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.
Los Angeles, CA – On March 9, over 50 people gathered at Salazar Park in East Los Angeles to participate in Centro CSO's 7th annual International Women's Day. The event was rally-style and free to the public.
Chants included, “Hey, hey, ho ho! Patriarchy has got to go!” and “¡Porque vivas nos queremos, tú machismo venceremos!” and the event featured music, poetry, food and a healing table.
Santa Ana, CA – “Capitalism has no interest in ending women’s oppression because it benefits from it! We must eradicate gender-based oppression at its source,” declared Rain Mendoza to over 30 attendees at Community Service Organization Orange County’s (CSO OC) first International Women’s Day on Saturday, March 9.
Orlando, FL – On Saturday, March 9, the Orlando district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) held a panel commemorating International Women’s Day, with the central theme of standing with the women of Palestine. Around 20 community members and activists attended the event.
Saint Paul, MN – On March 14, operating on short notice, organizers with the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC), workers from the reproductive justice movement and their supporters held an emergency protest outside a private event where Vice President Kamala Harris was set to speak on reproductive freedom.
Protesters gathered outside the venue with banners and signs, chanting to passersby in an effort to call attention to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, its particular impact on Palestinian women and girls, and Vice President Harris’s role in funding Israel’s military operations.
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.
New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, March 9, over a 100 people rallied in front of the gates of Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans to mark International Women’s Day. Over eight organizations united to demand that people everywhere stand with the women of Palestine as they witness genocide and struggle against Zionist occupation.
Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, March 8, over 100 people gathered for a panel on International Women’s Day discussing the fight against gender oppression and practicing international solidarity in local movements, specifically solidarity with the women of Palestine. The event was hosted by the Twin Cities District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
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.
Denver, CO – On the evening of March 9, the Colorado Palestine Coalition (CPC) kicked off an event focused on highlighting Palestinian women for International Women’s Day. The action drew over 250 attendees who gathered to listen to a powerful lineup comprised entirely of Palestinian speakers. After an hour and a half, the event concluded with an emotional speech from longtime Palestinian organizer Reema Wahdan, who brought every Palestinian woman in the audience on stage.
Tallahassee, FL – On March 8, at 6 p.m., the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, along with the Tallahassee Dissenters, Students for a Democratic Society, Food Not Bombs, and the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, rallied at the Florida Historic Capitol building for a protest recognizing International Women’s Day and the ongoing struggle for Palestinian liberation.
St. Paul, MN – On March 9, the Minnesota's Free Palestine Coalition organized a march to celebrate and stand in solidarity with Palestinian women on the day after International Women’s Day. The speakers and chanters were primarily Palestinian women, all of whom made connections between women’s liberation and an end to the Israeli genocide, occupation and apartheid.
4000 people attended the march, which took the streets and disrupted business as usual in Saint Paul’s Midway neighborhood. Demonstrators stopped to chant in front of a police precinct and marched past a highway exit, blocking traffic.
New York, NY – On Sunday, March 10 a group of New Yorkers gathered in Project Reach in Chinatown to celebrate International Women’s Day. The event was called by the NYC district of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
The event was a presentation and talk that would cover the history of the revolutionary holiday discussing Palestine organizing nationally and in the South.
Chicago, IL – On Friday morning, March 8, House of Blues Chicago announced that the concert of Zionist musician Matisyahu, scheduled for that night, was canceled. The last minute cancellation came after weeks of pressure from the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), the Anti War Committee – Chicago, Students for a Democratic Society, and members of the Chicago Black and brown coalition for Palestine.
Milwaukee, WI – To end the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine’s (WCJP) Day of Action with an exclamation point, the Milwaukee International Women’s Day Coalition convened hundreds for the celebration of this important working-class holiday.
St. Paul, MN – The Saint Paul city council unanimously passed a ceasefire resolution at their meeting on March 6. Councilmember Cheniqua Johnson introduced the ceasefire resolution in front of a packed chamber. The resolution calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, an end to unconditional U.S. aid to Israel, the release of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners, and facilitation of the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
