Dearborn, MI – On Saturday, May 17, approximately 150 movement leaders, including lawyers, legal observers, community organizers and elected officials, gathered for the Legacy Dinner hosted by the Detroit chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

The fundraiser honored the work of west Michigan based Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, along with longtime movement lawyer Denise Heberle, and Detroit based audio engineers The Peoples Sound. Police misconduct attorney Andrea Ritchie, known for her work exposing state violence against oppressed nationality women, gave the keynote address.

San Jose, CA – On May 17, around 150 people gathered in James P. McEntee Plaza in San Jose to celebrate Palestinian Cultural Day. This was the 24th year that Santa Clara County has held the event, which is sponsored by the county supervisors and the Palestinian Heritage Committee. The celebration honors the local Palestinian community and its contributions to the county’s civic life, and the historical and cultural contributions of Palestinians.

Minneapolis, MN — On May 17, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), American Muslims for Palestine — MN (AMP), and the Free Palestine Coalition held a march to remember Al Nakba. They were joined by more than 250 community members in a march that shut down several of Minneapolis’ busiest downtown arteries. The action was a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s week of action.

Grand Rapids, Mi – On Wednesday, May 14, 30 people gathered near Rosa Parks Circle. in Grand Rapids, MI, to commemorate the 77th anniversary of al-Nakba and honor the generations of Palestinians who have struggled against Israeli occupation.

77 years ago, armed Israeli settlers launched a genocidal campaign of violence which displaced over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes – committing hundreds of massacres in the process. These armed gangs quickly reorganized to become Israel’s formal military. In the decades since, Israel has built cities, national parks and public infrastructure atop of the 531 Palestinian villages ethnically cleansed in 1948.

Minneapolis, MN – On May 10, Minnesota public sector workers, union members and activists attended the Labor Demands Divestment teach-in and panel at the Minneapolis Federation of Educators Local 59 office. The event was organized by Minnesota Labor for Palestine and the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and was the first event organized by Minnesota Labor for Palestine, a grassroots coalition of union and non-union members based in working class solidarity with Palestine.

May 14 marks 77 years since Al-Nakba, or as it's known by Palestinians, the Catastrophe. Beginning on May 14, 1948, over 750,000 Palestinians were forced off their land by Israeli settlers in a matter of months, with the indispensable help of the British. No inch of land was ceded without massacres.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement of the ILPS on the commemoration of the Nakba.

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle joins Palestinians all over the world in commemorating the 1948 Nakba, or catastrophe, which dispossessed, displaced, and murdered hundreds of thousands of people in the name of an imperialist and Zionist project—the manufacture of “Israel “as a “Jewish State” in Palestine in order to establish a Western imperialist outpost in West Asia and North Africa.

Pewaukee, WI – On the afternoon of May 13, dozens of anti-war and pro-Palestine activists held a rally outside the Wisconsin Defense Industry Council (WDIC)’s inaugural conference at the Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee, a suburb of Milwaukee. The rally spoke out against the WDIC’s stated mission, to increase the influence of defense manufacturing in Wisconsin.

Basile, LA – On May 9, a dozen people protested outside the South Louisiana ICE processing center, demanding the release of international student Rümeyza Öztürk. At the same time as the rally, her case was heard remotely by a judge in Vermont who ultimately ordered Öztürk’s immediate release. The judge also stated that her case would set a precedent for others who have been unlawfully detained for exercising free speech under the Trump administration.

New Orleans, LA – On Tuesday, May 6, New Orleans supporters packed the court for community activist Toni Jones’ trial in municipal court. Jones is chair of New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police and a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. She was arrested while doing security for a Palestine protest over a year ago.

Green Bay, WI – Undeterred by road closures and brisk evening temperatures, a dedicated group of around one dozen Green Bay, WI, activists arrived near Entrance 2 for the NFL Draft. It was April 24, the first day of the Draft, and a section of South Ridge Road at the western corner of Lambeau Field was closed to traffic; making it perfect for a banner drop. The action was organized by the Green Bay Anti-War Committee (GBAC), the small city organization that could.

Bloomington, MN – On April 25 and 26, Education Minnesota (EdMN) held its annual convention in Bloomington, Minnesota. Hundreds of teachers, paraprofessionals and aspiring and retired educators gathered for the union’s annual convention, which included more than 600 elected delegates. At the convention, the delegates elected their governing board, voted for constitution and bylaw amendments, and decided on action items put forward by EdMN’s 84,000 members. They also elected EdMN’s first Black president, Monica Byron.

New Brunswick, NJ – On Tuesday, April 29, Rutgers Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally against a speaking event hosted by Rutgers Hillel. The speech was part of “Israel Week,” a series of events intended to justify and celebrate the ongoing genocide and occupation of Palestine., New Jersey U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer, a staunch Zionist and supporter of Israel’s war crimes, was invited to meet with students that day.

Orlando, FL – A group of 20 community members gathered outside the Orange County Courthouse in downtown Orlando to demand charges against a pro-Palestine student activist be dropped. Chris Gibson, a student at the University of Central Florida (UCF), was arrested during a pro-Palestine demonstration that took place outside of Orlando City Hall in October 2024.

50 years ago, on April 30, the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon were broken by a tank—a tank driven by a fighter for a unified and independent Vietnam. The flag of the U.S.-backed puppet regime came down, and the flag of the National Liberation Front replaced it.

Saigon, the capital of French colonialism, and then American imperialism, was no more. Saigon became Ho Chi Minh City—named for the communist leader who stood at the forefront of Vietnam’s fight for national liberation.

On the morning of April 23, the FBI and state and local police in Michigan raided the homes of pro-Palestinian activists in at least three cities: Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Canton. These activists, including at least four people in Ypsilanti and at least one graduate student, are reported to have attended or supported protests in support of Palestine and condemning the genocide in Gaza.

New York, NY – Dozens gathered, Monday, April 21, in Manhattan’s Foley Square to protest the 40th and largest-ever Balikatan, or “shoulder-to-shoulder,” joint military exercises between U.S. and Philippine troops. Speakers from GABRIELA, Anakbayan Manhattan, Bayan USA, NYCHRP, DSA, UAW, and TWU Local 100 demanded an end to the United States’ military presence in the Philippines.

Denver, CO – On April 19, Denver joined cites nationwide in a day of action against Trump and his racist and reactionary agenda. An estimated 8000 people marched at the Colorado State Capitol in protest of the recent attacks on immigrants, and for upholding rights for Palestinians, unions, the working class, women and trans people.

Grand Rapids, MI – On Saturday, April 19, 30 people gathered at Fountain Street Church in downtown Grand Rapids to commemorate Palestine Prisoners’ Day. The event began with a teach-in on the history of Prisoners’ Day and its importance to the national liberation struggle.

Afterwards, people began writing letters to two groups of recipients. First, letters were drafted to the Filton 18. This group of activists were arrested in Britain for targeting an Elbit Systems facility and have been subjected to solitary confinement and interrogation while they await trial.

San Jose, CA – On April 19, around 30 people gathered at the Arab American Cultural Center in San Jose for an educational community event to commemorate Palestinian Prisoners Day. The event focused on the case of famed Palestinian political leader and longtime political prisoner Marwan Bargouthi, who has been imprisoned by Israel on false charges for over 20 years due to his role as a leader during the Second Intifada.