New Orleans, LA – Palestine solidarity activists are urging national participation in a call-in day for a Palestinian-American boy from New Orleans who is being held in an Israeli jail. Eight Israeli soldiers arrested 14-year-old Mohammed Khalek at gunpoint in occupied Palestine early in the morning on April 5, accusing him of rock throwing. During the arrest his braces were broken by the soldiers; afterwards he was shackled for 12 hours. Human Rights Watch, Addameer and other human rights groups have condemned Israel's treatment of Khalek.
New Orleans, LA – Students and activists at the University of New Orleans (UNO) staged a dramatic action to protest a speaking event featuring Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, Feb. 28. 60 people stood up from the audience toward the beginning of the soldiers’ speech and revealed red shirts they were wearing with signs taped to their chests. Each person wore the name of a different name of a Palestinian child killed by Israel’s soldiers, followed by the word “Silenced.” Wordlessly, the demonstrators walked out en masse as the two soldiers stood before a crowd that had diminished to a dozen people, including activists who remained holding a banner in the front of the room.