New Orleans – On March 16, 13 courageous members of Tulane Students for a Democratic Society carried out a die-in on campus to protest the school’s partnership with Israel. The demonstrators occupied the school’s central building during the nationally attended and Tulane-hosted New Orleans Bookfest. The festival is hosted by the university once a year and brings in thousands of attendees to watch panels and talks by well-known authors and public figures.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police, Freedom Road Socialist Organization-New Orleans, Tulane & Loyola Students for a Democratic Society, and New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports.
New Orleans, LA – March 16, around 12:30 p.m., at a protest against Tulane’s aid to Israel, local activist Toni Jones was arrested for standing in solidarity with Palestine.
Milwaukee, WI – Another visit to Milwaukee by President Biden resulted in a protest by the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine (WCJP) to denounce him. On Wednesday, March 13, Biden made multiple stops across Milwaukee, issuing promises to improve the living conditions for Black residents and visit the new Democratic Party headquarters.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following March 14 statement from Tulane Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
Official Statement on Battery of Tulane Student by Professor Walter Isaacson
On March 13th, a Tulane student and member of Students for a Democratic Society, Rory Macdonald, was assaulted by Walter Isaacson, a Tulane professor and board member. Macdonald was protesting a Tulane-sponsored New Orleans Entrepreneurship Week panel titled “Energy Innovation at Scale” featuring Louisiana State University, ExxonMobil, and Halliburton. Isaacson, an audience member, grabbed Rory and cursed at them, battering them and leaving them with bruises on their arm and scratches on their back. The encounter was captured in multiple videos. Tulane has done nothing to protect Arab students and members of SDS from repeated harassment and threats from Zionist students, and now one of our members has been assaulted by a member of the faculty.
Jacksonville, FL – On March 9, Jacksonville community members gathered to celebrate International Women’s Day and demanded freedom for Palestine. The Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, UNF SDS held the event.
Minneapolis – On March 12, just 16 hours after being notified that the Consul General of Israel Yinam Cohen was meeting with University of Minnesota Vice President Croson, along with a group of Zionist community leaders, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) pulled together an emergency protest and march starting outside of the Coffman Student Union. Protesters demanded an end to the ties between the university and the state of Israel.
Chicago, IL – 500 people marched through downtown Chicago on March 10 behind banners that read “Stand with the women of Palestine” and “End genocide! Free Palestine from the river to the sea.” The event was organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) together with the Coalition to March on the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and 14 other organizations in observance of International Women's Day two days before.
Green Bay, WI- On March 7, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) met with Chancellor Michael Alexander to discuss the university’s position on the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
SDS and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) have just been made aware that the Consul General of Israel Yinam Cohen will reportedly be meeting with University of Minnesota Vice President Croson along with a group of Zionist community leaders. Given various factors: the climate of repression of Pro-Palestine activism on campus, the genocide being carried out by the illegal Israeli occupation, and an ongoing Department of Education investigation into false claims of anti-semitism, this meeting is shameful complicity in Israel’s crimes.
Grand Rapids, MI – A International Women’s Day rally and march to celebrate the resistance of Palestinian women was held this past Sunday, March 10, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event began at Rosa Parks Circle and finished with a 40-minute march through the entire downtown area.
