Denver, CO – On Saturday June 1, several hundred people turned out to City Park in Denver, Colorado in the summer heat on a clear day. A week earlier Israeli airstrikes on United Nations refugee camps in Rafah martyred 50 people who had been displaced into these “safe-zones.” People were stirred to action again by the images coming out of Rafah of martyred children among the dead.

Los Angeles CA – On Tuesday, May 28, hundreds of workers and students at the University of California Los Angeles walked off the job in response to the university’s brutal crackdown on pro-Palestine encampments earlier this month.

The striking workers are graduate students and academic researchers represented by the United Auto Workers union local 4811 (UAW) which represents 50,000 workers across the UC school system. The UAW declared the university’s response to the protest an unfair labor practice and will be on strike until at least June 30 or later if the strike is extended.

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.

Chicago, IL – Preparations for the March on the DNC are well underway, with tens of thousands of people slated to march within sight and sound of the United Center on August 19 to demand that the Democratic Party helmed by Joe Biden end the genocide on Gaza and end U.S. aid to Israel.

Recently, the Democratic Party announced, to comply with shifting Ohio laws, that it will virtually nominate Biden before the convention, meaning that some business of the convention might be resolved before the August in-person convention.

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.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from representatives of New Orleans Healthcare Workers for Palestine. The letter was delivered to Tulane University President Michael Fitts and Medical School Dean Lee Hamm. Healthcare Workers for Palestine is a network of healthcare workers and professionals standing against the U.S.-funded and enabled genocide of the Palestinian people.

Appleton, WI – After a massive rally and march throughout downtown Appleton on May 15 in commemoration of Nakba Day, the very next day, the student movement at Lawrence University took an action unseen on campus in decades.

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.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine.

The Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, representing 64 member organizations, stands by the agreement negotiated by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee administration with the students represented in the UWM Popular University for Palestine on May 14, 2024. We castigate the harsh critiques levied by UW system President Jay Rothman and the joint statement released by Milwaukee Hillel, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and, notably, the powerful Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Both of these statements emerge from false narratives of the encampment as well as the nature of the university.