Publicado el 7 de mayo de 2024

Los ocupantes Israelíes de Palestina han intensificado sus ataques contra la ciudad de Rafah en el sur de Gaza durante las últimas 24 horas. Han atacado viviendas y han matado a niños. Los aviones están fabricados en los Estados Unidos. El material de guerra que se utiliza lo suministra la administración Biden. Se está llevando a cabo un genocidio en Palestina y Washington, D.C. lo está facilitando.

Fight Back! recently interviewed Fern McBride and Rick Toledo. Both are pro-Palestine activists and SDS members that played important roles in supporting the occupation and the historic resistance at Cal Poly Humboldt, in Arcata, California. What started as sit-on on April 22 escalated into outrageous repression that was, however, met with determined resistance. On May 28, some of the activists had their first court appearance.

Fight Back!: Could you say a few words about how the occupation at Cal Poly Humboldt came about?

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.

Milwaukee, WI – On June 6, the student movement steadfastly continued their efforts to get the University of Wisconsin System to disclose its funds and to divest from the apartheid regime of Israel.

At the June UW System board of regents meeting, approximately 15 students and community members entered the open-session financial meeting to disrupt the scheduled programming.

Los Angeles, CA – The historic June 2 elections in Mexico resulted in a win for Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo of the MORENA party as the country’s first female president. Dr. Sheinbaum Pardo studied engineering and environmental science and was previously mayor of Mexico City. Her parents were activists in the 1960s student movement. She vows to continue the MORENA political program.

St. Paul, MN – On Saturday, June 1, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) members had their 17th annual Walk Against Weapons of War. The day was sunny as 125 WAMM members and supporters rallied at Langford Park within a residential community. They then continued with a march to Forward Edge ASIC, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin.

Dallas, TX – On Tuesday, May 28 hundreds of community members marched in downtown Dallas, mere hours after the metroplex had faced floods, hail and multiple tornadoes that caused widespread power outages. Despite these obstacles, the people of Dallas-Fort Worth came out to demand the U.S.-backed Israeli regime leave Rafah and the rest of Gaza.

Chicago, IL – Hundreds of students and faculty at the University of Chicago walked out of graduation ceremonies on Saturday, June 1. They were demanding that the university disclose its investments, divest from arms manufacturers and Israeli companies, and stop withholding the degrees of student pro-Palestine protesters.

Duluth, MN – On June 1, between 300 and 400 people from across the state protested the Minnesota DFL State Convention at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (the DECC).

It was a show of broad geographic support for ending the U.S. support for Israel’s genocidal military campaign in Gaza, and against the stances of DFL (the name of the Democratic Party in Minnesota) politicians like U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and Governor Tim Walz, who have shown strong support for Israel.

Detroit, Michigan – The encampment at Wayne State University, known as the Popular University for Gaza, Detroit campus, was raided by police in riot gear in the early hours of Thursday morning, May 30.

Around 5:30 in the morning, those staying overnight at the Popular University were woken by the Wayne State Police Department issuing a dispersal order through a megaphone. With only minutes left before the cops broke in, the students organized to decide how they would respond.

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’s Telegram channel.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine confirmed that our people, with all their forces and components, are united in demanding the cessation of aggression and that no deal or proposal has any value if it assumes the continuation of the genocide war or maneuvers to allow the occupation to continue its crimes. The resistance forces are entrusted with the demands of our people.

Columbia Heights, MN – On May 21, over 100 members of the Palestinian community and supporters held a spirited bannering and rally to draw attention to the dire situation in Gaza. The action was organized by the Free Palestine Coalition in response to the ongoing bombing of Rafah and slaughter of over 100 people in Gaza in their tents in a supposed “safe zone.” The event took place at a busy commercial intersection during rush hour.

Minneapolis, MN – An estimated 300 Twin Cities residents came out in a downpour of rain to participate in the Free Palestine Coalition’s emergency rally to show solidarity with Rafah, May 27. The protest took place outside of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office near downtown Minneapolis.

Protesters wore keffiyehs and pro-Palestine apparel, held signs favorable to Palestinian liberation, and bellowed chants like “From the olive to the sand, Palestine is our demand,” demonstrating their commitment and continued support of Palestinian liberation.

Fight Back! is circulating this alert from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression. We urge all our readers to call the Humboldt County district attorney when the office opens on Tuesday, May 28.

Call the prosecutors May 28

On May 28, the Cal Poly Humboldt pro-Palestine protesters – who are students, faculty and community members – have their first arraignment court appearance in Eureka, CA. Each of the 30 protesters is being charged with 4 misdemeanors and thus are each facing up to 4 years in prison just for standing with Palestine and saying no to genocide. It was the police and the university who were the aggressors that day. We have a First Amendment right to free speech and protest that must be protected.

Seattle, WA – On May 20, students at the University of Washington in Seattle ended their Palestine solidarity encampment following a protracted struggle that led to an agreement with the university administration. While not a complete win, the agreement marked a real step forward.

On Monday, April 29, students started an encampment. Begun by the Progressive Student Union, a chapter of New Students for a Democratic Society, the encampment had three demands: material and academic divestment from Israel, the cutting of ties with Boeing, and an end to the repression of pro-Palestinian staff, students and faculty.

St. Paul, MN – On May 23, members of the Hamline University Students for Justice (HUSJ) held a gathering at West Hall after their pre-hearing meeting with the Dean of Students, Patti Kersten. The meeting was about the students’ code of conduct violations, charged against them about two weeks after their building occupation and Palestine encampment, even though the university granted them amnesty for the occupation.

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.

Since October 7, 2023, the dedicated people of the Fox Valley region of Wisconsin have been organizing and mobilizing for Palestine nearly non-stop. Whether it be a banner drop, a march or rally, disrupting political fundraisers, or divestment campaigns at several local universities, the people of northeastern Wisconsin have shown time and time again that they will not rest until the U.S. ends aid to Israel and stops being an active participant in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians. The Wisconsin District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization has been one of the main forces behind these actions, uniting with student and community activists alike to struggle for change.