Feature Archives

On May 11, a procession was organized in San Francisco to mark the two years since Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by an Israeli military sniper. There still has been no justice for Shireen, and this impunity has led to an unprecedented attack on journalists. An estimated 140 journalists and media workers have been killed in Palestine since October 7, with more arrested, injured, and missing.

Through products like Project Nimbus, Google profits directly by enhancing Israeli surveillance and control over Palestinians. Recent reporting shows Google signed a deal with the Ministry of Defense. On May 14, pro-Palestinian protesters rallied near the entrance to Google’s annual developer conference, many chaining themselves together. Thousands of attendees waiting to enter the Google event were delayed and had to be redirected.

Protesters in Northern California have engaged in direct actions aimed at disrupting business as usual and raising the profile of the call to free Palestine. Activists shut down the Bay Bridge. A US military vessel destined to deliver weaponry to Israel was blocked from leaving the Port of Oakland. A defense contractor's office was locked down. Communiqués posted on Indybay claim sabotage of train lines, as well as a water main at a pro-IDF fundraiser.

Millions of people worldwide are standing in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel wages war on Gaza. Marches and rallies have demanded a ceasefire, the end of US military support for Israel, and that Palestine be freed once and for all. Every week there are more protests in cities large and small, including in many that have never seen a pro-Palestinian demonstration. In San Francisco, tens of thousands have marched against Israel's war on Gaza.

At sunrise on October 19, youth climate activists associated with the group Occupy Beale gave a speech decrying the imperialist military-industrial complex, responsible for countless ecological atrocities, energy consumption, and carbon emissions. Four activists, banners in hand, then marched across the demarcation line at the Schneider gate of Beale Air Force Base. Military police detained three of them for over an hour.

Over 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced and face serious malnutrition and dehydration. Nearly 15,000 have been killed, a third of whom are children. Around 50% of all residential housing in the strip has been destroyed. Israel has killed over 200 medical and aid workers, and 65 journalists. It has bombed and raided hospitals, schools, UN facilities, and more, allowing in barely enough supplies to keep the population from starving to death.

Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst-turned-peace activist who revealed that the U.S. government had been lying about its war on Vietnam, died on June 16. He was best known for leaking the Pentagon Papers to news outlets in 1971. He became a vocal anti-war campaigner. In a 2019 interview, Ellsberg said, "an act of truth-telling, of exposing the realities about which the public had been misled, can indeed help end an unnecessary, deadly conflict."