Feature Archives

The 6th International Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is taking place across the globe from from March 1st to the 14th. Since it was first launched in 2005, IAW has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar. Last year, more than 40 cities around the world participated in the week's activities, which took place in the wake of Israel's brutal assault against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. IAW continues to grow with new cities joining this year.

The day after the 1000th US soldier was killed in Afghanistan a vigil was held in front of the War Memorial in San Francisco to draw attention to the growing loss of life for the US war drive. All 1000 names were read as well as a representative of the unknown number of Afghanis who have been killed during the occupation of their country. The event was organized by the American Friends Service Committee and Veterans for Peace.

Three pioneers of the Free Gaza Movement received city and congressional awards for their humanitarian work last month. The city of Milpitas, one of the country's largest locations of computer equipment manufacturing and software programming, was represented by Vice Mayor Pete McHugh. The public ceremony was sponsored by the San José Peace and Justice Center.

Update 2/11: Hutchinson wins discharge.
Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother from Oakland, CA, is facing up to a year in military prison for refusing to leave her son in Georgia foster care while being deployed to Afghanistan. Military objector support group Courage to Resist is raising funds for Hutchinson's defense and circulating a petition on its website to demand that charges be dropped.

As another January 11 rolls around, giant posters appeared in advertising kiosks over the weekend. On January 11, 2002, the first groups of hooded and jumpsuited detainees were brought to Guantanamo. On January 21, 2009, President Obama pledged to shut down the camp, only one of many U.S. prisons where people are being held indefinitely without charge and in inhuman conditions, violating international and domestic laws. commemorated

On the first anniversary of the Israeli military assault on Gaza, the Gaza Freedom March, trapped in Cairo, marched not only against the Israeli siege on Gaza, but also against an Egyptian blockade. On New Year’s Day 2010, Gaza Freedom March delegates ratified the historic Cairo Declaration, launching a global boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign against Israeli apartheid. On January 9th, Egypt announced it will ban all aid convoys travelling to Gaza, tightening its blockade against the people of Gaza.

Clare Bayard, from Dialogues Against Militarism, writes: "In Silwan, a neighborhood of East Jerusalem adjacent to the Old City, Palestinian families sometimes demolish their own homes when the notice comes because they can't afford to pay the fines levied upon people after the army bulldozes their houses. Sometimes the eviction notice gives them days, and other times a few hours to pull out several generations' of possessions before the house is demolished. Sometimes people are given 15 minutes to get out of their house before tear gas is fired through the windows."