FRIENDS OF PALESTINE AGAINST IMPERIALISM AND ZIONISM

A group of activists with the name “Women in Black” held a solidarity event with Palestine on the University of California, Berkeley campus on Friday, July 22^nd. The group has been holding these events regularly for over 25 years every Friday. This time, militants from Friends of Palestine against Imperialism and Zionism also joined the effort. During the action, information cards exposing the racist nature of Zionism and the Israeli state were distributed to the students on campus, and a sign showing the systematic invasion of historic Palestinian land by Israel was upheld.

The information cards contained factual data and slogans on various topics, from children murdered and imprisoned by the Israeli state to the US financial and military support to Zionism. Slogans that expose the link between Zionism and imperialism, such as “Israel is an Apartheid State”, “US Money and Support Empower Israel to Continue to Impoverish Palestinians and Steal More of Their Lands”, and “Stop Funding of Israeli Oppression of Palestinian Children” were raised through these information cards. 

College students showed great interest in the event, and often expressed solidarity with Palestine. Although Zionists attempted to provoke a conflict by setting up their table right next to the sign, the sheer number of pro-Palestinian activists and the help our comrades from Friends of Palestine prevented anything that stood in the way of success.       

Last month, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at UIUC started a divestment campaign for the corporations that are complicit in human rights violations and that contribute to Israeli military, US prisons and US immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The divestment campaign asked to divest from companies such as Caterpillar Inc., Elbit systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Aramark, which directly contribute to the occupation of Palestinian lands, criminalization of immigrants and people in color, and illegal labor in US prisons. 

After weeks of diligent campaigning, planning, and outreach, SJP UIUC presented its Divest resolution to the Illinois Student Government (ISG) on February 16^th in order to place its referendum question on the student ballot for the upcoming election, at which the students at UIUC would be asked to vote to divest from these companies. However, Zionists senators tried all kinds of low roads to obscure the resolution from passing and not show up as a referendum question for UIUC students. As a first calculated plan, five Zionist senators walked out during the middle of the voting section and caused the meeting to be adjourned. As such, next week on February 23^th SJP was again forced to present the resolution to ISG. This time the resolution passed with a simple majority of 17 to 14. However, as a second insidious plan, Zionists senators this time requested a secret ballot during the meeting, in order to “protect” their senators and identity. The secret ballot request was voted and accepted but unbeknownst to SJP, it was later weaponized against SJP with claims that it violated the ISG constitution. 

As a last resort, Zionist senators filed a judicial complaint against SJP’s divestment resolution, including a complaint against the meeting agenda being sent out “late”, or less than 48 hours beforehand. However, ISG later confirmed that the agenda had been sent out late on multiple occasions before, and yet the judicial committee upheld the unmerited claims of Zionist senators. As a result, the resolution could not be accepted by the Campus Student Elections Committee within an appropriate deadline. 

These pre-mediated attacks have clearly shown that how far Zionists, as they call themselves “only democracy in the middle east”, can go to exploit the flaws of democratic institutions in order to advance their anti-Palestinian, settler-colonial ideologies as well as showing the corruption of democratic institutions such as ISG, who blatantly shut its eyes to the silencing of Palestinian voices.  

As a response to this institutional corruption, SJP organized a protest on March 9^th calling on the students to show solidarity and support for Palestinians on the campus and globally. Ally organizations across the campus showed up at the protest, showed their solidarity with SJP and delivered their speeches at the protest. A comrade of Friends of Palestine against Imperialism and Zionism was also present at the protest, showing an international solidarity with the Palestinian students.

Isaac Herzog, the President of the Zionist Israel, the watchdog of the apartheid regime and the proponent of the ethnic-cleansing policies targeting the Palestinians, has come to Turkey yesterday, as the special guest of the despotic regime in Turkey. To protest his unwelcome presence, we held a rally before the so-called Israeli consulate in Istanbul, along with the participants of the “#GetOutHerzog Campaign” (Herzog Defol Kampanyası), TOKAD and Eğitim İlke Sen.

In the rally, we carried placards and banners that read “Get out Herzog! No to any normalization with Zionist Israel” in both Turkish and English. Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Workers’ Party (DIP, Devrimci İşçi Partisi) Levent Dölek, who is also one of the spokespersons of the “Friends of Palestine against imperialism and Zionism,” was first to take the floor. Dölek recalled that the Zionist movement has not just collaborated with the imperialists but also tried to collaborate with the Nazi regime in Germany and recently supported DAESH in Syria. He called to sever all ties with Zionism and also evoked the memory of revolutionary fighters from Turkey who had fought as a part of the Palestinian resistance, as well as the martyrs of the Mavi Marmara. Aynur Efe, the spokesperson of the “Get Out Herzog Campaign,” also gave a speech, where she reiterated the call to sever all ties with Israel. Finally, a comrade read the press statement. The statement underlined our anger in the face of Herzog’s arrival and demanded Herzog to be kicked out of Turkey immediately.

We, the Friends of Palestine Against Imperializm and Zionism Platform, invite all the friends of Palestinian people to join us on the 9th of March, at 19:00, in front of the Zionist consulate building, to protest the visit of the Zionist-in-chief Herzog and the invitation made to him by the tyranny regime of Turkey.

Birzeit University was raided by Zionist forces in early January. They first opened fire on and then captured five students who have become leading figures in the Palestinian cause. 

The on-going ethnic cleansing operation conducted by the Zionist Israel in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, which had ceased for a while thanks to the resistance of the dwellers, and international solidarity, re-accelerated, with the unlawfully demolition of the Selhiye family’s house. It can be considered to be a harbinger of a new wave of attacks on the neighborhood. 

The very same day Israel targeted the Bedouin communities inhabiting in the Naqab region, attacking those who defied planting trees in their centuries-long lands for Jewish enclaves projected for future.      

As we have pondered on what to do to stop those Zionist aggressions and atrocities, Erdoğan said on January 17^th that Israeli President Herzog would visit Turkey, foreshadowing that the commercial, military and intelligence-sharing relationships would “normalize” and accelerate!     

Zionist Israel, which is an ethnically-discriminatory, racist and expansionist state, is an outpost at the service of imperialism, which had massacred millions of people; which had replenished the jet fighters bombarding the Turkish National Assembly on July 15^th; which is enemy of Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Persians and other people of the region. 

If you ask based on the above what “normalization” means, it is that we will make a deal with the devil to be accomplice in usurping and marketing Palestinian natural gas. 

We call on our people to force the government not to make a deal with the devil because we do not have even a shred of interest in colluding with Zionism and imperialism. What are in favor of us are the victory of Palestine and the demise of the imperialist outpost.

AKP government should halt the normalization process and sever the diplomatic, commercial, military and intelligence-sharing relationships with Israel!

Down with imperialism!

Down with Zionism!

Down with Zionist Israeli State!

Free Palestine from the River to the Sea!

Nizar Banat, known for his staunch opposition to the collaborationist Mahmoud Abbas government, was taken into custody early this morning by the security forces of the Palestinian Authority. Soon thereafter it was announced that he passed away while under custody. But neither his family nor the Palestinians trust this statement.

The family members who gave an interview to the Anadolu Agency said that their home was stormed early in the morning and Nizar Banat was beaten with iron bars. The cause of this hatred is undoubtedly his scathing criticism of the Mahmoud Abbas administration. Banat was already taken into custody before and furthermore, he applied to participate in the recently canceled elections with his independent list.  

On the other hand, protests started around noon at various points of the West Bank, condemning the collaborationist Mahmoud Abbas government and accusing it of murder. The participating Palestinians chanted “Esh shaab yurid iskat en nizam” (“The people want to bring down the regime”), a famed slogan of Arab revolutions, while the Palestinian Authority police responded harshly with force.   

We, the Friends of Palestine against Imperialism and Zionism, condemn the murder of Nizar Banat. This murder is another dagger on the back of the Palestinian people by the collaborationist Mahmoud Abbas administration. The collaborationist administration indefinitely postponed the elections since it knows well that Palestinians would bury them in the ballot box, and with the guilt of being unable to do anything against the increasing Zionist attacks in May, is resorting to attacks against the opposition. But the slogans chanted by the people pouring into the streets today will most certainly come to pass and the people will drive away the collaborationists together with the Zionists!

Down with the Zionist State of Israel!

Down with the collaborationist Mahmoud Abbas Administration!

Friends of Palestine Against Imperialism and Zionism

Nizar Banat, connu pour sa ferme opposition au gouvernement collabo de Mahmoud Abbas, a été placé en garde à vue tôt ce matin (le 26 Juin) par les forces de sécurité de l’Autorité palestinienne. Peu de temps après, il a été annoncé qu’il était décédé alors qu’il était en détention. Mais ni sa famille ni les Palestiniens ne font confiance à cette déclaration.

Les membres de la famille qui ont accordé une interview à l’Agence Anadolu ont déclaré que leur maison avait été prise d’assaut tôt le matin et que Nizar Banat avait été battu avec des barres de fer. La cause de cette haine est sans aucun doute sa critique cinglante de l’administration de Mahmoud Abbas. Banat avait déjà été placé en détention auparavant et en outre, il a demandé à participer aux élections récemment annulées avec sa liste indépendante.

D’autre part, des manifestations ont commencé vers midi en divers points de Cisjordanie, condamnant le gouvernement collaborationniste de Mahmoud Abbas et l’accusant de meurtre. Les Palestiniens participants ont scandé « Esh shaab yurid iskat en nizam » (« Le peuple veut renverser le régime »), un slogan célèbre des révolutions arabes, tandis que la police de l’Autorité palestinienne a répondu durement avec force.

Nous, en tant que « les Amis de la Palestine contre l’Impérialisme et le Sionisme », condamnons le meurtre de Nizar Banat. Ce meurtre est un autre poignard sur le dos du peuple palestinien par l’administration collabo de Mahmoud Abbas. L’administration collabo a reporté indéfiniment les élections car elle sait bien que les Palestiniens les enterraient dans les urnes, et avec la culpabilité de n’avoir rien pu faire contre les attaques sionistes croissantes en mai, recourt à des attaques contre l’opposition. Mais les slogans scandés par les gens qui affluent dans les rues aujourd’hui se réaliseront très certainement et le peuple chassera les collabos avec les sionistes !

A bas l’État sioniste d’Israël !

A bas l’administration collabo de Mahmoud Abbas !

les Amis de la Palestine contre l’Impérialisme et le Sionisme