Thousands of protesters came together in Trafalgar Square to protest Israel’s continuing mass slaughter of the Lebanese and Palestinian people and the British government’s complicity. The event highlighted the shameful complicity of the Blair government and was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and supported by groups including the Stop the War Coalition, British Muslim Initiative, and the Lebanese Welfare Community.The rally entitled “Voices for Lebanon and Palestine” featured impassioned pleas and speeches from community and religious leaders as well as comedians, actors, and Members of Parliament. Read more about Photostory: Protesters Rally in London in Outrage over Qana and continued Israeli Crimes
1,500 members of the New York community, horrified at the senseless killing of Palestinians and Lebanese by the Israeli military, marched across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan today to demand an end to the violence. The Israeli military has killed nearly 200 Palestinians in a matter of weeks, including dozens of children. In less than two weeks in Lebanon, Israel has killed nearly 500 Lebanese and made one million more refugees in their own country. In both Palestine and Lebanon, Israel has targeted civilian infrastructure, such as power plants, roads, factories, schools, airports, and bridges. Read more about 1,500 Protesters March Across Brooklyn Bridge
Today, Palestinians in Gaza demonstrated against Israel’s military assault in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip in front of the European Union office in Gaza City. In Gaza Palestinian artists have painted a mural during the demonstration. The EU Council of Foreign Ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on Tuesday in order to assess the situation in Lebanon and to prepare further EU action following the International Conference on Lebanon in Rome on 26 July. Finland’s Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country holds the current EU presidency, and EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner will report on their visit to the region. Read more about Photostory: Gaza protests Israel's assault on Lebanon
Residents of Galilee and the Valleys Against the War29 July 2006
We, residents of the Galilee and the Valleys, Arabs and Jews, do not believe the government of Israel and the military who maintain that war is being waged in self-defense and for the purpose of releasing the captured soldiers. We do not believe them because it is now common knowledge that the military steps were planned a long time ago. We know that about a month before the Hizballah attack on the army patrol, a military exercise was conducted as a rehearsal for an attack on Lebanon. Similarly, the kidnapping of the ministers and Parliament members of the Palestinian Authority was planned weeks ahead of the capture of the soldier Gilad Shalit by the Hamas. Read more about Galilee and the Valleys Against the War
Remembering the aftermath of the 1975-1990 civil war and the garbage Lebanon was left with, I feel that today’s piling trash is a symbol of where this country is headed. Garbage in the streets is an emblem of active warfare. Driving through mountain roads, and from village to village I feel the effects of Israel’s invasion in the collapsing civil services of Lebanon. These are images of the long-term effects of a war that I remember. Garbage. And this is nothing to say of the heinous war crimes inflicted on the Southern part of this country. Read more about Beyond all that remains
Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office in San Francisco on Thursday, July 27. Likely few if any of the protesters expect Dianne Feinstein do anything productive even as news of more and more atrocities committed by Israel in Lebanon come to light. Last Sunday, she organized a rally in San Francisco to support Israel’s actions against the Lebanese people. On July 20, Feinstein supported a resolution in support of Israel in the House of Representatives. The rally turned into a march to the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle to protest the newspaper’s lopsided pro-Israel coverage. Read more about Photostory: Hundreds Protest U.S. Aid to Israel in Front of San Francisco Senator's Office
I was invited to teach at an art workshop, so yesterday I went. I gave a lecture in the morning and then in the afternoon I was asked to give the students an assignment that they could do in two hours. I decided to print emails from my inbox from the last two weeks. I also printed out the article about the Americans rushing bombs to Israel and spoke about the absurdity of the question Americans ask about wether to get involved or not when they are 100 percent involved! I gave each student a different email, and a copy of the article, and told them to go out into the streets and do something in the public sphere based on their interaction, (or reaction) or whatever with the emails. Read more about Ali La Pointe and Zena's words on the New York streets
On behalf of Merseyside trade unionists the Sacked Liverpool Dockworkers have been asked to circulate, coordinate and collate all responses to this message. We are trade unionists with a record of action within our own industries and in opposition to racism and war. We watch with horror and outrage as Israel has bombed Lebanon indisciminately since 12 July with hundreds of civilian casualties, and their army begins a major ground invasion. Similar atrocities are being committed against Palestinians by Israeli forces in Gaza. We know that the Blair government, including even the T&G sponsored Foreign Secretary, has given Israel a blank cheque to continue. Read more about Merseyside trade unionists call for sanctions against Israeli invasions of Lebanon, Gaza
Hundreds of protesters, many carrying antiwar signs and fake coffins, marched quietly in a mock funeral procession Tuesday, July 25, through upper Northwest Washington to the Israeli Embassy to protest the bombings in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Close to 400 protesters showed up for a spirited demonstration at the Israeli Embassy, 514 International Drive, NW, in Washington DC. Many of the protesters wore black. They carried 50 coffins draped in black. They began at 5:30 PM, at Van Ness and Connecticut Avenues, with a march done in silence. It then proceeded around the neighborhood and ended up in front of the Israeli Embassy. Read more about Video: DC marches in mock funeral procession against Israeli assaults
How many more rallies are we going to have before world leaders become convinced that there is something very, very wrong with Israel? I, and others like Ilan Pappe and Uri Davis from the Israeli peace movement, have warned the world repeatedly that there is nothing to expect from Israel other than more violence, more aggression, more oppression and more bloodshed. All we can expect is for Israel to continue to go around and around in circles and in the process continue to destroy, kill, maim and traumatise. As a former Israeli, this whole situation touches me in a very personal way. It brings back memories from 1982 from when I was in the military, when Israel invaded Lebanon the first time, and from my entire 27 years in Israel. It is distressing but not surprising to see that there is nothing new. Read more about How many more rallies will it take?
