Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

Palestine

By Alex Carson

Atlanta, Georgia rally in solidarity with Lebanon.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

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.

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By Organización Socialista del Camino a la Libertad

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.

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

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.

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By staff

Salt Lake City protest against military recruitment on campus.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

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.

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By Holly Brown

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.

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By Anthony Franklin

Rory Macdonald. | Zach Kemp/Fight Back! News

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.

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By Jack Saucier

New Orleans students march in solidarity with Palestine.  | Fight Back! News/staff

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.

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By Annie Russell-Pribnow

Minneapolis students protest at the inauguration of new University of Minnesota president demanding divestment from apartheid Israel.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

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.

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By staff

Chicago students march in solidarity with Palestine.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

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.

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By Wyatt Miller

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.

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By staff

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.

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By staff

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.

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization - New York City District

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.

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By Omari Hoover

Twin Cities protest marks the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre.  | Ashley Taylor-Gouge/Watch Me Rise MPLS

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.

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns the Israeli occupation for the abduction of Abla Sa’adat from her home in the West Bank. Abla Sa’adat is a steadfast opponent of apartheid Israel and the wife of Ahmad Sa’adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

As resistance has intensified, so has repression. Israel currently holds about 10,000 Palestinians in prison, many without charges or anything resembling due process. Israeli prisons are hellscapes where torture is routine and the murder of prisoners by their jailers is commonplace. Zionist newspapers quote Israeli politicians calling for mass executions of those being held, and yet have the nerve to boast of their “values and morality.”

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Utah Students for a Democratic Society.

On Wednesday, September 11, 2024, the University of Utah called the police to stop and detain several queer students who were drawing with washable sidewalk chalk on the concrete walkway by Gardner Commons to promote an approved queer pool party taking place at the Student Life Center the upcoming Saturday. These students were not properly informed that over the summer, the University of Utah changed its policy on “Signs, Literature, and Structures‌” to say that: “Messages or slogans of any kind shall not be painted or otherwise written on trees, buildings, sidewalks, grounds fountains, walls or other University structures or surfaces, or on the personal property of others”. Prior to this semester, chalking’s were a familiar phenomenon on campus. Why has this policy changed to further repress LGBTQ+ student speech?

Additionally, Utah SDS received an email threatening our club for posting flyers on campus outside of “approved posting areas,” despite the fact that other stickers and signage remain posted in the same places. On the other hand, our flyers calling students to exercise their democratic rights to protest, meet, and organize for Palestine, were torn down. This selective enforcement of rules is designed to intimidate the student and Palestinian movement, and Utah SDS condemns these antidemocratic attacks on our right to organize. We will not be told how we will meet, organize, and educate our fellow students on the grounds of our own campus, especially when it comes to a genocide. We call on the students and youth of Utah to defy this repression, join SDS and stand up for their right to speak and organize on their campus.

The exciting, dynamic upsurge in the student movement has been met with vicious political repression in Utah and across the country. Last spring, students encamped on the lawns of their campuses demanding an end to military profiteering and investment in Israel’s genocide were met with arrests and tear gas. From coast to coast, university administrators refuse to hear the demands of students, youth, and campus workers for divestment, diversity in education, and funding for student needs. Repression is a sign that the movement is growing and winning, and calls for more student organizing, not less. Students and youth of Utah, stand strong! We must stand together for our right to speak and protest!

Hands off the student movement!

Cops out of our protests!

President Randall, respect our right to organize!

#UT #StudentMovement #SDS #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #FreeSpeech #PoliticalRepression #Statement

By Elizabeth McLister

March in Bloomington, MN against General Dynamics assisting genocide in Palestine.  | Kim DeFranco/Fight Back! News

Bloomington, MN – On September 14, 80 activists marched on the Bloomington General Dynamics facility to highlight the company's role in facilitating Israel's relentless attacks against occupied Palestine.

This event, organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, began with a rally at the intersection of Penn Avenue and 88th Street at the corner of the Penn Lake Library. Following 45 minutes of lively speeches and chants, demonstrators marched to the front of General Dynamics’ “Mission Systems” facility.

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By staff

Josh Teitelbaum, of Jewish Voices for Peace demands charges be dropped against pro Palestine protesters at courthouse rally.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following resolution in solidarity with New Orleans’ pro-Palestine protesters.

WHEREAS, the undersigned organizations stand in complete solidarity with New Orleans’ pro-Palestine protesters, and denounce Tulane University for pursuing unjust charges and tacitly endorsing police brutality against these activists, simply because they protested this institution’s ties with Israel;

WHEREAS, Tulane emeritus board member Walter Isaacson grabbed and shoved Tulane student Rory MacDonald on video at a protest on March 13, without facing repercussions;

WHEREAS, Toni Jones, organizer with New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police (NOCOP), was arrested by TUPD on March 16 at a protest for MacDonald’s and other students’ rights to free speech;

WHEREAS, Brenna Byrne, Sruly Heller, Quest Riggs, Serena Sojic-Borne, and three other protesters, were arrested by TUPD on April 29 on the first day of Students for a Democratic Society’s (SDS) peaceful encampment for Gaza, several suffering injuries from police horses or officer misconduct;

WHEREAS, Rory MacDonald, Carson Cruse, Juleea Berthelot, Shreyas Vasudevan, Vonne Crandell and nine other protesters were arrested by Louisiana State Police on May 1, the third day of SDS’s peaceful encampment for Gaza, over one hundred state troopers used tear gas, a BearCat armored vehicle, and rifles aimed at students to arrest fourteen people, including one just passing by for a walk that evening; and

WHEREAS the TUPD targeted and arrested a student days after the encampment ended, unjustly charging them with a felony;

BE IT RESOLVED, the undersigned demand that District Attorney Jason Williams and City Attorney Donesia Turner drop the trumped-up charges against these protesters;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the undersigned call upon the administration of Tulane University to end their witch-hunt of these protesters.

In signing this resolution, our organizations commit to doing everything we can to make this gross injustice known, and to organize a powerful solidarity movement to defend these protesters, who courageously stood against aid for Israel’s genocide.

Voice of the Experienced

Masjid Omar

Jewish Voices for Peace – New Orleans

First Grace Community Alliance

Hagar’s House, shelter

Project Ishmael, immigration law

Louisiana InterFaith for Human Rights

Friends of Sabeel – New Orleans

Palestinian Youth Movement New Orleans

William Quigley, Emeritus Professor of Law, Loyola University

American Federation of Musicians – New Orleans

Starbucks Workers United NOLA

Louisiana National Lawyers’ Guild

Queer Trans Community Action Project

New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police

Sunrise Movement NOLA

Reproductive Justice Action Collective

Harvey Mudd College Dissenters

NOLA Healthcare Workers for Palestine

Southern Solidarity

New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports

Muslims for Just Futures – Gulf South

NOLA Musicians for Palestine

Freedom Road Socialist Organization NOLA

Laveau Contraire, drag artist

Students Organizing Against Racism TU

Feminist Alliance of Students at Tulane

Rev. Gregory Manning

Justice and Beyond

Muslim Students Association – Loyola

NOLA Democratic Socialists of America

NOLA Freedom Forum

Miss Anne’s Maypop Herb Shop

LifeCity Impact Management Firm

End Jim Crow Louisiana

SPORTS DRINK

Trans Income Project

Mo Munchies LLC

Fight Covid NOLA

Fred Hampton Free Store

Chicken’s Kitchen

Tulane Students for a Democratic Society

Loyola Students for a Democratic Society

LSU Students for a Democratic Society

#NewOrleansLA #LA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #FreeSpeech #NOCOP

By staff

Utah students demand the university cut ties with apartheid Israel.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Salt Lake City, UT- On September 10, dozens of students gathered at the University of Utah to protest the university’s study abroad program with Israel and demand divestment. Utah Students for a Democratic Society called the demonstration, which took place outside the university’s Fall Learning Abroad Fair. Protesters chanted, held signs and banners, and displayed a Palestinian flag.

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By Kyle Cansler

Hundreds gather at Philadelphia City Hall before marching on the presidential debate.  | Joe Piette/Fight Back! News

Philadelphia, PA – On the evening of September 10, The Philadelphia Palestine Coalition led a march of 750 community members and activists through the streets of Center City to protest at the National Constitution Center, the venue of the first Harris-Trump debate.

United in their anger at the two candidates, protestors marched for over three hours, covering 18 city blocks to make their message clear: when it comes to the genocide in Gaza, both the Democrats and Republicans are united.

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