most assertive language in any resolution, and if approved, it will serve as an incredible stance against Zionism, and will set a significant precedent for other cities and states.”

The Free Palestine Coalition is also campaigning for Saint Paul to pass a ceasefire resolution. Over 70 U.S. cities have passed ceasefire resolutions, including Minneapolis, Hastings, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Saint Louis and others.

#ColumbiaHeightsMN #FreePalestineCoalition #Gaza

By Sadie Carlson and Tavyan Dorsey

Tallahassee, FL – On October 18, more than 350 community members and students protested at Cascades Park, marking the second demonstration for Palestine’s liberation in Florida’s capital city since the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7.

The rally began with chants of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” led by the event’s emcee and member of Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Elijah Ruby. In his opening speech, Ruby stated, “We are witnessing a holocaust in our lifetime of the Palestinian people.” He condemned Tallahassee city commissioners and FSU President Richard McCullough for not taking a stand for human rights.

The protest was led by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization in coalition with the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, Tallahassee Food Not Bombs, FSU Students for a Democratic Society, and FSU Students for Justice in Palestine.

Regina Joseph, communications director of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, connected the oppression of queer people, undocumented immigrants, and Black people in the U.S. to the oppression of Palestinians. Calling back to the George Floyd uprisings of 2020, she addressed that many of the police who brutalized anti-racist protesters were trained by the Israeli “Defense” Force (IDF).

“The same police officers that oppress Black people are the same police that are trained by the IDF. We cannot be free until all of us are free,” Joseph declared to the crowd.

Later in the evening, Ahmad Daraldik spoke from experience as a Palestinian who has lived under Israeli apartheid. During his tenure as president of the FSU Student Senate, Daraldik was harassed by state representatives and later removed from his position for speaking on these issues. In his speech, Daraldik stressed the urgency of the situation, stating that Israel is using “its occupational forces to destroy, erase and eradicate communities,” and “there is no more time to stand and watch, you must act!” Daraldik demanded that the U.S. end financial and military aid to the genocide of Palestinians by the Zionist entity known as Israel. Daraldik then led the crowd of hundreds in a moment of silence, as they knelt in honor of the Palestinian martyrs whose lives have been stolen.

Palestinians have been forcibly removed from their homes and driven to relocate to the Gaza Strip, which is often referred to as the world’s largest open-air prison, as 2.2 million people live within 140 square miles under horrific conditions. Through the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, Palestine is fighting back against this oppression and for the liberation of its people.

Israel and its allies in western Europe and North America have retaliated with genocidal rhetoric and actions. The Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant referred to Palestinians as “human animals” in his statement announcing the shut-off of food, fuel and electricity to the Gaza Strip. On October 17, the Israeli occupation forces launched a missile at a Gazan hospital, killing at least 500 patients and medical workers.

The president of FSU SDS, Joelle Nuñez, decried the lack of empathy for Palestinians by the university administration stating, “It’s shameful the way the media has dehumanized Palestinians. At FSU we are seeing the same rhetoric. Richard McCullough, president of FSU, sent a letter to the student body expressing his deepest condolences for Israelis but didn’t say a single word about the hundreds of children murdered by the state of Israel. There are eight or ten Zionist organizations at FSU and we are the only ones standing up for Palestine. At a vigil for Israel held on campus, speakers called Palestinians ‘barbarians.’ It is shameful that FSU chooses to celebrate the IDF yet dehumanizes Palestinians.”

Nuñez later expressed her confidence in the Palestinian freedom fighters, stating, “I believe that I will see a complete Palestinian victory in my lifetime!”

After the official speakers addressed the crowd, FRSO invited community members to share their stories and express their thoughts. Under candlelight, several Palestinians gave heart-wrenching accounts of their experiences, including one child, who highlighted the one-sided nature of the attacks against Gaza. “Some people say that we are starting the fight, but actually they are.”

Attendees of all ages and backgrounds chanted, waved flags and stood in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance.

#TallahasseeFL #Palestine #TCAC #SDS #FRSO #AlAqsaFlood #Gaza

New York, NY - On October 18, over 100 activists and community members, representing nearly 20 different grassroots community organizations, packed The People’s Forum in Manhattan for an evening of solidarity and resistance. The event, titled “Defend People’s Struggle: A Conversation on State Repression,” kicked off the East Coast leg of the Justice for the Tampa 5 speaking tour. It centered activists who have been directly targeted for arrest and trumped up charges as part of the increased state repression facing organizers.

The speakers represented organizations from all corners of the movement. In addition to Laura Roriguez of the Tampa 5, the evening’s program speakers also included: Marte White, from Community Movement Builders in Atlanta, Georgia and the fight to stop Cop City; a speaker from NYC-based organization For Our Liberation; Nina Macapinlac from BAYAN USA; a speaker from New York Boricua Resistance; a speaker from the Haitian diaspora organization Rasanbleman Pou Ayiti, and Kaleem Hawa from the Palestinian Youth Movement.

All speakers were united in a clear message: We must defend people’s struggles. Only through steadfast solidarity can we protect ourselves and our movements. The only way to move forward is to fight back.

Laura Rodriguez of the Tampa 5, a group of five Florida students and activists facing felony charges for defending diversity on campus, stated, “Because of organizing, because we are in an organization, and because of the support we’ve gotten nationally, we were able to expedite our release from jail,” she said in her speech. She ended on an optimistic note on the power of organizing and solidarity: “Because of the organizing that we will do on the speaking tour, that we have done, and because of everyone here today, I know for a fact that the charges will be dropped.”

Another key point of the evening was raised by Marte White, a transfeminine organizer involved in the struggle against Cop City in Atlanta. They spoke about the importance of combating lies spread by the enemy, citing the disinformation spread by the Atlanta police in the wake of their murder of environmental activists Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán last March. This point was echoed by Allendy of Rasanbleman Pou Ayiti and Kaleem Hawa of the Palestinian Youth Movement. 

The Rasanbleman Pou Ayiti spoke of the UN Security Council’s decision to authorize the tenth invasion of Haiti in the past 30 years under the pretext of combatting “gang violence,” when it is really an attempt to access cheap labor, land and resources in Haiti. “Whenever the UN Security Council is about to vote on what to do in Haiti, gang violence rises,” he said. “So we can tell clearly, this is to repress the Haitian people whenever they want to mobilize and fight for their sovereignty. We can’t rely on this system, we can’t rely on the mass media, who have shown us time and time again that our independence, our sovereignty, and our liberation mean nothing to them.”

Hawa put it more bluntly: “Do not share the enemy’s propaganda. It’s a very difficult time. We don’t need to give them attention, and we can’t let ourselves be distracted.”

As the final speaker of the event, Hawa delivered a powerful analysis of the current, historic moment in the struggle for Palestinian Liberation. He emphasized the importance of contextualizing current events in the long history of Zionist attempts to exterminate the Palestinian people and inflict maximum human suffering in Gaza. “They are doing this because Gaza is the heart of Palestinian resistance and always has been,” he reminded the audience, “and they need a genocidal solution to the resistance from Gaza.”

Speaking of the political repression faced by Palestinians - within Palestine, and in the near and far diasporas, including New York City, Hawa stated, “Zionism is borderless, and its intention is to eliminate the political Palestinian life.” However, he continued, “The Palestinian armed resistance has shown the world that Israel is as weak as spider web.”

The evening concluded with rousing chants of “Free Palestine!” and calls to action from the organizations participating. In particular, all speakers stressed the importance of joining organizations and standing in solidarity with each other in the ongoing struggle. As Rodriguez put it when speaking to student organizers in the audience: “We must not only defend but continue to push higher. We’re working to create something that’s never been seen before, to create actual power across all of the movements, because only we can lift us up out of this.”

#NewYorkCityNY #Tampa5 #FreePalestine #Gaza #AlAqsaFlood #PYM #PoliticalRepression #StopCopCity

San Jose, CA – On October 15, around 3000 protesters in San Jose gathered at the intersection of Winchester and Stevens Creek, waving Palestinian flags and signs. With heavy traffic on the road, they yelled chants like “Gaza, Gaza don’t you cry, Palestine will never die.”

The crowd marched into the center of Santana Row where a moment of silence was held for those martyred, and the names of the dead read aloud. 

Drusie Kazanova, an organizer with the San José chapter of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said, “The U.S. bears equal responsibility for the genocide being committed against the Palestinian people. While Israel rains down bombs upon the men, women and children of Gaza, the U.S. is sending billions of dollars to fund these atrocities.”

Kazanova continued, “The working class of the U.S. and the Palestinian people have a common enemy in U.S. imperialism. We stand in solidarity with Palestine and demand an end to U.S. military and financial aid to Israel. We must fight back against U.S. involvement in another war in the Middle East.”

The march was organized by a coalition of local organizations, including Palestinian Youth Movement, Justice for Palestinians, San Jose Peace and Justice Center, Silicon Valley for Palestine, Hero Tent, Freedom Road Socialist Organization San Jose, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation Bay Area.

#SanJoseCA #FreePalestine #Gaza

Tampa, FL – Hundreds of members of the Palestinian community and other progressive activists came out on October 17 in response to the vicious and barbaric bombing of Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza by the Israeli occupiers. A spontaneous call was made by members of the community to rally, and several hundred came out on a two-hour notice to chant and march in the Temple Terrace neighborhood of Tampa Bay. 

Chanters called out, “One solution, intifada revolution!” and “Hey Netanyahu, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today?!” as they rallied and marched down the side of the road, as cars and trucks honked their support for the messages of Palestinian liberation. 

Hatem Fariz, one of the organizers of the rally, and director of the Islamic Community of Tampa and longtime activist for Palestinian liberation, said, “We’re here in solidarity with our people in Gaza, Muslim and Christian Palestinians who got attacked and bombarded in their safest places, the hospital and the church next door.” 

Future rallies and events are planned both in the Tampa area, to pressure local elected officials to prosecute hate crimes and Islamophobic attacks, and nationally, to demand the Biden administration end its support of the Israeli occupation.

#TampaFL #FreePalestine #Gaza

Community members and grassroots organization leaders, many of whom were mobilized to attend by the Palestinian Youth Movement Dallas Chapter, spoke for over an hour about the history and present reality of life in Gaza under the U.S.-backed Israeli occupation, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid. One speaker compared the institutional silence on the killings of Palestinians to the silence of city officials on the killings of local community members by the police.

A member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization gave an impassioned speech and concluded with “We cannot stand with Israel while they compound their criminal occupation with further war crimes. We must stand up to demand that our country stops funding this occupation to the tune of $3 billion a year.”

Meanwhile, a small number of resolution supporters spoke and shared widely debunked rumors accusing Palestinians of beheading children, leaning into harmful Islamophobic stereotypes. City Council Member Adam Bazaldua amplified these false statements and when community members tried to correct the record, the council began clearing the room.

The closing statements by Dallas City Council members and Mayor Eric Johnson further inflamed tensions in the room as a new version of the bill with even more inciting language than the previous draft was announced after public statements. As the remaining audience members began protesting the proceedings, City Council Member Jaynie Schultz stated, “This resolution is not about the Palestinian people, it is about their leaders and the willingness of those monsters to murder innocent Jews and put their own fellow Muslims at risk,” ignoring reality and every point that the participants brought up.

#DallasTX #Palestine #Israel #Gaza #

New Orleans, LA – The New Orleans Palestinian community and supporters rallied on October 9 in solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian struggle for liberation. Around 200 people came to Duncan Plaza in the city’s central business district, waving dozens of Palestinian flags. The event was held in the wake of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” and the renewed declaration of war on Gaza by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

“Blood is on the hands of the Israeli government and its supporters around the world: the U.S. government, which encourages and enables Israel’s daily depredations against the Palestinians, and every leader of every foreign government who is complacent in their capitulation to Israeli and U.S. intransigence,” said Josh Teitlelbaum of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Several speakers emphasized the right of Palestinians to defend themselves from aggression in the context of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

Leila Abu-Orf, a Palestinian human rights lawyer, said, “After 75 years of enduring apartheid, occupation and state-sanctioned annihilation, what exactly is that the U.S. and Israel expect to happen? Maybe they want us to go silently dying into the night, but that’s not an option. We have been given no choice but to fight back and reclaim our dignity.”

“Members of the Muslim Students Association wanted to be here tonight, but decided not to because they didn’t feel that it would be safe,” said Toni Jones of New Orleans for Community Oversight of the Police. “I’m here to continue the deep historical solidarity between the Black liberation and Palestinian liberation struggles.”

As the rally wound down, Palestinian community members expressed their desire to take the streets for their cause. Some of the rally’s organizers sprang into action to plan the route, help block intersections, and provide sound equipment. Participants yelled, cried and laughed through an emotional and empowering march.

Protesters chanted, “Israel, you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” as they marched. They held three lanes of rush-hour traffic on Canal Street, a major thoroughfare bordering the French Quarter and known for its heavy tourist foot traffic. The march ended at city hall with chants of “Free Palestine, free Gaza! Globalize the intifada!”

#NewOrleansLA #Palestine #NationalLiberation #AntiWar #Israel #Gaza

Dallas, TX – Palestinians and their allies rallied in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, October 8, in solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian struggle for liberation. About 300 energetic protesters turned out in historic Dealey Plaza.

Chants included “Netanyahu, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Several speakers emphasized Palestine's right to retaliate against years of Israeli aggression.

The rally was called by the Palestinian Youth Movement Dallas Chapter, the Dallas Palestine Coalition, and Students for Justice in Palestine from the University of Texas at Dallas.

A spokesperson for the Palestine Youth Movement Dallas Chapter said, “As Americans, our tax dollars literally go to supporting the Israeli army, not to any Palestinian faction – to the tune of $3.4 billion per year. The real question is, why does the American government continue to support and defend Israel?”

The spokesperson added, “Israel has placed Gaza under a suffocating sixteen-year-long blockade and has denied the people of Gaza the right to life. We support the right of Palestinians to defend themselves from inhumane besiegement, collective punishment, and colonial violence – with all of the means available to them.”

Three counter-protesters stationed themselves across the street, alongside a crew of Dallas police. One counter-protester crossed the street to the pro-Palestine side and tore up a Quran in the face of protesters while calling them terrorists, the then fled back to police lines.

#DallasTX #Palestine #Gaza #PYM #SJP

Tampa, FL – On October 8, 300 pro-Palestine protesters lined the intersection of Fowler Avenue and 56th Street in the Tampa area in solidarity with the ongoing fight in Palestine against the Israeli occupation. The crowd was energetic, denouncing the terroristic Israeli government and the massive monetary support from the United States, chanting “Hey Joe Biden can’t you see? Gaza will be free!”

About a dozen Zionist counter-protesters came out. While tensions were sharp, they were eventually escorted to the other side of the street by dozens of cops who were summoned to protect them.

Aida Mackic, who helped organize the event, said “It’s vital to hold demonstrations here in the United States because we can bring attention to the injustices endured by the Palestinian people, and we also remind the world we cannot stand idle in the face of oppression.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took to Twitter to condemn the protest saying that the state of Florida stood resolutely with Israel. In reality, the demonstration proved that Floridians are willing to go to bat to support the people of Palestine in their righteous struggle.

#TampaFL #Palestine #Gaza #DeSantis #Zionism

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, August 13, 50 people raised Palestinian flags and held candles at the Grassy Knoll in downtown Dallas. They gathered to pay respects to the 49 Palestinians killed by Israel. Israel bombed people in Gaza, Palestine from August 5 to August 7.

Jo Hargis of the Dallas Anti-War Committee said, “The United States is guilty of every bomb dropped on Palestine and every murder of Palestinians,” stated Hargis. “The continued occupation of Palestine is only possible thanks to the billions of dollars a year in direct funding of weapons and in favorable trade deals.”

Rick Majumdar of the Dallas Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression spoke, “The National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repressions offers its total and complete solidarity with the martyrs in Nablus, Gaza and all over occupied Palestine.”

Majumdar continued, “The genocidal apartheid regime of Israel would not stand a day without the uncritical support from the U.S. The same U.S. that funds murder across the world in Libya, Syria, Iraq and the Philippines and brings back murder to its own shores through the training of Dallas police officers with the Israeli Defense Forces. The same Dallas police who murder Black people in the streets and harass oppressed communities.”

After the speeches and a moment of silence, the names of the martyrs of Gaza, Palestine were read aloud. Prayers followed.

The vigil was called by Students for Justice in Palestine at UT Dallas, Palestinian Youth Movement, American Muslims for Palestine, Dallas Anti-War Committee, Dallas Peace and Justice Center, CODEPINK, Veterans for Peace, and DSA North Texas.

#DallasTX #Gaza #Palestine #MiddleEast

Minneapolis, MN – On August 9, around 100 Palestine solidarity and anti-war activists packed the sidewalk outside Senator Amy Klobuchar’s downtown office to demand immediate action to end U.S. aid to Israel. The action was called on an emergency basis after several days of Israeli military attacks on Gaza as well as ongoing raids on the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank.

This latest round of Zionist violence began on August 5 when Israel Occupation Forces (IOF) bombed a residential building in Gaza to assassinate a resistance leader. The unprovoked attack reportedly killed ten people, including a five-year-old child and several civilians, and was followed by sustained IOF bombardment of the besieged enclave for days. In total, the attacks on Gaza killed 48 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 17 children. Several additional Palestinian were killed by the IOF in the following days amid raids and arrests in the West Bank.

The Minneapolis protest was initiated by the Anti-War Committee (AWC) and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), and quickly endorsed by more groups including the Council on American-Islamic Relations – Minnesota, Youth for Palestine MN, Women Against Military Madness, and the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition.

“Since 2009, how many massacres have we had in Gaza? Countless,” said Taher Herzallah of AMP. “How many children did we lose? How many generations did we lose? How many people have become homeless or permanently wounded and injured?”

“The people of Gaza will not let anybody break them,” he continued. “They will not let a bombardment, or the Israeli government, or Zionism, or anything that happens, break them and break their will to live.”

Activists slammed Senator Klobuchar for her hawkish record, including strong support for U.S. aid to Israel, but the AWC’s Andrew Josefchak explained, “Even if people like Klobuchar are against us, we are still making gains.”

“Palestine only makes the news when Israel bombs Gaza, but the fight continues all the time. There are victories all the time, not only in the rising tide of heroic resistance fighting in the West Bank, but here too,” said Josefchak, citing recent divestment announcements by U.S. corporations like Ben & Jerry’s and Pillsbury after being pressured by solidarity activists.

Organizers announced the next local Palestine solidarity action, a protest demanding that the Minnesota State Board of Investment divest its millions in public pension funds from Israeli companies like weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems. That action will take place Tuesday, August 23, at the Governor’s Mansion in Saint Paul (1006 Summit Ave), at 5 p.m.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Gaza #Palestine #AmericanMuslimsForPalestineMinnesotaAMPMN #AntiWarCommitteeAWC #MiddleEast

Minneapolis, MN – On April 25, over 130 people came to an emergency protest to show outrage over the recent Israeli military attacks on worshipers at Al Aqsa mosque and missile attacks on Gaza during Ramadan. This protest and others in Chicago and DC this week have been organized to show solidarity with Palestine. The rush hour protest started outside of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office, was followed by a march on Washington Avenue, and concluded with prayers.

Mariam El-Khatib, a board member of American Muslims for Palestine Minnesota, was the first speaker. The crowd, which was overwhelmingly Palestinian, Muslim and Arab, was motivated by her words, “Every day is a day closer to this beautiful future in Palestine where we can all go home to our villages that were ethnically cleansed in 1948. Where we invite you to all and will show you the beauty of Palestine. Israel is in a losing battle. And we are one day closer to a free Palestine. Brothers and sisters, everything that you do goes a long way for the cause.”

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee, spoke before the march, “Israel wouldn’t be able to launch this offensive if the U.S. didn’t keep footing the bill. The U.S. funds these ongoing attacks on Palestinians in order to use Israel as the 51st state so that their military can use Israel to control the whole Middle East. By demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel we are taking a stand against the U.S. domination of the region and the world.”

The protest was organized by the MN Anti-War Committee, American Muslims for Palestine-MN, Council on American Islamic Relations-MN and Youth for Palestine. Protesters were encouraged to come out on May 14 for the Anti-War Committee and American Muslims for Palestine’s annual Al Nakba march through the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Gaza #Palestine #MNAntiWarCommittee #alAqsaMosque #MiddleEast

Minneapolis, MN – Responding to Israeli Minister of Defense Gantz’s February 28 terrorist designation of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Charlotte Kates, International Coordinator of Samidoun, stated, “Israel – the Zionist state, is attempting to criminalize and label as terrorist any and all advocacy for the Palestinian political prisoners and the Palestinian people.”

The Israeli government claims the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is connected to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist group that is helping to spearhead opposition to the occupation of Palestine.

Speaking of the designation, Kates says, “This comes as no surprise, as there is a lengthy history of Israeli attacks and repression, with the complicity of imperialist powers, against Palestinian and Palestine solidarity movements and organizations, including imprisonment, assassination and criminalization.”

Kates continued, “We see this designation as an attempt to suppress the growing international solidarity movement with Palestinian political prisoners, including the recent launch of the campaign to free imprisoned Palestinian students with over 300 endorsing organizations. As Israel commits extrajudicial killings, home demolitions, arbitrary imprisonment, military occupation, settler colonialism, a bloody siege on Gaza and the denial of Palestinians' right to return home for 72 years, it has the audacity to deem Samidoun a ‘terrorist’ organization for engaging in public advocacy, demonstrations and international mobilization in defense of Palestinian rights and liberation.”

In the U.S. the label of terrorist is also been used against progressives. Material support for terrorism laws have been employed to criminalize solidary with Palestine, notably in the massive 2010 FBI raids on anti-war and international solidarity activists.

The U.S continues to call most of the organizations that are fighting for the Palestinian freedom terrorist, and the State Department has put the terrorism tag on many organizations that are fighting for national liberation, including those of Colombia, Lebanon and the Philippines.

#MinneapolisMN #Gaza #PopularFrontForTheLiberationOfPalestine #Palestine #PalestinianPrisonerSolidarityNetwork #MiddleEast

NY, New York – On the evening of November 15, over 150 people gathered on 42nd and Broadway to demand that Israel, backed by the United States government, stop the murder and occupation of Palestinians.

The emergency rally was called by several different organizations in New York City in response to Israel murdering 34 people, including eight children in Gaza. The organizations were Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, CODEPINK: Women For Peace, Labor for Palestine, Al-Awda NY: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, NY4Palestine, Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, American Muslims for Palestine – NJ Chapter, Within our Lifetime • United for Palestine, International Action Center, and Struggle – La Lucha for Socialism.

The rally began at 5 p.m. with chants, mic check, and brief speeches. The crowd was so riled up that under dozens of Palestinian flags, the chants never stopped.

The rally turned into a march and the crowd left Times Square, passing the Bryan Square Holiday Market, and ending in Herald Square. The march ended with Nerdeen Kiswani, from Within our Lifetime • United for Palestine, urging the protesters there to keep fighting and to continue the struggle for liberation

#NewYorkNY #NewYorkCityNY #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Gaza #Palestine #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #WithinOurLifetimeUnitedForPalestine

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Nov. 12 statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine calls in an urgent action for the friends of Palestine, movements for justice and liberation and the Palestinian and Arab communities everywhere in the world to stand with Gaza under attack at this critical moment. We issue this call in honor and mourning for our two heroic comrades, Mohammed al-Tatari and Mohammed Odeh, martyred today by Zionist occupation forces who attacked them as they fought for the freedom of their land, Palestine, and all of its people.

This murder at the hands of the colonial forces comes after an attack yesterday, in which Zionist forces sought to invade the Gaza Strip in an undercover operation to kidnap or assassinate leaders of the Palestinian resistance. They killed 7 Palestinians who died fighting to defend their land – but the Palestinian resistance did not let them get away with their crime. The resistance has held fast, fighting heroically against one of the most heavily armed powers in the world and striking powerful blows against the assassins and murderers.

Tonight, the bombs are once again striking Gaza. Zionist forces are shelling and bombing television stations and universities, and they are threatening to begin once more attacking hospitals. This comes as the latest vicious military assault directed against Palestinians in Gaza, after the wars of 2009, 2012 and 2014 and countless bombing raids and assassinations, amid 11 years of a brutal and relentless siege.

This attack is an attempt to suppress the achievements of the Great March of Return, in which thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have demanded their fundamental right to return and to break the siege. Against this popular movement, the Zionist forces have unleashed their snipers, taking the lives of over 200 Palestinian demonstrators. Despite all of these assaults, the Palestinian people of Gaza remain committed to the resistance, refuse to relinquish their defenders and are steadfast in the struggle for return and liberation.

Palestinians in Gaza are not alone! And they must not be left alone. This attack is not only carried out by the Israeli occupation alone, but by the imperialist powers like the United States, France and Britain that arm and support the settler colonial racist state to the hilt. The reactionary Arab regimes that plot how to dismantle Palestinian rights and existence while raining destruction and death on Yemen are also complicit in this onslaught.

Now is the time to act. Take to the streets and the squares, organize, demonstrate, protest and mobilize to stand with the Palestinian people in Gaza under attack, yet who continue to resist despite all odds. Build the boycott of Israel and confront imperialism everywhere it exists. Stand with the Palestinian people, the Palestinian resistance and the Palestinian cause – the struggle for return and the fight for liberation, from the river to the sea!

#Palestine #AntiwarMovement #Gaza #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #Zionism