Minneapolis, MN- Al-Nakba, meaning “The Catastrophe,” is a day of remembrance when communities grieve the over 15,000 Palestinians the Israeli occupation murdered in 1948 and the over 750,000 Palestinians displaced from their homeland. After the Anti-War Action Network called for their third annual day of action commemorating Al-Nakba, the Twin Cities hosted two protests to mark the importance of resisting U.S. funding for Israel.

On Friday, May 15, Women Against Military Madness held their weekly protest at the Summit and Snelling intersection in Saint Paul with a specific focus on the Nakba. Speaker Wyatt Miller from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) said, “I’ve given plenty of speeches like this on past Nakba Days. I usually say something about how Palestinians are the bravest people on Earth. I still believe that, but let’s have this year’s Nakba Day be the one where we say, the Palestinians have been brave enough. They have made enough sacrifices. The world can no longer deny the injustice of the occupation. It’s time for the rest of us to learn to find that bravery in ourselves. The Palestinians have taught the world that dignity doesn’t mean mere politeness or etiquette; true dignity means standing up for what is just and refusing to tolerate anything less than justice.”

On Sunday, May 17, over 30 cyclists gathered at Minnehaha Falls for the Gaza Sunbirds solidarity ride in commemoration of Al-Nakba. The Great Ride of Return global bike rides are organized in support of the Gaza Sunbirds, a Palestinian para-cycling team bringing awareness to the ongoing Israeli siege on Gaza and its production of disability under occupation. The cyclists biked through Minneapolis with Palestinian flags attached to their bikes, chanting “Free, free Palestine” over their bullhorns.

The bikers joined hundreds of activists and community members gathered at Chute Square to march along the Mississippi River in protest of 78 years of Israeli occupation in Palestine. The Nakba Day march was organized by the Minnesota chapter of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and the AWC.

Nadiyah Salawdeh, co-chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network’s Minnesota chapter stated, “Palestinians had been rebelling against British and Zionist forces for decades,” they said. “Every time a fascist settler murders a Palestinian, it’s a catastrophe. Every time a Palestinian is illegally detained, it is a catastrophe. Every time a child starves to death, it is a catastrophe. Home demolition, poisoned water, burning olive trees—these are all catastrophes. Just as the Nakba was not confined to 1948, it is not confined to the borders of historic Palestine. The Lebanese people and the Lebanese resistance have been on the front lines defending their land from Israeli settler expansion. Since the U.S.-Israeli war was launched on Iran and Lebanon, thousands have been murdered, and over a million have been displaced. That is a catastrophe.”

Joe Yamine of the AWC told the crowd, “Today, the Zionist entity is more callous, more destructive, more depraved, and more afraid than it has ever been.”

Yamine continued, “The Western regimes [that] back it have revealed their utter contempt for their people, who turn out in the streets demanding justice and liberation for Palestine now. In Minnesota, we're confronting our municipal governments as they try to sign contracts with Israeli tech companies like Zencity and Waterfall. We are fighting for an end to our state's complicity in Israeli apartheid and the ongoing Nakba by pressuring the State Board of Investment to divest.”

Alissa Washington of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice and the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-sentenced Families Council expanded on the theme of state detention as she discussed the Palestinian right of return.

“The right to resist oppression, occupation and dehumanization is rooted in the struggle of oppressed people across the world,” Washington affirmed. “That is why we also demand freedom for Salah Sarsour and all people targeted, criminalized, or punished for standing with Palestine and speaking out against injustice.” Sarsour, the Islamic Society of Milwaukee’s president and an AMP board member, has been held in ICE detention since March 30.

Washington contined, “Today, let us remember: They want us divided because united people are dangerous to systems built on oppression. From Minneapolis to Palestine, our struggles are connected. From the prison walls to the refugee camps, our people are connected. From the streets demanding accountability to the marches demanding liberation, our resistance is connected. And as long as oppressed people continue to rise together, there will always be hope for freedom.”

Before the protesters flooded the streets to express their grief, hope and rage, Taher Herzallah of AMP articulated Israel’s commitment to dehumanization, breaching international law and fostering a culture of settler violence, concluding, “Israel has absolved itself of its right to exist.” In this spirit, the crowd marched down to the Mississippi River and disrupted business as usual to demand an end to the ongoing Nakba, Sarsour’s release, and a free Palestine.

After two and a half years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its continued annexation of the West Bank and southern Lebanon, people of conscience know that the Nakba is an ongoing ethnic cleansing project that the U.S. government has funded for over three-quarters of a century. Indeed, Minnesota state pensions are currently funding Israel’s crimes to the tune of $5.5 billion in SBI investments. The SBI canceled two of its quarterly public meetings in 2025, and on Wednesday, May 13, it deleted the details of its previously announced meeting scheduled for June 3 from its website.

The MN Anti-War Committee will demand answers at the 2026 DFL State Convention, taking place in Rochester, Minnesota on May 29.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nakba #AntiWarCommittee #USPCN #AMP #SalahSarsour

“May 15 marks the day when Zionist militias destroyed hundreds of villages, massacred thousands, and violently forced 750,000 Palestinians out of their homes and off of their historic land in order to create the state of Israel. Since 2023, the U.S. has sent over $25 billion in aid to Israel and has outfitted the Israeli military with its advanced weaponry. It is a fact that Israel wouldn’t be able to carry out these crimes of massive scale without the backing of the U.S. empire,” said Tucson Anti-War Committee member Nick Winsten when speaking to the crowd.

“That’s our tax dollars, that’s mine and yours, used for the depraved war crimes of the U.S. and Israel. That’s our hard earned money used for the razing of homes, the bombing of schools and hospitals, and the killing of countless families. That’s money not going to health care, education, housing, or any real human need but that has gone to murdering over 70,000 Palestinians,” Winsten added.

Organizers from Arizona-Palestine Solidarity Alliance and Jewish Voice for Peace also spoke to the crowd. Other co-sponsoring organizations of the event were Coalicion de Derechos Humanos, Veterans for Peace, Common Defense, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization-Tucson.

#TusconAZ #AZ #AntiWarMovement #Nakba #Palestine

Salt Lake City, UT- On May 16, 50 people gathered across from the North Guadalupe Trax station in Salt Lake City to commemorate Nakba Day in solidarity with the Palestinian people, along with other cities in the National Anti-War Action Network.

The protest brought many different groups together, including the 71% Coalition, Armed Queers SLC, the Utah Anti-War Committee, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Carson Bybee, a member of the UAWC condemned the Stratos Project, a planned military data center, and the Raytheon facility in Salt Lake County, saying, “We refuse to let our communities become yet another fist for imperialist genocide.”

Mustafa Khader, a veteran Palestinian activist and member of the 71% Coalition said, “The answer for humanity is to stop these activities while they are happening,” and “The insistence of the Palestinians in keeping their cause alive is the most powerful statement to humanity.”

Throughout the protest, the crowd chanted, “We don’t want two states, we want 1948!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” Cars of the many commuters traveling to the popular Kilby Bloc Party music festival honked in support of the protest.

Adrian Romero, a member of the UAWC told the crowd, “Utah Anti-War Committee stands in absolute solidarity with fellow anti-war activist, Rick Toledo, who was targeted for doing exactly what we are doing right now: taking a stand against U.S.-backed terrorism.”

Sebastian Miscenich, a member of the FRSO, said, “We are not afraid to support the Palestinian fight against genocide, their fight against racism. Zionists have no right to oppress Palestinians. The Palestinians have every right to rebel. FRSO is an organization that stands unapologetically with every action the Palestinians take as they fight for national liberation.”

#SaltLakeCityUT #UT #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nakba #UAWC #AWAN

New York, NY – Community members joined together at Washington Square Park on Friday, May 16, in remembrance of the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were murdered, maimed and permanently displaced from their homes, by Israel.

The rally kicked off under the Washington Square Arch with chants of “Zionism has got to go” and “Israel bombs, USA pays.” Shortly after the afternoon Asr prayer, the roughly 500 attendees began a march through Manhattan, uniting around slogans like “From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!”

The rally and march were organized by New York-based Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, with contingents led by groups like the Muslim American Society and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Also in attendance were members from Brooklyn Against War, Al-Awda, and the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, as well as a contingent of Orthodox Jewish protesters led by Rabbi Dovid Feldman.

Together, attendees helped unfurl a massive Palestinian flag, which they carried through the streets of Manhattan for several hours until the Maghrib sunset prayer at Times Square, where the march ended.

Before the march, Within Our Lifetime cofounder Nerdeen Kiswani told the crowd that “the state of Israel and Zionism must be abolished.”

“I do not and will never recognize Israel's so-called right to exist,” Kiswani continued. “It has no right to exist.”

Shivani Ishwar, member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, concurred. “We acknowledge the 78 years the Palestinians have been oppressed, and unable to return to their homes,” Ishwar said. “We support a full right to return, we support the cause of a liberated Palestine free from Israeli settlers, free from genocide, and free from repression.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nakba

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, May 17, New Orleans organizers and community members gathered in the Jackson Square amphitheater in New Orleans’ French Quarter, drawing attention from onlookers and tourists about the 77th anniversary of the Nakba – or catastrophe – perpetrated against the Palestinians.

Over 100 community members took to the streets to remind New Orleans that the for-Palestine movement will not stop until the city divests from the apartheid state of Israel. They held signs reading, “The Nakba is happening now” and “200k + Palestinians displaced in Gaza, 40k+ displaced on the West Bank in the past year.”

Leaders from the local chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement emphasized the importance of a “people’s embargo” on entities involved in arming Israel, such as the logistics and shipment company Maersk, which is in charge of shipping U.S.-manufactured weapons from the top five weapons manufacturers to Israel.

The march took over the busy streets of the French Quarter, stopping by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office on Canal Street to demand “Free Mahmoud Khalil now!” Khalil, a Palestinian green card holder and student at Columbia university, has been detained by the Trump administration in an immigration facility in Jena, Louisiana for over two months. Located over 1000 miles away from his hometown of New York City, Khalil has been illegally separated from his family for having advocated against the Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people.

“We need to let ICE and the Trump administration know that we are watching,” said Hakm Murad from the Palestinian Youth Movement.

The previous day, Friday May 16 at noon, local organization New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP) held a rally outside of the New Orleans ICE Field Office, which oversees the detentions in all immigration facilities in Louisiana and more. This rally was the second of a series of rallies to be held by the New Orleans for Palestine Coalition, every Friday at noon for the foreseeable future.

NOSHIP highlighted the importance of uniting all who can be united to fight against Trump’s attacks on the pro-Palestine, immigrant rights, student, and Black liberation movements.

“We are not just here to yell at ICE every week,” said Maya Sanchez, an organizer with NOSHIP. “We have specific demands: we want no collaboration between local police forces and ICE, we want ICE off our campuses now, and we must defend the right to protest for Palestine and beyond. We will bring these demands here every week, and we will also bring these demands to the city council. We will not stop until all those in power either get in line or get out!”

The demand for a sanctuary city has gathered the support of over a dozen local organizations and will be brought forth during a pivotal mayoral election year in New Orleans.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #AntiWarMovement #Nakba #Palestine #NOSHIP

Washington, D.C. – On Sunday, May 18, hundreds gathered at the north end of the Washington Monument to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Nakba.

Al-Nakba, known in Arabic as “The Catastrophe,” began on May 14, 1948. The Zionist regime forced over 750,000 Palestinians from their land in a matter of months, displacing millions and beginning a reign of terror and dispossession of land for Palestinian people. With the assistance of the British, the Zionist regime massacred innocent Palestinians as it engaged in widespread theft of the land. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, culminating in the current genocide in Gaza.

Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM-DMV) hosted the May 18 protest, capping off a week of actions commemorating the event.

The action brought out an inter-generational crowd, ranging from infants to elders, uniting their voices in power to demand the Palestinian right to return and a Free Palestine.

“In our millions and our billions, we are all Palestinian!” the crowd chanted in a call and response with the emcee between speakers.

“They don’t understand,” said Rafiki Morris, a storied muralist and member of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party, “The power of this movement is when we all come together and act as one.”

“Our unity is our strength,” he continued, adding that the people’s power, “is the only thing we have, because the only thing left to throw at the system are our bodies.”

The action transitioned to a march to the Capitol. All along Pennsylvania Avenue protesters chanted, “The people united will never be defeated” and “Up! Up with liberation! Down! Down with occupation!”

The protest ended in front of the U.S. Capitol, as attendees were called to hold steadfast with the Palestinian people in their struggle to resist apartheid and occupation until liberation and return.

#WashingtonDC #Nakba #PalestinianYouthMovement

Denver, CO – On the afternoon of May 15, in honor of Nakba Day, several dozen pro-Palestine and anti-war activists held a rally at the headquarters of Palantir in downtown Denver. The rally condemned the technology company, which develops artificial intelligence programs to assist Israel in the surveillance and mass slaughter of Palestinians.

On the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, protesters heard speeches describing the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. The group marched through Denver, carrying bundles of sheets to represent the tens of thousands of Palestinian martyrs. Protesters arrived at the Tabor Center, which houses Palantir, to lay down the sheets in front of the building and support the approximately 20 protesters who had recently occupied the building’s lobby.

Despite the empty threats of imminent arrest from the building security, the activists occupied the lobby for almost an hour, with their calls for accountability echoing through the building.

Protesters chanted “Palantir profiteers off of Palestinian tears” and “Palantir profiteers off of immigrants’ fears,” highlighting the fact that Palantir contracts with not only the Israeli’s to murder Palestinians, but also the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate the mass deportations.

Eliot Howe, the emcee of the protest, read Denver Anti-War Action’s demands of Palantir, namely that Palantir cut all ties with Israel and cancel all contracts with the Israeli government, and that Palantir end all contracts with government agencies that use its technology to violate human rights.

When over a dozen police officers arrived in riot gear, the activists on the inside exited the building to join the outside crowd, where speeches highlighting Palantir’s complicity in the modern day Nakba in Palestine continued.

The group stood firmly in the Tabor Center’s Plaza, undeterred by the police’s attempts at intimidation. They chanted “AI WMD: Threat to all humanity” and “From Palestine to Mexico, these border walls have got to go” before marching back through downtown to close out with a call to get further organized against the Zionist entity and ongoing genocide.

The rally was called by the Colorado Palestine Coalition, and several organizations supported the event, including Denver Anti-War Action, the United States Palestinian Community Network, Denver Democratic Socialists of America, Denver/Boulder Jewish Voice for Peace, Colorado May Day Club, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Andrew Marquetalia, representing DAWA, emphasized the reason for protesting Palantir, saying, “The software written here is the architecture for the modern-day Nakba. It puts the names of countless people on lists and marks them for death!”

Marquetalia continued, “We must fight back by jamming a wrench in the gears that are churning out the latest iteration of genocidal technology.”

Denver Anti-War Action recognizes the importance of Palantir in facilitating and expediting the genocide in Palestine and is ready for a fight to get Palantir out of their city and ultimately to challenge militarized AI in general.

It is clear that DAWA aims to disrupt business as usual until Palantir’s work is untenable in the mile high city.

#DenverCO #CO #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nakba #Palantir #DAWA

Minneapolis, MN — On May 17, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), American Muslims for Palestine — MN (AMP), and the Free Palestine Coalition held a march to remember Al Nakba. They were joined by more than 250 community members in a march that shut down several of Minneapolis’ busiest downtown arteries. The action was a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s week of action.

Nakba Day, the commemoration of Al Nakba, Arabic for “the catastrophe,” marks the 1948 expulsion of more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homes by militias that would later become the formal Israeli army.

Demonstrators marched with signs that read, “Victory to the Palestinian Resistance!” and “End the Nakba.” They carried a banner demanding “Trump: Hands off Gaza!”

While those in Minneapolis were commemorating Nakba Day by demanding an end to Israel’s apartheid laws and genocide in Gaza, Israel is currently carrying out a continuing Nakba. Hundreds have been massacred since Thursday, May 15, as Israel intensifies its aerial bombing and ground invasion in Gaza.

Speaking at Saturday’s march, Sana Wazwaz said, “I don’t want to give a speech today. The people of Gaza were saying their goodbyes the other night. And honestly, I’m sick of the sound of my own voice. But we’re here to say we’ve heard their goodbyes and yet Palestine will never say goodbye.” Wazwaz led the crowd in a series of call-and-response chants, the crowd responding with chants of “Never again!” as Wazwaz listed atrocities that have been carried out by the Israeli military.

The U.S. Palestinian Community Network-Minnesota (USPCN) was represented by Nadiyah Salawdeh, who emphasized that Israel’s crimes against humanity aren’t limited to Gaza. They described the apartheid conditions faced by Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank, including the 793 military checkpoints that Palestinians must navigate as they live their daily lives, the land theft that has accelerated in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, and the 40,000 Palestinians who have been driven from their homes in the West Bank in the past few months.

Salawdeh stated, “As genocide continues in Gaza, don’t turn away and forget the escalations happening in the West Bank. It’s no secret that what Israel is doing in Gaza, Israel hopes to one day do in the West Bank as well. We are here to remind you: the Nakba never ended. It has evolved, shifted, and changed, but the goal of the Israeli regime has always been the same: permanent displacement of the entire Palestinian people.”

Layna Crandell, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, spoke as a Jewish anti-Zionist, saying, “This genocide is our modern-day Holocaust. I could talk about how Jews can’t be safe while Palestine is under attack, until Palestine is free, but ultimately this isn’t about us. Our solidarity is with Palestinians and their liberation. Our solidarity is with Palestinian resistance, who have fought for decades for their people and land.”

Crandell continued, “It’s not just Netanyahu or Ben Gvir or Smotrich. Israel has been a strategic pawn for U.S. imperialism for decades and continues to exist through U.S. economic and material support. Israel has been a stable ally throughout the U.S.’s destabilization efforts in the Middle East in pursuit of their own economic interests. Israel has also allied with the U.S. through supplying weapons to paramilitaries and far right governments in Latin America, collaborating with apartheid states in Africa, and supporting U.S.– led invasions in Asia. The IDF even trains our own police!”

Vash Lamp of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) spoke on the necessity of the movement for immigrant rights standing up for Palestine. He summed up the sentiment of the demonstrators when he said, “My friend shared with us the posts made by Palestinians in Gaza sharing their final goodbyes, because they didn’t expect to make it through the night. In these times, it’s hard to remain hopeless when we have the means of forging the future that we’re fighting for. Despite how bad this week has been, I’m not feeling hopeless, I’m feeling like I want to fucking fight!”

Organizers ended the march by emphasizing the need for all those standing for justice in the U.S. to show solidarity across movements, calling for marchers to attend an upcoming demonstration against Trump’s empowerment of police departments.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #MNAWC #AMP #FPC #Nakba

Grand Rapids, Mi – On Wednesday, May 14, 30 people gathered near Rosa Parks Circle. in Grand Rapids, MI, to commemorate the 77th anniversary of al-Nakba and honor the generations of Palestinians who have struggled against Israeli occupation.

77 years ago, armed Israeli settlers launched a genocidal campaign of violence which displaced over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes – committing hundreds of massacres in the process. These armed gangs quickly reorganized to become Israel’s formal military. In the decades since, Israel has built cities, national parks and public infrastructure atop of the 531 Palestinian villages ethnically cleansed in 1948.

Chanting “End U.S. aid to Israel!” and “From Grand Rapids to Palestine, protesting is not a crime!” The protesters confronted Zionist counter-protesters and blocked the Israeli flag from view using an even larger Palestinian flag. During this, police showed up to try and intimidate the pro-Palestinian protesters but quickly left.

The police presence surrounding the Nakba day protest was on everyone’s mind. Last year, four organizers with Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids were arrested and charged with misdemeanors for marching through the street.

Speakers from the group emphasized the connection between policing in the U.S. and Israel – calling out GRPD specifically for their recent crackdown on protests and the FBI raids on Palestine activists at the University of Michigan.

“The parallels between militarized policing here in the United States and Israel is no coincidence,” one protester said. “We owe it to the Palestinian people to not only stand in solidarity with them but to also organize the end of our own involvement in this catastrophe!”

In this past year, Israel has completely leveled Gaza, started a siege on the West Bank, and has forced famine upon the millions in Gaza. On May 15 alone – which is Nakba Day – Israel killed over 100 people in a few short hours and heavily bombed sections of Jabalia and Beit Lahia.

Tony O’Hegarty, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, stated: “I joined this movement because I learned about the Nakba shortly before October 7, 2023. This country teaches us that we ought to support Israel unconditionally – that’s wrong! Palestine taught us to be brave! We want Palestine to be free!”

As rain fell on the protesters, people chanted slogans like “No more money for Israel’s crimes!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

People must stand up for Palestine on Nakba Day every year – even after Palestine has freed itself from the river to the sea.

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nakba

May 14 marks 77 years since Al-Nakba, or as it's known by Palestinians, the Catastrophe. Beginning on May 14, 1948, over 750,000 Palestinians were forced off their land by Israeli settlers in a matter of months, with the indispensable help of the British. No inch of land was ceded without massacres.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, and now a genocide rages on in Gaza. Yet the Palestinian resistance is far from surrender. The people of Palestine have not given up in their fight for national liberation, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization stands with them.

The Zionists' cruelty knows no limits. They target hospitals and schools; they use starvation and water deprivation as a tactic. They go beyond missiles and bombs and set refugee tents on fire. The U.S. imperialists foot the bill, and in exchange the Israelis guard their interests. Members of the United Nations condemn the genocide in Gaza in resolutions, and only the Israelis and the United States disagree. It is undeniable to the rest of the world: Israel has no right to exist, and it must be stopped.

On October 7, 2023, something remarkable happened: paragliders carrying the forces of resistance flew into occupied Palestine. They set off a historic offensive, the Al-Aqsa Flood, that emboldened the Axis of Resistance and sped up the clock on Israel's borrowed time. The Israelis deepened the genocide in Gaza, which has killed over 50,000 Gazans and counting. But nonetheless, the forces of resistance in Palestine, Yemen, Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria at the time, fought the Israelis to a standstill. The Zionists took damning military casualties. They went into bunkers and their homes in northern occupied Palestine stood empty. They fled to the U.S.

All over the world, the masses who condemn the genocide stood up. In the U.S., we marched day after day, seized buildings, were arrested at encampments, were kicked out of school, and now some face deportation. In Michigan, supporters of Palestine were raided by state police and the FBI. Repression against the pro-Palestine movement has intensified under Trump, especially on college campuses. Still, the movement will not die. As long as the Palestinians and the Axis of Resistance fight on, so can we.

The Israelis and their Wall Street handlers cannot turn back time. The Arabs and Muslims of the Middle East are the many, and the Israeli settlers are the few. At the end of this protracted struggle, the millions of Palestinians around the world will return. They will reunite all the lands of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Time is on their side.

It took the Vietnamese masses and liberation forces over 100 years to free themselves from imperialism. When they did, their struggle inflamed and was inflamed by an international solidarity movement all around the world from which revolutionaries sprang, including our group here in the U.S.

As proletarian internationalists who share the same enemy – the U.S. imperialists – the FRSO is committed to the call for an independent Palestine. We will be marching today until the end of this coming weekend. We will march every Nakba Day until Palestine is finally free.

On Nakba Day, Stand With Palestine!

Victory to the Resistance!

From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free!

#International #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nakba #FRSO #Statement

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle joins Palestinians all over the world in commemorating the 1948 Nakba, or catastrophe, which dispossessed, displaced, and murdered hundreds of thousands of people in the name of an imperialist and Zionist project—the manufacture of “Israel “as a “Jewish State” in Palestine in order to establish a Western imperialist outpost in West Asia and North Africa.

Nakba Continues

The 78th anniversary of the Nakba marks a significant moment in the ongoing struggle for Palestinian freedom against Zionist genocidal occupation and imperialist war on the peoples of West Asia. The Nakba has become a defining feature of Palestinian and Arab unity and struggle for national liberation and self-determination. The resistance to the Nakba, alongside the 2023 October 7 Al Aqsa Flood, is emblematic of resistance to colonialism, occupation, and displacement.

On this anniversary of the Nakba and the US-Israeli Zionist occupation of Palestine, our hearts are heavy with the continued suffering, loss of life, and devastation. Palestinians in Gaza who are descendants of refugees uprooted during the Nakba continue to endure heinous acts of genocide. This moment also comes as Palestinians in the West Bank – particularly in the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nablus – are under assault by the occupation regime, with tens of thousands displaced and hundreds of homes destroyed. This is an attempt to undermine Palestinians’ inviolable right to return to their homes by liquidating the physical structure of the refugee camps. Of course, it also comes hand in hand with the vicious repression of Palestinians in occupied Palestine ‘48, while Palestinians in exile and diaspora continue to struggle for their right to return home to Palestine, denied for over 77 years. From the refugee camps in the countries surrounding Palestine to the Palestinian communities in every continent of the world, the right to return, to resist and to live free of Zionism and imperialism lives on everywhere. The Al-Aqsa Flood is also a flood of return, of liberation, and of the struggle to undo the Nakba. Palestinians are organizing for their liberation, while Arabs and internationalists stand in unwavering solidarity for their right to self-determination and freedom.

Gaza continues to endure enormous challenges amid an active genocide, including restrictions and a blockade in place since 2007, which have had a significant impact on the territory’s economy and infrastructure. It continues to confront shortages in essential goods such as food, water, and medicine, resulting in a terrible humanitarian situation. It has seen repeated cycles of violence, including military operations, rocket attacks, and carpet bombing of churches, mosques, residences, hospitals, schools, and refugee camps, even during periods of ceasefire and peace talks in the past. The current bombardment of Gaza serves as a stark reminder of the dehumanizing violence and systemic oppression that Palestinians continue to face.

Up with the Global Resistance

Solidarity with the Palestinian people’s resistance for national and social liberation is more critical than ever. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian Resistance, the people of Gaza, and the regional Axis of Resistance in Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and Iraq in fighting imperialism and Zionism by any means necessary, and for Palestine’s freedom from the river to the sea.

The demonization of the countries in the Axis of Resistance covers up the impact of US sanctions on these nations for defending their sovereignty and national integrity against US imperialist intervention and endless wars. Despite stringent US sanctions that have a crippling effect on its economy and severe economic hardships for its citizens, Iran remains steadfast in providing support to end the brutal Zionist-Israeli attacks on Palestinians. Iraq’s resistance to and defense of Palestine stems from the US invasion in 2003, which the US defended with a brutal campaign against its own false claims of WMDs and the “war on terror.” Yemen’s Ansar Allah has demonstrated steadfast solidarity with Palestine by stopping the transport of bombs and war equipment from imperialist countries to Israeli Occupation Forces, which would have killed thousands more of the displaced Palestinians. Strongly supporting Palestinian freedom, Hezbollah began as a resistance movement against Israeli occupation and has been instrumental in protecting Lebanon’s sovereignty from both local corruption and foreign dominance.

Terrorist tagging of the Axis of Resistance by US-led western imperialism must be opposed at a time when governments in the Arab region have adopted the policy of normalization amidst genocide and imperialist plunder, no war for oil! Terrorist designation of organizations and activists who stand in firm solidarity with Palestine is a fascist mechanism to criminalize dissent and gain consent for genocide.

We salute the governments and peoples of Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and South Africa for their unwavering support to the Palestinian cause and principled rejection of US imperialism and Zionism. We stand in solidarity with anti-Zionist Jewish organizers and communities, who have historically and continue to say, “Not in our name!” to reject the colonial and genocidal Zionist project — the “Israeli State.”

The courageous actions in the western imperialist core of student encampments organized to pressure universities to divest from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and military actions in the region, as well as direct action against weapons production and delivery to Israel, are vital in exposing and opposing the US-led western imperialism’s role in arming and politically shielding Israel—thus enabling the ongoing genocide— and expressing solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom and self-determination.

Our Calls

ILPS enjoins all organizations under the League to amplify Palestinian voices and stories throughout media platforms, schools, churches and faith institutions, rural and urban communities, agricultural spaces, and workplaces. We call on comrades in the League and their allied organizations in their respective regions and countries to tirelessly raise awareness, support organizations providing humanitarian aid and medical assistance to Palestinians, carry out in-depth investigations into their governments’ and other institutions’ relationships with the “Israeli” entity and demand divestment from them, support the cultural boycott of “Israel”, organize massive protests in support of the struggle for national and social liberation and right of return to Palestine, and build an international anti-imperialist, anti-fascist people’s movement for just and lasting peace.

Defeat Zionism!

Defeat US Imperialism!

Free Palestine from the river to the sea!

Signed,

International League of Peoples’ Struggle

#International #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #ILPS #Nakba

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.

Under rainy skies, hundreds of rallygoers listened to speeches delivered by members of the organizations in the Philly Palestine Coalition, which organized the event.

Afterwards, the march, which started at the north side of city hall, moved westward past the skyscrapers of Center City, across the Market Street bridge, and towards Drexel’s campus in West Philly. Chants such as “Ali, ali, ali, ali – ali elam althawra ali! [Raise, raise, raise, raise – raise the flag of the revolution!]” and “Intifada, intifada, long live the intifada!” rang through the streets of Philly.

The march stopped at 33rd and Market, just outside Drexel University, for more speeches and chants. Meanwhile, organizers with Drexel Palestine Coalition had protesters slip out from the crowd and into the Korman Quad, where they began setting up a new encampment.

Amber Khan, a participant in the march and a member of FRSO Philadelphia, recounts, “As speakers energized the crowd, an organizer approached my group and informed us that protesters were slowly trickling into the quad and that we could join them if we wanted to. They let us know that the risk would be higher, but the more people present, the safer we would all be.”

The Philadelphia Police Department immediately attempted to crush the burgeoning encampment, seizing tents, shouting, and harassing students for their IDs.

“It didn’t seem like the encampment would be able to last very long at first,” Khan said, “but the students did not budge and were able to lock arms around the few tents they raised.” The small chain of human bodies, shielding the students from the PPD, grew as more protesters from the march joined in defense. Outnumbered, the police could only set up barricades around the students to try and prevent more protesters from joining. Despite this, the organized amidst the chaos were able to pass off food and supplies through the barricades and the areas that the police had not yet closed off.

Organizers securely established the new encampment, dubbed “Little Gaza,” just over a week after the PPD swept the encampment on the University of Pennsylvania campus. The students are hopeful that they can use the encampment to pressure Drexel University administration to “divest from their partnerships with Israeli and non-Israeli entities that fund and uphold the system of apartheid, and genocide of Palestinians,” among other demands listed on the Drexel Palestine Coalition Instagram page.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #FRSO #Nakba #Feature

Atlanta, GA – On May 18, a Nakba Day protest took place outside of the CNN headquarters, as part of the global commemoration of the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, marking the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in 1948.

The rally highlighted the growing struggle for Palestinian liberation and programs like the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) that must be defeated for the collective liberation of Palestinians and Black folks in the South.

Layla Amar, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement in Atlanta, said, “We gathered in Atlanta to commemorate the Nakba, which means catastrophe in Arabic. Nakba day is a remembrance of May 15, 1948 where the Zionist entity murdered 15,000 and exiled 750,000 Palestinians. Too often when the world talks about Palestine, we center Palestinian victimhood, but I want to ensure that this Nakba day we also remember the resilience of the Palestinian people as they have played an imperative role in globalizing the Intifada.”

Speakers from the University of Georgia spoke out on the movement’s erecting encampments on campuses across the country demanding that schools disclose their ties to the Israeli occupation and divest from those ties. Community groups’ speakers highlighted the need for solidarity with the Palestinian people from the Philippines to the Black Belt South.

Laith Abdel Hader, an organizer with the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, stated “The tide of the Palestinian liberation movement is rising and the struggle is escalating. As this tide is rising, all liberation struggles are rising with it, especially the Black liberation struggle here in the U.S. Folks here and abroad are seeing how these struggles are connected, fighting them here at home like we are with the GILEE program.”

The GILEE program, housed at Georgia State University, allows for IOF soldiers and Georgia police officers to train one another, sharing tactics and methods to repress communities and their movements. GILEE participants include C.J. Davis, the current police chief in Memphis and former supervisor of the Red Dog unit in Atlanta, which notoriously has brutalized and maimed dozens of Black folks. The same Red Dog unit that murdered 26 year old Jamarion Robinson – shooting him 76 times “on suspicion” in 2016. Ending the GILEE program is tied directly with the fight against police crimes in the city.

The Nakba protest was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, Athens Against Apartheid, Georgia Students for Divestment, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Black Alliance for Peace, Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and ATL Radical Art.

Amar stated, “Palestine represents the worldwide oppression created by this imperial system, which means it is essential that the people in Atlanta, and all of us in the heart of the empire, play an active role in the fight for liberation.”

#AtlantaGA #GA #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #Nakba #NAARPR #AAARPR #GILEE #PYM #FRSO #BAP #ATLRA #AAA #GSD

Austin, TX – Over 3000 people gathered Sunday, May 19, outside of the Texas Capitol building for a statewide pro-Palestine march for Nakba Day.

The city ordered state troopers to shut down the Capitol grounds and tried to demand $50,000 to let people protest there, but the Austin community still came out in droves to show their support for Palestine and condemn U.S. aid to Israel.

People filled the streets, chanting, “Free Palestine!” and “Occupation no more!”

Nura Abdelwahed, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, said, “Our people have exposed that the so-called military stronghold in the Middle East, is nothing but a paper tiger!” She continued, “We will not let fascists like Greg Abbott beat our movement into submission!”

After the speeches, the crowd started marching. After a few blocks an organizer was arrested, prompting the crowd to start chanting, “The more they try to silence us, the louder we will be!” and “APD, KKK, IDF, they're all the same!”

Despite the police repression, the march continued with no more arrests made until the crowd reached the Capitol building where at least one other person was arrested. Back at the Capitol, organizers led the crowd in one more round of the chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

#Austin, TX #PYM #Palestine #Nakba

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.

The Nakba, meaning “Catastrophe” in Arabic, is an anniversary in which between 1947 through 1949, Israel launched an ethnic cleansing on the Palestinian people. More than 750,000 Palestinians were violently forced to leave their home and land. To this day, Palestine continues to face genocide from Israel, which is backed by the financial and military assistance from the U.S.

25 community members of Boyle Heights marched around the intersection between César E Chávez Avenue and Soto Street for the 76th Nakba. They chanted in both English and Spanish in support of the Palestinian resistance. Cars passing through the intersection honked in support of the event.

As the rally continued, Gabriel Quiroz, a member of Centro CSO and a Chicano from Boyle Heights and Luis Sifuentes, also a member of Centro CSO and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), led the rally. Bilingual chants included, “Free, free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

“Us Chicanos know what it is like under national oppression. With a foot on our necks, the same tactic used against Palestinians, is used on our streets! Jesse Romero was killed by LAPD!” exclaimed Gabriel Quiroz.

Both Gabriel Quiroz and Luis Sifuentes reminded people at the rally about the police terror that the community in Boyle Heights is facing from police oppression, and their fight against it.

If you are interested in joining Centro CSO to fight against police oppression and for having a safer community in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles, then contact them at 323-484-8630, CentroCSO@gmail.com, and on their various social media platforms under Centro CSO.

#LosAngelesCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #Nakba #OppressedNationalities #ChicanoLatino #CentroCSO #FRSO #Feature

Minneapolis, MN – On May 15, over 1000 people marched in the Free Palestine Coalition’s march for the 76th anniversary of Al Nakba, “the catastrophe” in Arabic. Protesters started at U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office demanding an end to U.S. aid to apartheid Israel and calling on her to stop her support for the ongoing second Nakba, the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide currently occurring in Gaza.

Palestinians observe Nakba Day on May 15 to mark the anniversary of the dispossession of Palestinians of 78% of their land. In 1948, Zionist terrorist groups besieged and killed 15,000 Palestinians and displaced 400,000 people. By the first half of 1949, at least 750,000 Palestinian men, women and children were displaced and became refugees who have never been allowed to return to their stolen homes. This year, with the death toll in Gaza rising to over 35,000 people, has international human rights groups labeling Israel’s siege of Gaza as a genocide. Activist groups are calling this another Nakba.

Anthony Taylor-Gouge, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee and the Free Palestine Coalition, spoke to the crowd before the march, “So many times we look to the past, and we say to ourselves, ‘what would I have done then.’ There is no need to ask ourselves what we would have done, there is only a need to show it in the present. The Nakba never ended. And everywhere around us, we are accompanied by those ensuring it continues. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar continues to help fund the state of Israel to the tune of billions of dollars. The Democratic governor of Minnesota sits as the chair of the State Board of Investment that oversees over a billion dollars invested in companies profiting off of the ongoing Nakba. Our once supposed-progressive U.S. Congressman and now Attorney General Keith Ellison sits on that same Board of Investment and tells us divestment from genocide is illogical!”

Taylor-Gouge concluded, “The Nakba and those that continue to support it are all around us. It is not ‘What would we have done? It is, what are we doing now?’ The ways to act are broad, but it requires that we build power against what we have power to control and change. So I ask that you look around tonight, when you go to the store, when you’re talking to a friend. What are we doing now? Get organized, build power, we in the belly of the beast have a role to play in the Nakba, and it is up to us to organize against it.”

The march started at Senator Klobuchar's office and then took the bridge over Interstate 35W, holding it during rush hour traffic. Then the march went through the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood which is the heart of the Somali community in Minneapolis. Hundreds of people joined the march from the Somali neighborhood as it went past apartment buildings. The entire playground and all the basketball courts at the Brian Coyle Community Center were emptied as the children joined the march chanting “Free Palestine!”

The protest was part of a national week of actions called by the newly formed Anti-War Action Network (AWAN). The emcees encouraged protesters to protest Trump on Friday, when he comes to Saint Paul to fundraise for his reelection campaign for president.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #AWAN #MNAWC #Nakba #MNFreePalestineCoalition

Tampa, FL – On Monday May 13 community members and students rallied near the MacDill Air Force Base to demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel and an end to the siege on Rafah. The MacDill Air Force Base is home to Central Command (CentCom) which is responsible for aiding Israel in the genocide of Palestinians.

The rally called by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was part of a National Day of Action by National SDS after the recent ground invasion of Rafah by the Israeli occupation forces. Rafah, now being one of the most densely populated areas on earth, faces the threat of heavy bombing as well as famine while the United States government headed by Biden continues to send weapons to Israel with zero sign of aid being sent to the Gaza strip.

This rally was only two days before the 76th anniversary of al Nakba, which marks the mass displacement of Palestinians from their homeland.

The rally came just weeks after the solidarity encampment for Gaza at the University of South Florida, also organized by Tampa Bay SDS, faced tear gas, rubber bullets and the arrest of 13 protesters.

Despite this repression from police and the USF administration, along with the Biden administration sponsoring genocide, students continue to come out for Palestine and demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

#TampaFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #Nakba

Santa Ana, CA – In commemoration of Nakba 75 – 75 years of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation and apartheid – the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression organized a U.S. Nakba Day 75 tour in six cities around the U.S.

On the fourth day of the tour, May 18, Chief Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, grandson of the late Nelson Mandela, arrived in Southern California, where he was greeted by over 200 people who hailed from Arab, Chicano, Black and Native communities at Santa Ana High School in Orange County.

Mandela shared his thoughts and strategies on Palestinian liberation with an energized crowd, including allies Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles, Centro CSO, CSO Orange County, Palestinian Youth Movement, and others that co-sponsored the event.

“Today South Africa is free, tomorrow it will be Palestine,'' Mandela said. “We will keep telling the stories of Palestinians who lost their lives, their homes, and their villages. We will tell the story of the Nakba – the catastrophe – that continues to this very day!”

People chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and brought a timely, renewed commitment to Palestine and deep solidarity among community members. Both before and after the main event, USPCN gathered organizers, activists and others to share a more intimate space for important political conversations with Mandela.

Kareem Youssef from the US Palestinian Community Network emceed the event and led opening chants. ”For those of us who are Palestinian and in solidarity, we don't just know it as a time of catastrophe but as a time as a year of resistance, coming together,” Youssef said.

Luis Sifuentes, member of Centro CSO and executive chair for the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR) spoke about the connection between the Zionist occupation in Palestine and the police terror that happens in the U.S., stating, “It is known that the Israeli Defense Forces are training police departments all throughout the United States. The existence of Israel is negatively impacting us here at home because they are giving material support to our oppressors. All the teargas, rubber bullets and surveillance technology that the LAPD, LASD, and the Border Patrol are receiving are all coming from Israel. That's why as Chicanos and all oppressed people here we must demand a complete end to all U.S. financial, military, diplomatic, political, cultural and social aid to Israel’s racist apartheid regime.”

After the Farha Youth Dabkeh dance group performed, Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter-LA spoke about the solidarity between the Black lives matter movement and the Palestinian movement. “You can’t fight for freedom here in the United States and not fight for freedom in Palestine,'' she said “We are here as black people, as global black people, to say that our fight is your fight. And we are committed to fighting until we win.”

#SantaAnaCA #Palestine #nakba #MiddleEast

San Francisco, CA – On May 19, around 100 people gathered in San Francisco State University’s Knuth Hall for the San Francisco leg of the Mandela Nakba 75 Tour. It featured the Honorable Chief Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela and member of the Parliament of South Africa.

The tour was co-hosted by the US Palestinian Community Network and the National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, and had already visited Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Cleveland, and Orange County.

San Francisco State University Assistant Professor in Race and Resistance Studies Rama Ali Kased emceed the event, and spoke about the importance of upholding the legacies of Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X, as the event coincided with the late Malcolm X’s birthday. The night kicked off with a poetry reading by 12-year-old Falasteen Hefnali, who read the poem As Long as I Have Inches of Land.

Next was a speech by longtime union activist Clarence Thomas. Thomas is a third-generation member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 10. He spoke about the ILWU’s historic acts of solidarity with the peoples of South Africa as well as Palestine. In 1984, ILWU longshoremen in San Francisco held an 11-day blockade of a South African ship in protest of the country’s apartheid regime.

More recently, the ILWU took part in community blockades of Israeli ships at the Port of Oakland in 2010, 2014, and 2021, in solidarity with Palestine. Thomas spoke of the enormous power harnessed by workers withholding their labor during these blockades, saying, “When longshore workers don’t work, the global economy shuts down.” He concluded with a series of call-and-response chants with the audience, including “From Ferguson to Palestine, occupation is a crime!”

Monadel Herzallah, member of the USPCN National Coordinating Committee, then spoke about the solidarity work shared between South Africans and Palestinians dating back to the 1970s and continuing through the present day. He recounted how Palestinian political prisoners wrote to Nelson Mandela and saw the South African anti-apartheid struggle as a source of inspiration and motivation for their own struggle at home. He also spoke about the ongoing Palestinian resistance movement, and how youth engagement in the movement is a beacon of hope and strength.

The next speaker was Sanyika Bryant of the New Afrikan People's Organization and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. He began by acknowledging that May 19, 2023 would have been Malcolm X’s 98th birthday, and spoke about Malcolm X’s commitment to international solidarity with the oppressed peoples of the world. “The anti-colonial struggles of the world are not over,” Bryant stated. He spoke about the similarities between different nations’ struggles for self-determination, from South Africa to Haiti to Palestine. Speaking to the Palestinian community members gathered at the event, he said, “We thank you for your struggle. We thank you for never giving up.”

The final speaker was the Honorable Chief Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, who began with a rousing chant of “Amandla! Awethu!”, meaning “The power! It’s ours!” in the Nguni languages of southern Africa. Mandela dedicated his speech to Malcolm X, saying “The history of Black Americans is an ongoing Nakba.” He pointed out the historic parallels between the displacement of South Africans by European settlers and the displacement of Palestinians by Zionist settlers, along with the solidarity shared between the resistance movements of both nations.

In commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, Mandela spoke about the horrors of the Deir Yassin massacre of 1948, when Zionist militias brutally murdered over 100 Palestinian villagers, including women, children, and the elderly. He also advocated for the ongoing cause of Palestinian resistance to Israel, saying, “We must continue to champion the Palestinian struggle, especially the BDS – Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions – campaign, across all sectors of society.”

The event concluded with a question-and-answer session, where audience members submitted questions to the event speakers. In response to a question about meeting George Floyd’s aunt at the Nakba 75 event in Minneapolis, Mandela recounted how moving it was to meet with her and visit George Floyd Square, saying, “We know exactly what George Floyd and many other Black Americans are subjected to.”

When asked about what it was like to grow up as the grandson of Nelson Mandela, he told the story of meeting him in prison for the first time as a nine year old. He also spoke about his grandfather’s commitment to the Palestinian freedom struggle, recounting his quote, “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

After a standing ovation, all the event attendees gathered on stage for a group photo, many raising fists high in the air in solidarity with Palestinian resistance and reinvigorated in their commitment to fight against Zionist oppression. The group chanted together, voices united, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

#SanFranciscoCA #Palestine #nakba #MiddleEast

Chicago, IL- “Let us all join hands in the inevitable march to freedom for Palestine and we dare to dream of a free Palestine where Muslims, Christians and Jews can live side by side in peace as they have done for centuries,” stated Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, South African member of parliament and grandson of revolutionary icon Nelson Mandela, to an audience of 400 at the Chicago Teachers Union headquarters, on Saturday, May 20.

Chicago was the sixth and final city Mandela visited during the Nakba Commemoration Tour organized by the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).

Mandela was introduced by NAARPR Executive Director Frank Chapman, who spoke about the connection between the Palestinian liberation struggle and Black liberation movements in South Africa and the United States. “In 1973 we formed the National Alliance. Every year we took about 10,000 petitions to the UN saying 'Free Nelson Mandela and all political prisoners'. We're not new to this, we're true to it,” Chapman declared.

Chief Mandela paid his respects to the elders who had stood in solidarity with the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. Frank Chapman was one of many veterans of anti-apartheid solidarity in attendance, including Chapman's NAARPR comrades Lisa Brock, Willie Williamson and Mildred Williamson. Chapman said, “Our elders taught me: generation after generation, until total liberation. That's what we're here for today.”

Muhammad Sankari, a leading member of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), pointed out that some attendees had witnessed both the first intifada and the fall of apartheid in South Africa, while others were younger than 21. This showed the broad, intergenerational character of the fight against the occupation of Palestine.

The range of ages among the attendees also illustrated the resilience of the Palestinian liberation struggle. 75 years after the start of the Nakba, Palestinians of all ages are still fighting back and working and oppressed people in all nations of the world are standing in solidarity with them.

“Nakba means catastrophe – the violent, forced expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians in 1948. It is a somber occasion, but one that also inspires us,” explained Hatem Abudayyeh, USPCN national chair.

“This Nakba is ongoing. Still our people remain steadfast,” said leading USPCN member Nesreen Hasan, as she delved into the history of the Palestinian resistance against colonialism, and how the struggle is being carried on today.

Throughout the Nakba 75 tour, Chief Mandela also addressed strategic and tactical questions of Palestinian liberation by referring to the experience of the South African freedom struggle. “As we come to the end of this Nakba 75 commemoration week, we ask the question: what is to be done? It is the same question my grandfather President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela faced when he was on the notorious Robben Island,” Chief Mandela said, adding, “He called for the unbanning of all political parties. He called for the right to return for all exiles. He called for the release of all political prisoners. These conditions precedent described the key pillars of struggle.”

Mandela spoke about how the anti-apartheid struggle used many different tactics, violent and nonviolent, legal and illegal, to resist repression and strike blows against the white supremacist system. He also explained the importance of international solidarity with examples such as when the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) staged a boycott of South African apartheid cargo in 1962. ILWU and other organizations have continued this tradition by refusing to unload products from apartheid Israel in the recent Block The Boat campaign.

“There is power within our struggle as long as there is unity,” said Jasmine Smith, member of the CAARPR executive committee, expressing a sentiment that was present throughout Chief Mandela's Nakba 75 Commemoration Tour.

In his addresses in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Santa Ana, San Francisco, and Chicago, Chief Mandela uplifted the various movements of working and oppressed people internationally. He addressed the particular demands of the Black and Chicano liberation movements, women's rights struggles, youth organizing, and many more, while linking all of them to Palestinian liberation.

In his closing remarks, Chief Mandela said, “We shall not stop until all of occupied Palestine is free.”

#ChicagoIL #Palestine #nakba #MiddleEast