We salute the ongoing resistance of our Palestinian people, which has never been crushed or silenced through over 64 years of oppression, apartheid, occupation and dispossession, and in particular the leadership, steadfastness and strength of the nearly 5,000 Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails. Mass imprisonment has been one of the key weapons in the ongoing Nakba. The prisoners’ – over 3000 – engaged in a mass open hunger strike since April 17  for basic rights and dignity, including an end to solitary confinement and family visits for Gaza prisoners, which had been blocked for years. They joined long-term hunger strikers Thaer Halahleh, Bilal Diab, Hassan Safadi, Omar Abu Shalal, Jafar Izzedine, Mahmoud Sarsak, Mohammed Taj and Kifah Hattab demanding an end to administrative detention and their freedom.

While all details of the agreement to end the hunger strike are not yet clear, the prisoners have achieved -on the anniversary of the Nakba – a historic victory in securing their key demands, through unity and steadfastness, and have once more filled the streets of Palestine and the conscience of the world with the call of Palestinian prisoners for justice, freedom, dignity and liberation.

Events are taking place around the country – and the world – in commemoration of the Nakba and saluting the prisoners today. We encourage all to join the following events, organized by USPCN chapters or Palestinian communities in cities across the US and stand on this 64th anniversary of the Nakba for return, liberation and an end to the ongoing Nakba. Please send us your events at uspcn@uspcn.org.

Washington, DC | Chicago | San Francisco | Los Angeles | New York City

Washington, DC

Nakba Remembrance 2012 – Washington, DC
May 15, 2012
6:30pm
In front of the White House, Washington DC
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/217906588324074/

BRING BLACK UMBRELLAS, PLEASE.

To the memory of all who have lost their land, homes, lives during the Nakba and to this day,
May Palestinians around the world never lose hope.

In Their Name…..
We Remember
The NAKBA
Come congregate with us….531 of us (1 for every village lost) for a memorial
In front of the White House on
May 15, 2012
6:30pm-Sunset
We will be joined by local students on a Hunger Strike in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners.
-Reading of Village Names
-Testimonials of Survivors
-Display of Antiquities from the Nakba…..Old Village Key, Diary
-Mobile Art Exhibit – “Faces of Nakba”
Mobile Slide Show of the Nabka – LED truck will circle the White House
And… At Sunset….1 person, 1 candle, 1 village…..531 candles lit in remembrance & hope with a reading of Mahmoud Darwish’s Poem “I Come From There”

Sponsored by Ad Hoc Committee for Nakba2012

Chicago

Nakba: Telling the Story. Palestinians remember, retell, resist
May 15, 2012
6:30 pm
Grace Place
637 S. Dearborn
For updates, join the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/447521655264898/

Join the Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights (CMPR) and several local organizations in commemorating Nakba Day (May 15) with a night of story-telling, art displays, spoken word, music and Palestinian dabkeh. We will remember a pivotal moment in Palestinian history and celebrate Palestinians’ continued resistance to colonialism since 1948. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Confirmed speakers include:

Iymen Chehade, Adjunct Professor of Humanities, History and Social Sciences at Columbia College
Fatima Mahmoud Radwan, survivor of Deir Yassin Massacre during the Nakba
Hasan Kishta, Nakba survivor from Ijlil, near Yafa
Ghada Talhami, D.K. Pearsons Professor of Politics, Emerita, at Lake Forest College
…plus local youth speakers and performers!

Sponsored by: Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights, Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago, US Palestinian Community Network-Chicago, American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace-Chicago, Arab-Jewish Partnership, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network-Chicago, Students for Justice in Palestine-University of Chicago, Students for Justice in Palestine-DePaul University, Students for Justice in Palestine-Columbia College, Students for Justice in Palestine-School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Students for Justice in Palestine-Northwestern University and Students for Justice in Palestine-Loyola University.

For more information, please e-mail chicagompr@gmail.com.

and on May 20 in Chicago…

NATO is meeting in Chicago this month, and the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN, uspcn.org) is calling on all of you to join with thousands on May 20th in Grant Park to stand up to its agenda of unrestricted war and occupation, especially against our people in the Arab and Muslim Worlds.

On Sunday, May 20th, Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, our supporters, and the CANG8 Palestine Solidarity Working Group will join in a contingent with the National Boricua Human Rights Network (NBHRN, boricuahumanrights.org), the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR, stopfbi.net), the Committee Against Political Repression (CAPR), and the Coalition to Protect People’s Rights (CPPR).

As well as protesting NATO, we will be calling for: 1) an end to the investigation of the 23 anti-war and international solidarity organizers and activists who were raided and / or subpoenaed to a federal grand jury at the end of 2010; 2) the dropping of all charges against Carlos Montes (see specific information about his case below); and 3) freedom for Oscar Lopez, Puerto Rican political prisoner (http://boricuahumanrights.org/second-phase-of-oscars-campaign/), who has been in U.S. jails for over 30 years.

On Sunday, May 20, 2012
at 12 Noon

As representatives from Palestinian and Palestine solidarity groups, we will be joining the network of activists, community groups, and allies to protest the role of NATO in maintaining the occupation of Palestine and supporting the apartheid policies of the state of Israel. While Israel ignores international law in its refusal to (1) end the occupation; (2) grant full equality to Palestinian-Arab citizens of Israel; and (3) guarantee the Right of Return, NATO continues to support the Israeli state; actively fund apartheid policies; and engages in joint military exercises and the sharing of intelligence with the state of Israel.

As supporters of the liberation of Palestine, we invite you to join us in our resistance to the Chicago NATO summit.
Occupy the streets, not Palestine!

Meet us at the Northeast corner of Columbus Drive and Jackson Boulevard, directly behind the Petrillo Bandshell in Grant Park (near the Jackson Blvd street curb)–under the banner “OPPOSING WAR IS NOT A CRIME!” and near our massive Palestinian flag. You will also see our big banner both before and during the rally at 12 Noon, so you can find us when it is time to march!

Email cppr@aaan.org to join our contingent, or for more information. Bus and other transportation information will be available soon.

San Francisco

Nakba Commemoration Vigil
Union Square at Powell Street
Tuesday, May 15
7:00pm until 9:00pm
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/208504025933831/

The Palestinian Nakba continues….

Please join us for Silent Vigil to Commemorate the 64th year of the Palestinian Nakba…and the thousands of Palestinian Political prisoners that have been on hunger strike for more than two months!

In 1948, nearly 800,000 Palestinians were uprooted from their lands and dispersed across the world as a result of the Zionist Colonization of Palestine. In the process, 532 villages erased off the face of the map. Today, nearly 70% of Palestinians live in exile from their homeland, prohibited from their return. Hundreds of thousands live in refugee camps in surrounding Arab countries and in occupied Palestine. 5 million Palestinians live under Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and 20% of the Israeli population are Palestinians, many of which considered internally displaced, who live as second-class citizens in the apartheid, racist state.

~PLEASE WEAR ALL BLACK or Brown to show that you stand with the Palestinian political prisoners!

Sponsored by: Al-Awda, Arab Cultural and Community Center (ACCC), Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative (AMED), Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), General Union of Palestinian Students – SFSU (GUPS), Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), and United States Palestinian Communities Network (USPCN)

Los Angeles

Nakba Demonstration – No Return = No Justice = No Peace!
Zionist Consulate
11766 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Tuesday 5/15/2012
3:00 pm-7:00 pm
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/355013614547317/

The Nakba (“Catastrophe” in Arabic) of 1948 refers to the planned ethnic cleansing when the vast majority of Palestinians were ruthlessly attacked, massacred and driven from their homes into refugee camps by Zionist terror groups, and not allowed to return in violation of international law. This is the foundation upon which “Israel” was established and upon which its entire existence is built and remains structurally unsteady, morally corrupt, and legally culpable.

The Nakba continues to this day. Please join Al-Awda Los Angeles as we mark the 64th year of Al-Nakba. Until Return.

Sponsored by: Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, Almoubadara (USA), PAWA (Palestinian American Women’s Association), Jewish Voice for Peace – LA, American Muslims for Palestine – Southern California and The Dump Veolia -LA Campaign.

Additional organizational co-sponsorship and further information, contact:
mazenalmoukdad@hotmail.com

New York

Commemorating Al Nakba
May 15, 2012
5:00 pm
Union Square – 14th and Broadway
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/171394766321940/

Remembering Al Nakba Day as well as celebrating the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, we will also stand in solidarity with the 1000′s of Political Prisoners currently on Hunger Strike in Palestine.
We would ask all to please wear all brown or at least a brown T shirt/shirt/jacket to represent our Palestinian brothers and sisters made to wear brown in Israeli Dungeons. We will start at Union Square at 5pm until 6pm and then march over to Times Square. We need volunteers so if anyone can help in advance (printing info to hand out etc) please let us know

To endorse – please email: questions@existenceisresistance.org

Bring Flags, signs, leaflets etc. Organized by Existence is Resistance

NATO is meeting in Chicago this month, and the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN, uspcn.org) is calling on all of you to join with thousands on May 20th in Grant Park to stand up to its agenda of unrestricted war and occupation, especially against our people in the Arab and Muslim Worlds.

On Sunday, May 20th, Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, our supporters, and the CANG8 Palestine Solidarity Working Group will join in a contingent with the National Boricua Human Rights Network (NBHRN, boricuahumanrights.org), the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR, stopfbi.net), the Committee Against Political Repression (CAPR), and the Coalition to Protect People’s Rights (CPPR).

As well as protesting NATO, we will be calling for: 1) an end to the investigation of the 23 anti-war and international solidarity organizers and activists who were raided and / or subpoenaed to a federal grand jury at the end of 2010; 2) the dropping of all charges against Carlos Montes (see specific information about his case below); and 3) freedom for Oscar Lopez, Puerto Rican political prisoner (http://boricuahumanrights.org/second-phase-of-oscars-campaign/), who has been in U.S. jails for over 30 years.

On Sunday, May 20, 2012

at 12 Noon

Meet us at the Northeast corner of Columbus Drive and Jackson Boulevard, directly behind the Petrillo Bandshell in Grant Park (near the Jackson Blvd street curb)–under the banner “OPPOSING WAR IS NOT A CRIME!” and near our massive Palestinian flag. You will also see our big banner both before and during the rally at 12 Noon, so you can find us when it is time to march!

Email cppr@aaan.org to join our contingent, or for more information.  Bus and other transportation information will be available soon.

________________________________________________________________

OPPOSING WAR IS NOT A CRIME!

Drop the charges against Carlos Montes!

www.StopFBI.net

Join Carlos Montes in solidarity!  Join the CSFR Contingent at the NATO Protest in Chicago, Sunday, May 20, 12 Noon!

Carlos Montes is going on trial on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. We are days away now and Carlos Montes urgently needs your solidarity.  Please join our contingent at the NATO protest in Chicago. The Committee to Stop FBI Repression in coordination with the protest leaders will march towards the front in a prominent position. We are hoping Carlos Montes will lead our contingent, but he may be unavailable due to the trial.  Either way we will have a loud and visible presence opposing war abroad and political repression at home.

Carlos Montes has dedicated his life to opposing war and racism. Carlos Montes has led anti-war protests in Los Angeles from the days of the Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War, up to today, forming Latinos Against War to oppose U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Carlos Montes is a hero.

Along with 23 other anti-war and international solidarity activists, Carlos Montes home was raided by the FBI, his papers stolen, belongings ransacked, and now he is going on trial for his decades of activism. Carlos Montes is a well-known Chicano leader and long-time anti-war, labor and immigrant rights activist in Los Angeles. This attack on Carlos Montes is an attack on our movements for peace, justice, and equality. This is an attack on all that is good and progressive.

In addition to marching in the contingent, we are also asking you to call District Attorney Steve Cooley in Los Angeles and demand he drop the charges against Carlos Montes now. Call Steve Cooley at 213-974-3512, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific time, Monday thru Friday. Say, “Drop the charges against Carlos Montes now!”

Please also help by taking a minute to share a couple things with your networks on Facebook, Twitter etc.  Please use the hashtag #handsoffcarlos and link to stopfbi.net.

This is powerful YouTube video about Carlos which includes a number to call the LA District Attorneyhttp://youtu.be/LIYixWlA0nY

This is a link to the new petition supporting Carlos Montes and sending your message directly to the LA District Attorney;
http://www.stopfbi.net/petition/national

Sample Tweet:
Powerful new video on Carlos Montes’ life long fight for justice. http://youtu.be/LIYixWlA0nY #handsoffcarloshttp://www.stopfbi.net. Please RT

Sample Facebook Post:
Powerful new video on Carlos Montes life long fight for justice. http://youtu.be/LIYixWlA0nY.  Watch the video and sign the petition. http://www.stopfbi.net/petition/national #handsoffcarlos

_____________________________________________________________________

PROTEST THE CHICAGO NATO SUMMIT

On the 64th anniversary of Al-Nakba: there is no more time to wait, there is no more time to spare, NOW is the time for action!

https://www.facebook.com/ events/237334053037149/

WHAT: Candlelight Vigil in Support of Palestinian Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike in Israeli prisons

WHEN: Monday, May 14th, 2012
7:30 PM

WHERE: The Water Tower Park
806 N. Michigan Ave.
(corner of Chicago & Michigan Aves.)

WHY: In support of the prisoners’ demands:

1. An immediate end to administrative detention, the Israeli policy of imprisoning Palestinian activists and organizers for months, and sometimes years, without any formal charges.

2. An end to the policy of solitary confinement and isolation, which have been used to deprive Palestinian prisoners of their rights for more than a decade.

3. To allow the families of prisoners from the Gaza Strip to visit. This right has been denied to all families for more than 6 years.

4. An improvement in the living conditions of prisoners and an end to the “Shalit” law, which outlaws prisoners’ access to newspapers, learning materials, and many TV channels.

5. An end to the the policies of humiliation which are suffered by prisoners and their families, such as strip searches, nightly raids, and collective punishment.

Convened by the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)-Chicago, along with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights (CMPR), Palestinian American Youth League (PAYL), and Palestine Solidarity Group (PSG)

The condition of the 2500+ Palestinian political prisoners on hunger strike is rapidly deteriorating.  Two of the prisoners, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, have passed their 70^th day refusing food, putting them in critical condition and close to death.  The people of Palestine have stood in solidarity with the strikers; on May 9^th, Palestinian youth blocked the UN offices in Ramallah, demanding that the U.N. take a stand to save the lives of the striking prisoners. Take action now to support the demands of the prisoners, which are basic and all in accordance with Geneva Conventions.

The forces of the Israeli occupation in the prisons, known as the Israeli Prison Service, have done everything they can to crush the strike, including cutting off the inmates from their lawyers and refusing the strikers access to the medical clinic unless they end the hunger strike.  In addition to these measures, they have also instituted a system of collective punishment of strikers, which includes solitary confinement, daily fines up to 500 NIS ($131 USD), confiscation of salt for water, denial of electrical supplies, and random body and cell searches.

Also, the prison service has unsuccessfully tried to undermine the unified Higher Committee of the Leadership of the Strike by attempting to meet individually with members of the committee.  This ploy was rejected immediately and unequivocally by the committee members approached.

Despite all of this repression, the prisoners remain steadfast, most recently stating in their fourth official communication: “We vow to live with dignity or die.”

In addition, today’s report from Palestine: https://www.popularstruggle.org/content/thousands-march-support-prisoners-hunger-strike

Of particular concern is the role of Israel’s Jewish National Fund, an organization operating in the US, which collects $50 million which aids in the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland.

The protesters’  activities drew attention to the Jewish National Fund’s practice of covering demolished Palestinian villages with pine trees to hide the evidence of their existence and make return by displaced Palestinians more difficult.

This practice has been dubbed ‘greenwashing,’ for giving the appearance of environmentalism to ecological and humanitarian destruction.

June 5th, the date of Israel’s celebration, falls on the date that refugees from three displaced Palestinian villages, Beit Nuba, Imwas and Yalu march from Ramallah, in the Palestinian West Bank, march toward “Canada Park” where the Jewish National Fund plants trees which camouflage the Israeli destruction of their villages in 1967.

Last month, during the 63rd commemoration of the catastrophe of 1948, during which nearly 800,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes to establish an Israeli state in Palestine, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank headed toward home. Tracing the footsteps of their parents and grandparents, they marched on borders, checkpoints and military lines that separate them from each other and from their places of origin.

Today’s USPCN community protest picked up where these left off, calling on people of conscience to boycott cultural events by Israel and the Jewish National Fund until justice is achieved for Palestinians.

Slogans used at the protest:

63 Years of Resistance

Israel’s Jewish National Fund: de-forestation

Israel’s Jewish National Fund uproots Palestinian trees and villages

Israel’s Jewish National Fund: bulldozes peace

Israel’s Jewish National Fund: undermining peace one bulldozer at a time

On June 5, every year, refugees from the villages of Beit Nuba, Imwas and Yalu march from Ramallah towards “Canada Park” where the JNF plants trees in order to camouflage the Israeli destruction of their villages in 1967. This year, the annual Zionist event “Israel in the Gardens” falls on June 5. Come out this Sunday to show that San Francisco Bay Area communities say no to this celebration of apartheid and ethnic cleansing and join in solidarity with actions in the West Bank, Britain and Canada.

End the Occupation of Palestine – Support the Right of Return

WHEN:   Tuesday, May 31 at 7:00 pm
WHERE: DePaul University, McGowan South Room 108
1110 W. Belden Avenue

On September 24, 2010 the FBI carried out a series of raids of homes and anti-war offices of public activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. Following the raids the Justice Department subpoenaed 23 Palestine and Colombia solidarity activists to appear before a Chicago grand jury headed by US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. A grand jury is a secret court proceeding where the jury members are not screened for bias, where a prosecutor questions witnesses without a defense attorney present, and where there is no judge.

Many believe that the government is testing a June, 2010 US Supreme Court ruling, Holder vs. the Humanitarian Law Project, which goes a long way in criminalizing political dissent. What do these FBI raids and the calling of a grand jury mean for the right of freedom of speech, public debate and peace and justice organizing in the US? How can this chill debate over this nation’s war policies, national security doctrine and role in the world?

Come hear from those who have been directly affected and from the Chicago civil liberties community, which has been mobilizing to bring to light the realities of grand jury proceedings and the right to freedom of speech.

Speaker Panel:

Moderated by MICHAEL MCCONNELL, Great Lakes Regional Director of the AFSC and ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.

MICHAEL DEUTSCH is an attorney with the People’s Law Office in Chicago. For over 40 years he has represented political activists and other victims of police and government civil rights violations.

LEAH FRIED has been an organizer with the UE (United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America) for 12 years.

SARAH SMITH is a young Chicago student who participated in a delegation to Palestine and Israel, and shortly thereafter was subpoenaed by the FBI to appear before a grand jury.

REEMA AHMAD is the Executive Director of Project Mobilize, a political action non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of politically marginalized communities at the local, state and national level.

STEPHANIE WEINER teaches English in Chicago City Colleges, is a founder of AFSCME Local 3506, and is one of the activists raided and subpoenaed.

HATEM ABUDAYYEH is Executive Director of the Arab American Action Network and one of the activists raided and subpoenaed.

Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Miryam Rashid at (312) 427-2533 x 18 ormrashid@afsc.org<mailto:mrashid@afsc.org>

Sponsored by American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International - Chicago, Coalition to Protect People’s Rights, Chicago Faith Coalition on Middle East Policy, Students for Justice in Palestine (DePaul), Chicago Committee Against Political Repression, Arab Jewish Partnership for Peace and Justice in the Middle East, American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace-Chicago, National Lawyers Guild, Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism, Council on American-Islamic Relations - Chicago, Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine, North Shore Coalition for Peace, Justice and the Environment, Chicago Area Peace Action, US Palestinian Community Network, Code Pink, International Solidarity Movement, World Can’t Wait

***JOIN US AT 1 P.M. AT THE WHITE HOUSE TO PROTEST AND PRAY FOR PALESTINE*** (RAIN OR SHINE)

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=219469021405086

Our families and friends in Palestine will be peacefully marching to Qalandiya where they will join together in prayer–a gesture of praying side-by-side in Al Aqsa mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We will be standing with them, physically and spiritually, in DC.

***PALESTINIANS ARE PALESTINIANS ARE PALESTINIANS–IT’S NOT “THEM” OR “YOU”. IT IS US! WE MUST STAND TOGETHER EN MASSE IN MASSES.***

Please spread the word widely. And remember, actions speak louder than words.: don’t just say you’re going to do. DO!

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/05/201151611522564602.html

More details to come…

ONE!