Tag: Protests against Israeli war on Palestinians

In Victory for Free Speech, Court Dismisses Conspiracy Claims Against Pro-Palestine Activists

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In an important victory for free speech, a federal court has dismissed with prejudice all civil rights conspiracy claims brought against The People’s Forum and other individual defendants arising from the April 2024 occupation of Hamilton Hall — Hind’s Hall — at Columbia University. As political activists face more attempts by federal authorities — and the institutions that they have cowed — to curtail fundamental democratic rights, precedents like these will be a valuable part of the fightback. It is also important to note this example of the danger of the use of “conspiracy” charges by the government to criminalize free speech.

‘No to Forced Expulsion’: Palestinians in Gaza City Protest Israeli Displacement Plans

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This article reports on protests by Palestinians in Gaza City on August 18, 2025, against the Israeli army’s plan to take over their city and transfer the population southward. Until this point in the war, the 700,000 residents of Gaza City have not faced displacement, and it is now home to an additional half a million Palestinians displaced from Gaza’s north. Similar protests are expected the rest of this week, although intensified Israeli air strikes make their organization uncertain.

Open Letter to Israeli & U.S. Governments on Issue of Rape

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This open letter was initiated by U.S.-based anti-Zionist Jewish feminists. It has since gained support across the United States and internationally. As its preamble notes, the signatories “believe we have a particular responsibility to speak out in support of Palestinian rights and against the current genocide.”It also states clearly, “We support the investigation initiated by the highly-qualified members of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry into the entire range of war crimes committed during both the October 7 Hamas attack and the Israeli state’s subsequent assault on Gaza.” The letter is a response to efforts to discredit supporters of women’s rights who speak out against rape but also oppose Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.

In Defense of Free Speech

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In the wake of the October 7 Hamas-led attack and Israel’s brutal retaliatory invasion of Gaza, new challenges have been raised to the right to free speech. Across the United States, restrictions on the democratic right to express one’s views on the conflict in the Middle East center today on college campuses. But precedents set there will be extended, with dangerous consequences for free speech, if they are not answered and opposed.

Palestinian Leaders of ‘Standing Together’ Speak Out

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PPalestinian members of the national leadership of Standing Together released this statement on the social media platform X on January 30, 2024. Standing Together is one of the most prominent organizations in Israel — made up of Jews, Palestinians, and others — campaigning against Israel’s war on Gaza, calling for a ceasefire and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The statement was issued in response to a January 25 statement by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a group affiliated with the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. PACBI accused Standing Together of “serving apartheid Israel’s propaganda.” The Palestinian leaders of Standing Together vigorously oppose PACBI’s charges.

Cuba and the Palestinian Liberation Struggle: An Exchange

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This is an exchange between Karen Lee Wald and Pete Seidman. Wald is a long-time Cuba solidarity activist in the United States; she publishes the “Cuba Inside Out” newsletter. Seidman is a member of the Miami Coalition to End the U.S. Blockade of Cuba. The discussion touches on important questions related to the Palestinian national liberation struggle. These issues are being debated by many today, as Israel is carrying out an increasingly genocidal war on Gaza in response to the October 7 atrocious attack by Hamas.

‘End Oppression of One People by Another’ (II)

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This is the second of two parts of an interview with Palestinian American scholar Rashid Khalidi on the dynamics of the crisis unfolding in the Mideast. Khalidi lays bare Washington’s complicity and responsibility for the brutal war on Gaza, unleashed by Tel Aviv in response to the October 7 pogrom by Hamas. The war on Gaza, marked by increasingly genocidal death and destruction with no end in sight, has already claimed the lives of over 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 4,000 children.

‘End Oppression of One People by Another’ (I)

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This is the first of two parts of an interview with Palestinian American scholar Rashid Khalidi on the dynamics of the crisis unfolding in the Mideast. Khalidi lays bare Washington’s complicity and responsibility for the brutal war on Gaza, unleashed by Tel Aviv in response to the October 7 pogrom by Hamas. The war on Gaza, marked by increasingly genocidal death and destruction with no end in sight, has already claimed the lives of over 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 4,000 children.