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Palestine Solidarity

Columbia Students Sue University For Attacks On Pro-Palestine Activism

Three students from Columbia University filed a lawsuit on Monday morning against the school administration for their suspensions related to their pro-Palestine activism on campus. Among the claims in the complaint, the students state that the university violated its own policies during the disciplinary process, that the university targeted the students for their views, and that it violated New York’s landlord tenant laws when it evicted the students from university housing. “The university just pulled out all the roadblocks and threw out its rule book in an attempt to punish and silence the plaintiffs however they could,” James Carlson, an attorney representing the students, told Drop Site News.

The Encampment Movement Leads The Way Under Trump

On January 20, Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term as President of the United States. As the country reels from his inauguration and the sweeping executive orders of his first week in office, American progressives are left grappling with the implications of a new Trump Administration, and how our organizing projects might come under renewed assault by a hard right Republican trifecta that controls both houses of Congress and is well positioned to enact its legislative agenda. Many organizations are rightfully concerned about the repression and lawfare that Trump’s return to the White House threatens.

Palestine Action Applying Heat To Another Genocide-Complicit Company

On Monday 3 February, Palestine Action targeted yet another new firm complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza – this time, a well-known household name. Biffa Limited. Overnight, activists from Palestine Action Scotland targeted the Glasgow and Edinburgh premises of Biffa Limited. They smashed windows, spray-painted ‘Drop Leonardo’, and covered the sites in red paint to symbolise the company’s complicity with spilling Palestinian blood. Biffa Limited dispose of hazardous waste for Leonardo and Thales, two weapons companies based in Scotland which arm Israel.

More Than Jobs At Stake In Attack On Pro-Palestinian Campus Speech

For months before U.S. President Donald Trump took office, nearly daily reports rolled in of students and professors on trial for their activism for Palestinian life. New York University suspended 11 students who were part of a peaceful flyer distribution and sit-in, including students who simply sat in the library lobby in solidarity. Eleven students at Swarthmore College faced expulsion on assault charges for using a bullhorn. Emerson College laid off 10 staff members, blaming protests for Palestine as a cause for low enrollment, and then using layoffs to target pro-Palestine employees.

‘Invasion Day’ Protests Draw Tens Of Thousands Across Australia

Tens of thousands of people took part in “Invasion Day” protests in cities and towns across Australia on Sunday, January 26. The protests highlighted the ongoing oppression of Indigenous peoples under colonial occupation, and opposed the celebration of ‘Australia Day,’ which falls on January 26—the anniversary of the British invasion of the lands now known as Australia, in 1788. Ruby Wharton, Community Development Officer at Sisters Inside Inc., spoke at the Invasion Day protest in Meanjin (Brisbane). Protesters met at Victoria Park before marching through the city to Musgrave Park, the site of the Brisbane Sovereign Embassy, established in 2012 as a symbol of Aboriginal sovereignty.

Nations Launch Legal Action Against Israel At The Hague

Nine nations are set to meet today, January 31, 2025, in The Hague, Netherlands, launching The Hague Group with the goal of holding Israel accountable for its alleged violations of international law in the Gaza Strip. The nations aim to announce coordinated legal, economic, and diplomatic measures as part of their commitment to uphold Palestinian rights. The historic meeting, convened by the Progressive International, will bring together representatives from Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa.

Palestine Action Hit 15 Offices Of Allianz In One Night

In a coordinated wave of actions across Europe, Palestine Action struck at 15 premises of the ‘Allianz‘ company, investors in and insurers of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company. Allianz’s provision of Employers Liability Insurance to Elbit Systems UK renders the insurance giant deeply complicit in the genocide in Gaza, as – without insurance – Elbit could not operate in Britain. German firm Allianz, which is also a major institutional investor in Elbit, had nine of its premises struck with red paint and smashed windows on Tuesday 28 January. The actions happened across England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Palestine Action Smash A Van Into An Arms Factory

At around 5am on Tuesday 28 January, Palestine Action crashed a van into front of Teledyne Defence and Space in Shipley – yet another arms manufacturer complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The van hit the main perimeter. Activists then attached themselves to the vehicle in order to disrupt the factory’s shipments of weapons parts to be used against the people of Palestine and Lebanon. The site was previously targeted twice by Palestine Action with rooftop occupations involving dismantling the factory. Before then, Palestine Action dismantled its ‘Teledyne Labtech’ factory at Presteigne, Wales, in 2022 where it caused £1m in losses.

City University Of New York Union Votes To Divest From Israel

Thursday night, delegates of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC-CUNY), the union representing faculty, graduate assistants, and many staff titles at the City University of New York (CUNY), voted 73-70 in favor of a resolution for the union to divest from Israeli companies and government bonds, identify other potential investments for divestment, and recommend that the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) pension plan also divest its $100 million invested in Israeli companies and bonds. This is an important victory for CUNY workers and the movement for Palestine, setting an example for the broader labor movement.

After Gaza Ceasefire, Labor Movement Isn’t Done Fighting For Palestine

A fragile cease-fire is finally in place in Gaza after Israel carried out a 15-month, U.S.-backed genocide that killed at least 47,107 Palestinians (though the true number is likely far higher) and reduced much of the coastal enclave to rubble. In the days following the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, anti-Palestinian hysteria swept the U.S. political and media establishments. As Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) encouraged Israel to ​“level” Gaza, then-Biden White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that calls for a cease-fire were ​“repugnant” and ​“disgraceful,” while top officials at the State Department instructed staffers not to publicly use terms like ​“de-escalation” and ​“cease-fire.”

I Was Suspended From Emory Over My Palestine Activism

When I interviewed for Emory’s medical school in 2018, I asked a senior admissions officer, in these exact words, “Will it be a problem that I am Palestinian, one who will be advocating for the liberation of Palestine?” And he replied, “No, of course not, it won’t be a problem.” Now, several years later, when I am holding true to the promise I delivered both in writing and in words, to be a physician who speaks out against structures of violence, I am being disciplined. I was transparent about my commitment to not just protect life on an individual level, but to tearing down systems that take life on a massive scale.

Palestine Action Are Occupying The Offices Of Aviva

From 7.30am on Wednesday 22 January, Palestine Action begun occupying ‘The Aviva Centre’ in Bristol over its ongoing complicity with Israel’s genocide in Gaza. One activist is on top of the overhang of the ‘UK’s largest insurer’: Another spray painted the front glass of the building. Messages painted on the building include ‘Pal Action’ and ‘Elbit Out.' Aviva provides the mandatory employers liability insurance for UAV Engines in Staffordshire, a drone engine factory owned by Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems. Recent disclosures show the company no longer holds direct shares in Elbit Systems. However, as well as insuring an Israeli weapons factory, Allianz also continue to hold investments in funds which hold Elbit shares.

Youth Demand Made It To The BBC At Saturday’s Palestine March

Three Youth Demand supporters defied Met Police restrictions on the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demonstration on Saturday 18 January by standing outside the BBC with signs. Youth Demand are calling for a two-way arms embargo on Israel and for the new UK government to halt all new oil and gas licences granted since 2021. Youth Demand: not letting the BBC get away with it At around 4:00pm, the three were arrested under Section 14 of the Public Order Act after marching to the BBC and standing on the pavement with signs, defying the conditions imposed on the protest by the Met. One Youth Demand supporter was holding a sign saying “Can I protest here?”, another held a completely blank sign.

NYU Imposes One-Year Suspensions On 11 Students

On Dec. 11, over a dozen NYU students and faculty dropped flyers and hung banners throughout the Bobst Library while 13 people sat in on the administrative floor of thelibrary. The actionists were demanding a meeting with administrators, who had, in the spring during the Gaza solidarity encampment movement at NYU, promised students to disclose the university’s endowment, including all its investments in weapons manufacturers and ties to Israel and companies that profit off its occupation of Palestine. The direct action was organized by student group Shut It Down NYU

London’s Met Police Arrest Organiser Of National Gaza Rally

The London Metropolitan Police arrested one of the organisers of the pro-Palestine rally on Saturday in central London after imposing restrictions banning protesters from marching towards the headquarters of the BBC. Organisers denied claims made by the Met that protesters had forced their way through a police cordon to march towards the BBC after ending their protest in Whitehall. The police said 77 arrests were made during Saturday’s protest, which organisers estimated drew 100,000 people. Among those arrested was Chris Nineham, the vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, who served as the chief steward for the national protest for Palestine.