Nakba Day commemorates 67 years of Occupation

Nakba Day commemorates 67 years of colonization

The United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) reminds members, friends, and supporters that May 15th, 2015, is Nakba Day, which commemorates 67 years of Israel's illegitimate, settler-colonial existence.

Between the infamous Partition Plan of November 29th, 1947, and the Armistice Agreement of 1949, over 500 Palestinian towns and villages were destroyed or ethnically cleansed, and almost 15,000 killed—what Palestinians call “Al Nakba,” the Catastrophe.

In the same period, over 750,000Palestinians were driven from their homes by European Jewish gangs and militias that eventually became the Israeli state’s armed forces. These Palestinians and their descendants make up the largest refugee population in the world, close to 5.5 million people; and although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights generally, and UN General Assembly Resolution 194 specifically, guarantee their Right to Return to the homes and lands from which they were exiled, Israel and the U.S. have blocked its implementation for 67 years.

When Israel became a state on 78% of historical Palestine on May 14^th, 1948, the settler colonialists who declared it owned a mere 6% of the land. The military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem, in 1967, when 350,000 more Palestinians were exiled, gave Israel control of the entirety of Palestine and its people.

All of Israel sits on stolen land. All of Palestine is illegally occupied. This is why the essence of the Palestinian struggle for independence and self-determination is the Right of Return, and why this right is sacred and non-negotiable by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the U.S., or anyone else.

Today, Palestinians and our supporters are rallying by the thousands all across the world, including in the refugee camps of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan—demanding the Right of Return and the end of Israel's occupation and settler-colonialism.  

In Minnesota, Milwaukee, and DC, USPCN chapters are co-sponsoring Nakba rallies.  And here's a partial list of other commemorations across the country:  Baltimore, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, University of Oregon, Orlando, Tampa, Seattle, and upstate New York.

Those of us in the Diaspora understand clearly that our nation is indivisible, that our organizing in exile is essential to liberation, and that we must again establish a mechanism and formation that is the sole, legitimate representative of all Palestinians everywhere—the only way to uphold and implement our Right of Return.

May 15th, 2015
#Nakba67
#NakbaDay

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USPCN protests the shareowners' meeting of the Coca-Cola corporation

With under a week to plan, USPCN organized an important escalation of our #BoycottCoke campaign, calling on a committed group of supporters to protest the annual Coca-Cola shareowners' meeting in Atlanta, the corporation's home city.  In a pouring rain on April 29th, the activists held signs and distributed informational flyers to passing drivers.

Our message was for the corporation to close its factories built on stolen Palestinian land, and to stop profiting from apartheid, human rights abuses, racism, and colonialism. USPCN looks forward to forming a chapter in Atlanta soon, and working together with our friends there to build an even bigger presence at next year's meeting, and to organize demonstrations throughout the year to say loudly and clearly:Close Coca-Cola Factories in Occupied Palestine NOW!

• If you own a business, and want to participate in USPCN’s campaign by boycotting Coca-Cola and removing all of its products from your shelves, please fill out this form.

• If your organization wants to endorse USPCN’s campaign, please fill out this form.

#BoycottCoke
#CokeFreeZone

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USPCN helps launch a #CokeFreeZone in Minneapolis

At the Minnesota Anti-War Committee's (AWC's) April 19th BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) forum, USPCN presented a plaque to Dave Bicking (center, in photo), owner of the property at 4200 Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis, to recognize that his building is the first in the state of Minnesota to be a #CokeFreeZone.

The peace and justice groups housed in the building, including Women Against Military Madness, Midwest Jewish Voice for Peace, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Welfare Rights Committee, Minnesota State Green Party, and Communities United Against Police Brutality, agreed at the forum that they would all #BoycottCoke.

USPCN-Minnesota chapter member Jehad Adwan offered a political analysis of current conditions in Palestine, and AWC member Sophia Hanson-Day gave a powerful speechpromoting BDS and the Coke boycott specifically.

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USPCN organizes a successful national meeting

On Saturday and Sunday, April 25-26, 2015, USPCN held a national strategic planning meeting in Detroit, Michigan.  Close to twenty of the organization’s leaders from across the country came together to develop a shared analysis on the current political situation in Palestine, the Arab World, and the U.S.; support chapter building; clarify internal and external communications mechanisms; and establish a work plan for the coming year.

USPCN is getting younger and more energetic, as evidenced by the fact that over half the participants were under 27 years old, including 5 high schoolers who made the trip from Chicago.  The meeting provided a review and evaluation of the previous year's activities, and upheld the continuation of the #BoycottCoke campaign as USPCN's contribution to the BDS movement, the defense of Rasmea Odeh, and general advocacy to support Palestinian political prisoners like Lina Khattab.  We also had the opportunity to meet and greet a number of Detroit and Dearborn Arabs and Palestinians who expressed a strong desire to join USPCN or support our work.

While recognizing that Israel's new government will be a rabid right-wing coalition, the political discussion instead focused on challenges within the Arab World, and the state of organizing in Palestine itself. 

Foreign intervention in Libya and now Syria, the Saudi offensive in Yemen, crimes against the Iraqi people, and the general collusion between the U.S., Turkey, Israel, and the Gulf States are causing the continued destabilization of the region. U.S. imperialism and support of Israel are still the main barriers to peace in the Arab World, so our task here is to educate and organize to end U.S. and Israeli wars, interventions, and occupations.

In Palestine, the Palestinian Authority's (PA's) security coordination with Israel, its lack of any legitimacy in the Palestinian street, and its silencing of criticism and dissent have led to a leadership vacuum that no other political force has been able to take advantage of.  Our victory last summer in Gaza notwithstanding, we are not any closer to unity at the leadership level (the Hamas vs. Fatah dichotomy), but the Palestinian people are demanding real national unity on the ground, and assert that it is the only way to defeat the colonizers.

We have expanded by three chapters in the past year, and are poised to make more gains, as we determined to restructure our leadership body, strengthen communications 

mechanisms, and continue to provide a vision for the liberation of Palestine that resonates with Palestinians in the U.S. and beyond.

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USPCN supports the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression

USPCN has participated in a number of #BlackLivesMatter activities, meetings, rallies, and protests over the past many months, including the most recent response to the murder of #FreddieGray in Baltimore. Chicago chapter member Nesreen Hasan was invited to speak at a press conference at City Hall on May 7th, announcing the launch of the CAARPR's campaign to establish a Civilian Police Accountability Council. This is her speech:

"Hello my name is Nesreen Hasan, and I represent the United States Palestinian Community Network. We are here to fully support the call for a Civilian Police Accountability Council.  The fact that a Black life is taken every 28 hours by law enforcement or vigilantes, and realizing that there are no real accountability mechanisms on any level of government, makes it absolutely clear that the CPAC bill must be passed.

USPCN stands in unequivocal solidarity with the people of Baltimore, Ferguson, Chicago, Oakland, NY, and other cities where people of conscience are rising up in justified anger with vicious police violence against Black people. As Palestinians, we understand how it feels to be harassed, bullied, and tortured with impunity by racist, state sanctioned officials. The tactics used in Black communities across the United States remind us of the tactics used against our people in Palestine. In this moment, Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims in the U.S. have no choice but to be on the right side of history.

The current Independent Police Review Authority has shown bias and proven its lack of ethics and ineffectiveness. It has done nothing to stop the brutality and violence unleashed on Chicago’s citizens by the CPD, as proven by the millions of tax dollars paid out to settle suits with the families and survivors of police violence.

Yesterday we witnessed history as the Chicago city council approved the reparations ordinance.  Winning reparations is a victory but it does not remedy the systemic problems in this city. CPAC is a demand for democracy that will allow Chicagoans a real opportunity to hold police accountable for the crimes they commit.  We want a safer, more democratic city of Chicago and for this reason, we stand fully behind the Chicago Alliance, and pledge to bring Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims out here to march with thousands of others for CPAC on August 29^th.  Thank you."

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USPCN Minnesota members support farm project

USPCN-Minnesota member Maher Alrai has led the creation of a cooperative Palestinian farm in Hastings, MN.  It is named (مزرعة زهرة المدائن) Zahrat El Madaen Farm, an allusion to our beloved Jerusalem.

Alrai organizes volunteers to plant and pickle cucumbers and turnips, which are then sold to raise money for families in need in the Twin Cities. If you would like to place an order, or want more information about the project, contact Alrai at maheralrai@gmail.com.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   

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