Contact: Sandra Korn
Rally Friday in support of Palestinian resistance, #BlackLivesMatter
Over 100 expected at march beginning 5PM at Durham Central Park
Durham, NC — As the violence of the Israeli occupation claims more and more lives, protesters will gather at Durham Central Park 5PM on Friday October 30 in solidarity with Palestine. The action will feature banners, speakers, and a march to the Durham County Jail.
Organized by a coalition of local community organizations, the rally will draw parallels between Israeli occupation and ethnic cleansing, and the violence against and displacement of people of color in the U.S.
The co-sponsoring organizations are Black Workers for Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace – Triangle NC Chapter, Muslims for Social Justice, and Workers World Party Durham Branch.
“I demand the liberation of my people,” said Zaina Alsous. “As a Palestinian living in diaspora, I stand in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter Uprising. I want an end to occupation, racist violence, and displacement, at home and abroad. None of us are free until all of us are free.”
“As a member of Muslims for Social Justice, I see a connection between anti-Islamophobia and anti-colonial movements, the black liberation movement, and other international progressive movements,” said Manzoor Cheema. “Palestinian liberation and black liberation are deeply interconnected.”
Since October 1, over 50 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded in acts of aggression by Israeli settlers and military officials in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
Earlier this month, thousands of Palestinians protested in refugee camps and at military checkpoints on a “Day of Rage” in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinian citizens of Israel simultaneously took to the streets for a general strike, closing businesses and schools across the country.
“The United States spends billions of dollars funding Israeli occupation and the genocide of the Palestinian people, while equally denying poor, predominantly black and brown communities basic access to living wages, healthcare and adequate housing,” said Laila Nur. “The Palestinian struggle against imperialism and violent racism is the struggle of the indigenous American, the African American, and many other oppressed peoples.”
“Israel continues to paint itself as a safe haven for Jewish people, who have historically faced persecution,” said Jade Brooks. “However, in reality Israel today operates as a white supremacist settler colony. As a member of Durham’s Jewish community, I oppose the Israeli occupation and ongoing violence.”
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Black Workers for Justice is an organization of Black workers organizing to build the African American workers’ movement as a central force in the struggle for Black Liberation and Worker’s Power.
Jewish Voice for Peace – Triangle NC is a chapter of a national membership organization inspired by Jewish tradition to work for the freedom, equality, and dignity of all the people of Israel and Palestine.
Muslims for Social Justice is a North Carolina based organization dedicated to Human Rights and Social Justice for all.
Workers World Party is a revolutionary socialist organization with branches throughout the U.S., including in Durham, NC.
Jewish Voice for Peace Triangle NC 