The following speech was delivered by Mick Kelly, Political Secretary, Freedom Road Socialist Organization on September 29, at the New York City event marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Comrades and friends,
We are gathered here for an event of genuine importance, and I would like to extend our gratitude to the Friends of Socialist China and the Workers World Party for taking the lead in making this happen.
For the past 75 years the People’s Republic of China, under the able leadership of the Communist Party, has accomplished so much for so many. From Chairman Mao Zedong’s 1949 proclamation, “The Chinese people have stood up,” right up until the present moment, China has set an example for the world. From carrying out a serious effort to eliminate poverty to being a leader in the application of green technology, socialist China has been showing the way.
New Orleans, LA- On the evening of Wednesday, September 25, close to 100 New Orleanians gathered in front of the Federal Building to protest Israel’s increased offensive in Lebanon and the U.S. government’s continued facilitation of Israel’s atrocities.
The rally began by paying tribute to Khalifa Ibn Rayford Daniel, who was mercilessly executed by the State of Missouri the day before. Despite the prosecution’s serious doubts regarding the integrity of his conviction and pleas from his family, the State refused to grant Daniel clemency.
Milwaukee, WI – On September 25, roughly 100 people gathered to demand an end to the U.S.-funded attacks on Lebanon and Palestine and an arms embargo on Israel. Protesters gathered at City Hall Square as a rally began at around 5 p.m. The rally, led by the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee and cosponsored by ten other local, national, and international organizations, had ten speakers, who connected the resistance in the Middle East to U.S. imperialism and the way it impacts us all.
After the initial gathering and speeches, the group marched and chanted down Kilbourne Avenue to Juneau Park. The target of the protest was the Raytheon board member George Oliver, who lives in a condominium tower across from the park. The march was met with enthusiasm, honks and shouts of “Free Palestine!” by onlookers. The entire event was recorded by WISN 12 News and followed by reporter Erika Finke.
Minneapolis, MN – On September 26, 200 protesters demonstrated to demand an end to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. The protest started with a lot of energy as Students for Justice in Palestine marched from the University Minnesota Student Union and across the Mississippi River to the West Bank campus to join the community solidarity action. Protesters filled the plaza in front of Mayday Books to chant and wave Palestinian and Lebanese flags. The emergency action was organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee as a part of a wave of protests nationally in solidarity with Lebanon.
The Freedom Road Socialist Organization of Orlando stands in solidarity with the eight pro-Palestine solidarity activists who were brutalized, assaulted and arrested by the Orlando Police Department [OPD] on September 21.
The protesters were all members of Central Florida Queers for Palestine and Orlando for Peace, two local grassroots organizations dedicated to justice in Palestine. Around 20 activists had gathered at Lake Eola Park as part of an emergency action denouncing Israel’s illegal and immoral bombing campaigns against Lebanon and demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Atlanta, GA – About 100 community members gathered outside the Israeli consulate Tuesday evening, September 24, to protest the U.S.-backed Israeli aggression on Lebanon. The Israeli airstrikes on civilian homes and institutions signify a major escalation and are a futile attempt to quell the militant solidarity between Lebanese and Palestinian resistance groups.
Israel está perpetrando una guerra criminal contra el Líbano. Ciegan, mutilan y matan al azar con dispositivos de comunicación explosivos. Bombas suministradas por los Estados Unidos están cayendo sobre apartamentos en Beirut y casas en todo el sur del Líbano, y sobre carreteras llenas de refugiados. Estas bombas están siendo lanzadas desde aviones que Israel recibió de los Estados Unidos. Por temor a que Israel se encuentre en problemas, la administración de Biden/Harris está enviando más material bélico y tropas a la región. Y el genocidio israelí en Palestina continúa.
Israel is waging a criminal war on Lebanon. They blind, maim and kill at random with exploding communications devices. U.S.-supplied bombs are falling on Beirut apartment buildings and homes across south Lebanon, and roads crowded with refugees. The bombs are being dropped from planes that Israel got from the U.S. Fearing that Israel will find itself in deep water, the Biden/Harris administration is dispatching more war materials and troops to the region. And the Israeli genocide in Palestine continues.
Salt Lake City, UT – Nearly a dozen student activists gathered outside the University of Utah’s career fair on September 24 to protest military recruiters present on campus.
They carried signs reading “U.S. military off campus!” and “U.S. military backs genocide, students stand with Palestine!” The action was part of Utah SDS’s campaign for divestment from Israel and war profiteers.
Portland, OR – On September 21, the Anti-War Action Network presented a webinar on divestment campaigns for Palestine and the anti-war movement. The event featured speakers from New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports, Minneapolis Anti-War Committee, San Jose Against War, and UW Milwaukee SDS.
New Orleans, LA – On Friday, September 20, Tulane University encampment arrestees held a rally at 8 a.m., outside of the Orleans Criminal District Court, just before a monumental win for the city’s movement. There were over 40 people in attendance for both the rally and their full-day trial. They packed the courts in support of the arrestees for the Popular University for Gaza encampment that took place on Tulane’s front lawn from April 29 to May 1.
New Orleans, LA – On September 18, students from the Loyola Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organized a rally to demand that Loyola University of New Orleans divest from Israel. Despite escalating calls from the student body in the past months, the administration has only responded with force.
Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday, September 18, over 700 protesters rallied outside Northrop Auditorium as the new University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham was inaugurated inside. As university workers prepped the Northrop Mall for the massive celebration set to begin in just two hours, students walked out of class, joining the rally to demand that the University of Minnesota divest from Israel.
As the crowd chanted, “Neutrality is a lie! You’re supporting genocide!” nervous low-level administrators fidgeted with their clipboards and took photos of the protest. The rally was a campus-wide effort, called for by the UMN Divest Coalition, AFSCME 3800, and Educators for Justice in Palestine.
Chicago, IL – On Thursday, September 12, New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UIC and a host of other student and progressive organizations participated in a National Day of Action called for by National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
The Progressive Student Coalition at UIC had coalition members speak for their respective organizations at the protest including Students for a Revolutionary Union (SRU), SJP, Anakbayan, and SDS.
The group of about 50 students demanded Israel withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza and that the U.S. government stop funding the genocidal apartheid state of Israel. They also supported the demands of SJP at UIC to get the university to divest from Israel and cut ties with Israeli institutions.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following September 21 statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and all revolutionary forces condemn the U.S. government and military for reneging on its earlier declaration to withdraw its Typhon missile system from the Philippines by September. The CPP also condemns Marcos and his defense officials for making excuses for the U.S.’ failure to keep its promise.
Thousands of small, seemingly innocuous devices, exploding in the hands and pockets of Israel’s enemies. Tuesday and Wednesday’s bombing attacks across Lebanon have been hailed by Zionists as a crushing blow to Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah, an intelligence coup that one viral tweet called “biblical” in scale and sophistication.
But while the attacks certainly showed cunning, an analysis of their targets, objectives and likely effects reveals not sophistication but a crude logic of collective punishment, common to flailing colonial regimes.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The English translation appeared on the Resistance News Network on Telegram.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) affirmed that the arrest of national activist comrade Abla Sa’adat, wife of the imprisoned Secretary-General and leader comrade Ahmad Sa’adat, constitutes a new zionist crime added to the long list of crimes committed by the occupation against our people.
Brooklyn, NY – When the New York University Students for a Democratic Society (NYU SDS) held their first meeting of the semester on September 6, an NYPD officer with several others from the counterterrorism unit walked up to members in an attempt to intimidate them.
When members arrived to set up for their meeting, they saw an extensive NYPD and NYU Campus Security presence. When asked by an SDS member if NYU called them to arrive at the scene, the officer claimed they were just there coincidentally. Yet, right after the NYPD walked up to SDS, NYU campus security arrived to also confront SDS.
There’s a new top cop in New York City. On Thursday, September 12, former NYPD captain and current NYC Mayor Eric Adams appointed Thomas Donlon as the new interim head of the NYPD. Donlon is a former FBI agent who specializes in counterintelligence and “counterterrorism.” His appointment signals a worrying turning point in the rising tide of political repression, particularly against activists engaged in the Palestinian liberation movement and in national liberation struggles generally.
Thomas Donlon replaces former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, who resigned earlier the same day on September 12, amidst an ongoing federal investigation into corruption among top NYPD officials.
Minneapolis, MN – On September 16, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee held a rally in remembrance of those killed during the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre. About 100 people rallied to project a message of solidarity with Palestine.
The Sabra and Shatila massacre was one of the most brutal massacres that Israel should be held accountable for. Between 2000-3500 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians were killed in refugee camps outside of Beirut. The massacre occurred between September 16-18, 1982.
