Chicago, IL – Activists gathered at events around the country to hear Rasmea Odeh and defense attorney Michael Deutsch speak by videoconference, June 11. Deutsch explained the legal basis for Rasmea Odeh’s appeal, explaining that the trial and sentencing were both unfair. He also said while Rasmea Odeh is free now, that may come to a quick end in Cincinnati if the appeal is lost.

Chicago, IL -This June 13, UN-sponsored Yemeni peace talks are set to take place in Geneva, Switzerland. On the one side will be the exiled former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. On the other side, the Ansurallah movement, which led a popular uprising against Hadi’s government.

Chicago, IL – Lead defense attorney Michael Deutsch filed a brief, June 9, with the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, to appeal the conviction and sentencing of Palestinian community leader Rasmea Odeh.

Chicago, IL – 5000 teachers and their supporters marched in the Chicago Teachers Union first major contract mobilization, June 9. Their slogan was “A Fair Contract and A Just Chicago,” continuing their tradition of fighting for the needs of the working class as well as their members.

Chicago, IL – 15 activists gathered outside the Boeing annual shareholders meeting here, April 27, to protest Boeing’s weapons sales to Israel, particularly the $83 million contract with the Israel Air Force to provide 3000 Joint Direct Attack Munitions. Boeing secured this contract in November, just months after Israel’s Operation Protective Edge led to the deaths of thousands of Palestinians, including over 500 children. These war crimes led to protests across the globe and made Boeing a target of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Chicago, IL – 40 people gathered in Millennium Park here, April 25, to protest the U.S./Saudi bombing of Yemen.

Chicago, IL – Joe Iosbaker, a prominent anti-war organizer, is denouncing the latest escalation of the U.S./Saudi-led war on Yemen.

Chicago, IL – Joe Iosbaker, a prominent Chicago-based anti-war leader, is urging opposition to the rapidly escalating U.S./Saudi war on the people of Yemen. “Anti-war forces must condemn military aggression by the Saudi king against the people of Yemen. U.S. imperialism is fully behind this, of course. The U.S. wanted to continue to target Yemen for their drone warfare operations in that country, as well as in the Horn of Africa, to attack Somalia and elsewhere.”

Chicago, IL – Last week, President Barack Obama issued a new Executive Order declaring a national emergency in response to the “extraordinary threat to the national security” posed to the U.S. by Venezuela. What did Venezuela do? They stopped a U.S.-backed plot to overthrow their government.

Chicago, IL – Rank and file union leaders at the University of Illinois at Chicago, members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73, are supporting a call for an elected, Civilian Police Accountability Council in Chicago.

Chicago, IL – In response to new U.S. government moves against Venezuela, anti-war activists are speaking out against Washington’s actions and threats.

Chicago, IL – Rasmea Odeh celebrated International Women’s Day with over 125 supporters in Chicago, March 8. She appeared in strong spirits, as she prepares for her sentencing hearing in Detroit in just four days.

Fight Back News is circulating Rasmea Odeh's March 8 speech at the Chicago International Women’s Day event.

Chicago, IL – In Chicago, people had good reason to celebrate on Feb. 24. Rahm Emanuel was denied reelection in the mayoral primary. He needed 50% plus one vote, but he received less than 46%. His main opponent, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, received 34%, and will face Emanuel on April 7 in a runoff. In addition, 19 city council seats will have runoff elections, an all-time high.

Chicago, IL – Defense attorneys for Rasmea Odeh, Chicago’s 68-year-old Palestinian community leader, filed a ‘sentencing memorandum’ in a Detroit federal court, Feb. 25, arguing that Odeh “should not be sentenced to further imprisonment” following her conviction in November 2014 on a single charge of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization.

Ex-Chicago police officer was shot 28 times by white cops and imprisoned

Chicago, Il – A Valentine’s Day event was held at the Church of the Living God on Chicago’s South Side to welcome home Howard Morgan. Presided over by his wife, Rosalind and the Howard Morgan Defense Committee, there were over 100 people in attendance. 20 organizations sent messages of solidarity, including the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Chicago Torture Justice Memorials, the group fighting for reparations for the torture victims of Chicago police officer, Jon Burge.

Chicago, IL – Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Chicago Network is hosting a fundraiser Feb. 3 to celebrate the resilience of Rasmea Odeh. The event, at 8:00 p.m. at DePaul University, will include dinner, a comedy performance from Amer Zahr, spoken word and dance performances and a speech from a representative of the Rasmea Defense Committee. All proceeds from the fundraiser will go to Odeh’s legal defense fund.

Chicago, IL – Organizers of the nationwide effort to get justice for longtime Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh are urging an all-out mobilization for Odeh’s sentencing in Detroit Federal Court on the morning of March 12. Odeh is facing deportation and up to ten years in jail on a trumped-up immigration charge.

Chicago, IL – The movie Selma is a dramatic portrayal of how history was made by African American men, women and children and their white allies in Alabama, the cradle of the confederacy. It’s about people who decided to take a stand and make the ultimate sacrifice. The opening scene is in Birmingham where the KKK blew up more Black churches than anywhere in the U.S. Thus right away we are thrust into the thick of things, the real dirt and blood of battle of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1960s with all the emotional and physical pain one can bear. Through the eye of the camera we are immediately swept into the graphically violent acts of KKK terror.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Antiwar Committee – Chicago.