Grand Rapids, MI – In response to the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC), a coalition of grassroots organizations is mobilizing Michigan residents for a march in Milwaukee on July 15 to protest the RNC.

“We are going to be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at 10 a.m. on Monday, July 15, to let the Republicans know that we oppose their racist and reactionary agenda. We oppose Trump and his attack on immigrants, workers, LGBT folks, women, bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. We are going to march with families and with joy for our own agenda, the people’s agenda, in the streets of Milwaukee and let the Republicans know that we are going to resist them every step of the way and we are going to shut them down if Trump is elected,” said Tom Burke from the Coalition to March on the RNC.

The march is organized by the national Coalition to March on the RNC, composed of grassroots groups and unions from across the country united to stop the Republicans’ racist and reactionary agenda, defend reproductive rights, and demand peace, justice and equity. 

Michigan member organizations of this national effort include Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression, Students for a Democratic Society, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization. 

The groups highlighted the Republicans' long history of threatening civil rights. “Take 2019, for example, when a majority of Republican lawmakers refused to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, legislation aimed at protecting women. We continue to see constant attacks on LGBTQ individuals and reproductive rights by Republicans. That’s why we’re going to Milwaukee, to demand equal treatment for women and LGBTQ rights, and access to reproductive healthcare,” said Jessie Pichta from Students for a Democratic Society.

The groups also addressed the threat Republicans pose to democracy and voting rights. A member of the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression stated, “one of the Republicans' key strategies is voter suppression. After the past election, several states passed legislation that made it more difficult to vote. For example, Georgia now has stricter voter laws, which disproportionately affect communities at the margins. We have also seen an increase in crackdowns on protests and political dissent. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 1 into law in 2021, which aims to suppress protests while granting civil immunity to drivers who run over protesters.”

Michigan Republicans were also specifically called out. “In 2008, it was the Republican Michigan attorney general who issued the memo that terminated access to driver’s licenses for all Michiganders, regardless of their citizenship status. Since then – for over 15 years – tens of thousands of Michigan families and workers have been unjustly excluded from access to driver’s licenses and live in fear of having their families separated anytime the police perform a traffic stop.” said Danny Celaya from Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids. 

Celaya continued, “Then of course, we cannot forget about how Republicans such as Nikki Haley and Donald Trump have been candid over their support of the genocide happening in Palestine. We need to oppose their violent remarks and continue to stand with Palestine.” In May, Nikki Haley made news after she was photographed signing an Israeli artillery shell with the words “Finish them.” Then during the June 27 presidential debates, Donald Trump voiced his support for Israel to “finish the job.”

The march has faced pushback by Milwaukee city officials and the Secret Service. Burke explained, “We are demanding our permits from the city of Milwaukee and the Secret Service who don’t want us to express our free speech rights. They don’t want us to march to the doors of the Fiserv auditorium where the Republicans will be meeting. That is exactly our plan. We’re going to have all sorts of people, from all walks of life together, thousands of us raising our voices against the Republicans and their backwards agenda.”

#GrandRapidsMI #MarchOnTheRNC #FreePalestine #PalestineSolidarity #SDS #GRAARPR

Chicago, IL – 8000 people marched here, Aug. 10, for Gaza. This march featured solidarity speeches from activists from many Latin American nations, including Mexico, Chile, and Ecuador, because of the stand their countries have taken in support of Gaza since Israel’s murderous assault began in July.

Marchers cheered for the Palestinian delegation in the peace talks in Cairo. Emcee Muhammad Sankari urged support for the protesters arrested at the Boeing Company last month, who go to court on Tuesday, Aug. 12, to face charges of trespassing. He also announced a protest on Saturday, Aug. 16, at Chicago’s Air and Water Show against sponsor Boeing, maker of Israel’s F15 fighter jets and Apache attack helicopters.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #PalestineSolidarity #Zionism #IsraeliOccupation

Durham, NC – Over 60 people gathered at a busy intersection in downtown Durham on Aug. 8 to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. Protesters chanted “Free, free Palestine!” and “End the occupation now!” as hundreds of people witnessed the rally from the road, many honking car horns in support.

The rally, organized by the Triangle Antiwar Committee, is the latest in a wave of protests in the area opposing the ongoing Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Among the speakers was Genna Cohen, an organizer with Jewish Voices for Peace’s campaign to demand that Durham cut ties with G4S, a private security contractor. “Durham should not do business with a company that profits off the occupation of Palestine,” Cohen said to cheers from the crowd. According to the campaign organizers, G4S profits from providing security services for military checkpoints, Israeli detention centers and illegal settlements.

#DurhamNC #AntiwarMovement #PalestineSolidarity #AntiwarCommittee #IsraeliOccupation #MiddleEast

Durham, NC – More than 200 people rallied and marched in downtown here, July 23, to protest the Israeli occupation's assault on Gaza and the people of Palestine.

A statement from the protest organizers noted, “This most recent Israeli assault on Gaza continues to escalate and the death and casualty numbers continue to rise in a Palestinian territory that has been under a state of siege, including a blockade on building materials and other basic supplies, since 2006.” The statement continued, “We believe that Israel is committing mass murder against all people living in Gaza, using killing as a tactic of ensuring the power of the Israeli settler state and the occupation of Palestine.”

The rally kicked off with rousing speeches from activists and moving testimony from Palestinians whose families have been affected by the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. The rally was held in the busy Five Points intersection in Durham, so hundreds of passersby heard the speeches and saw the demonstration. A petition to demand justice for Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh was circulated; many people took “Support Rasmea” pamphlets home with them and activists expressed their solidarity and support for the campaign.

After the rally, a vibrant, loud march kicked off through the streets of downtown, with protesters chanting “Free, free Palestine!” and “Gaza, Gaza don't you cry, Palestine will never die!”

The march went to the downtown public library, where speeches were made demanding that Durham county cut ties with G4S, a British private security company which plays a key role in Israel's occupation of Palestine. Durham County has a $1 million contract with G4S. A campaign is currently underway calling on Durham County to join the global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement by not renewing the contract with G4S.

From there, the march proceeded to the downtown jail. As prisoners tapped on their windows in support, organizers spoke about the repression visited on Palestinians and the struggles to end repression of oppressed nationalities here at home.

The Durham protest is the latest in a wave of actions here in solidarity with Palestine in recent days. Three protests have been held in Carrboro, Durham and Raleigh over the last five days and on July 25 two vigils will be held in Durham.

#DurhamNC #AntiwarMovement #PalestineSolidarity #Zionism #attacksOnGaza #IsraeliOccupation #MiddleEast

Chicago, IL – Hundreds of protesters stood across the street from the Israeli consulate here, July 22, shouting, “Hey, Israel, waddya say? How many kids did you kill today?” They aimed their voices at a smaller crowd that waived Israeli flags and who gathered directly in front of the consulate in a show of support for the murderous assault on Gaza over the past two weeks.

While the pro-Israel rally was only a few hundred people, compared to the 700 that came out to support the people of Gaza, that didn’t stop the Zionists from acting aggressively. According to Hatem Abudayyeh of the U.S. Palestine Community Network and the citywide Coalition for Justice in Palestine, “The most rabid of them came across the street when their event ended to confront us.”

The Chicago Police Department sent their mounted police and others to face off, not with the approaching crowd from the Israeli side, but against the Palestinians and their allies. Abudayyeh said, “If our side had done that, gone across the street to disrupt the Israeli demo, the cops would’ve been all over us.”

Women leaders of Students for Justice in Palestine-Chicago led most of the rally’s chants.

After the Zionist event dispersed, the youthful protesters took off on a march across the Loop to the Chicago Tribune building. They held a die-in there to dramatize that Palestinians in Gaza are still dying under the guns, bombs and missiles of the Israeli attack.

For the Palestinian community in Chicago and the solidarity movement, Chicago won’t be quiet until the U.S.-backed siege of Gaza is over.

#ChicagoIL #AntiwarMovement #PalestineSolidarity #Zionism #HatemAbudayyeh #attacksOnGaza #USImperialism #IsraeliOccupation #MiddleEast

Detroit, MI – Contrary to erroneous press reports, Rasmea Odeh is not pleading guilty. Today in the U.S. District Court here she requested a change of counsel and reported to Judge Paul Borman that she is going to trial.

Hatem Abudayyeh of her defense committee said, “She has committed no crime and the government has no case. She has been in this country for 20 years, a citizen for 10 of them, and an upstanding one at that. Rasmea supports the empowerment of immigrant women through leadership development programming she leads in Chicago. She works closely with Black, Latino, Asian, white and other communities in Chicago, to promote multiculturalism, racial and social justice. She is supported so broadly by colleagues in Chicago that she was awarded an Outstanding Community Leader award by the Chicago Cultural Alliance in 2013.”

Abudayyeh added, “The charge brought against her is just a pretext for the continuation of federal law enforcement repression against Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims in this country. This policy attempts to scapegoat and intimidate our community into staying silent and not raising its voice against injustice.”

Mick Kelly, of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, states, “Hundreds of people are being mobilized right now to travel to Detroit to fill the courtroom during Rasmea’s trial and provide support. We will be here every day, showing the world that she will not be alone.”

Kelly added, “There has already been a massive outpouring of love and support for Rasmea across the U.S. and the world, because people see this prosecution for what it is – a political attack on a 66-year-old Palestinian woman who has dedicated her life to progress and social justice for her people and all people. We will stand with her to fight these charges.”

#DetroitMI #PalestineSolidarity #PoliticalPrisoners #politicalRepression #InjusticeSystem #RasmeaOdeh

Milwaukee, WI – Dozens of Palestine solidarity activists gathered on the lakefront here, May 15, during rush hour to commemorate Nakba Day.

Al-Nakba or “The Catastrophe” refers to May 15, 1948, the day after Israeli “Independence Day.” In 1948, 700,000 Palestinians were expelled by Zionist troops under the pretext of establishing a Jewish state of Israel on Palestinian land. 400 Palestinian villages were depopulated and taken over or destroyed by the Israelis, laying the foundation for the continuing occupation of Palestine.

In response to continuing occupation and oppression of Palestinian people by the U.S. and Israel, activists held signs demanding “End U.S. aid to Israel,” and “Drop the charges against Rasmea Odeh!”

Members of the Milwaukee Palestine Solidarity Coalition responded to the national call to action to support Rasmea Odeh, a veteran Palestinian activist. Odeh is a 66-year-old community organizer who has dedicated her life to the empowerment of Palestinians, especially Palestinian women. She is the victim of a U.S. government attack which is intended to jail or deport her for allegedly lying on a 20-year old immigration form. Her trial is set to begin on June 10 in Detroit.

As the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel grows more successful by the day, activists are facing repression from the U.S. government. Activists in Milwaukee say they will continue to win victories for the BDS movement while defending Palestinian community leaders like Rasmea Odeh from political attacks.

#MilwaukeeWI #PalestineSolidarity #alNakba #IsraeliOccupation #BDS #RasmeaOdeh #MilwaukeePalestineSolidarityCoalition

Salt Lake City, Utah – Students and international solidarity activists held a protest, May 15, to mark the 66th anniversary of Al Nakba. The students called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel and demanded justice for Palestinian American activist Rasmea Odeh. Protesters stood on the corner of the William Bennett Federal Building during rush hour waving signs and holding Palestinian flags. The protest featured speeches by local anti-war, Palestine solidarity and Palestinian activists. The rally, organized by the Utah Valley University Revolutionary Student Union, united groups that want to cut U.S. taxpayer money that goes to war and occupation.

May 1948 marks the Zionist establishment of Israel. For Israelis, it's a time of celebration. For Palestinians and Arabs it commemorates a time they call Al Nakba – Arabic for “the Catastrophe.” During the 1948 war, at least 750,000 Palestinian men, women and children were ruthlessly attacked, massacred and driven from their homes into refugee camps by Zionist terror groups. In a gross violation of international law, Palestinians continue to be denied the right to return to their own land. At the same time, the establishment of Israeli settlements steals more Palestinian land every day. The U.S. government does nothing to stop it.

Bill VanWagenen, representing The Mormon Worker explains, “Though the Israeli government constantly demands that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, we must of course wonder when Israel will recognize the crimes which allowed the Jewish state to come into existence. Also the crimes Israel has committed since that time to keep the Jewish state in existence that allows it to continue to confiscate and colonize more and more Palestinian land each year.”

After outlining possible ‘solutions’ to the conflict, Utahns for a Just Peace in the Holy Land member Mahan Khalsa said, “Israel will be an apartheid state until 100% of the people have access to 100% of the land. Apartheid is a legal crime against humanity.”

Protesters also demanded justice for Rasmea Odeh, a leader of Chicago’s Arab community who faces serious charges in a case that is part of a long-standing campaign of repression against Palestinians and those who work in solidarity with them. Her case is tied to the FBI and grand jury investigation of the Antiwar 23 and others. Rasmea Odeh’s case is set to come to trial in Detroit on June 10.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization member Chris Manor said, “It’s outrageous that the U.S. government arrested and is prosecuting Rasmea Odeh for refusing to recognize the military occupation of her country. It’s important that people understand what she’s facing. We need to stand in solidarity with Rasmea Odeh as she goes to trial. We need to stop U.S. taxpayer funding of Israeli apartheid.”

#SaltLakeCityUT #PalestineSolidarity #alNakba #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #Apartheid #RevolutionaryStudentUnion #IsraeliOccupation #RasmeaOdeh