Sat 7/5: Chicago Protests Israeli Collective Punishment

Emergency Rally and March Saturday to Demand End to Collective Punishment of Palestinians

	When: 3-5 p.m., Saturday, July 5

	Where: Rally at 3 p.m. Water Tower Park, 180 E. Pearson St., Chicago, IL 60611 (Michigan & Pearson);
               Walk 4 p.m. to Chicago Tribune Tower, 435 N. Michigan Ave

	Who: Speakers include members of Palestinian community and their supporters

(CHICAGO 07/04/2014) -- A diverse coalition of Chicagoland Palestinians, along with members of other student, faith-based, human rights and other social justice groups, will hold a rally and march to protest Israel’s increasingly escalating attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza. The protestors will also march to the Chicago Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue to stress their demands for fair coverage of these attacks.

Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have said that Israel’s actions against Palestinian citizens since the disappearance of the three Israeli youths on June 12 amount to collective punishment, which is against international law. The protestors are calling for an end to Israel's collective punishment and violence against Palestinian men, women, and children. The protestors also demand that mainstream media outlets end biased reporting that only covers the Israeli youth who have been killed, while ignoring the more than 10 Palestinians killed since the Israeli army operations began.

Similar protests are being held over the next few days in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Ft. Lauderdale, Boston, Omaha, and Des Moines.

Background:

Since the deaths two weeks ago of three Israeli youth in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army has engaged in a brutal campaign of collective punishment against the Palestinian people, heavily bombing the Gaza Strip, raiding West Bank towns and villages on a scale not seen in years, arresting and detaining hundreds of civilians, including dozens of children, and reinstating the practice of punitive home demolitions, which had been abandoned after the Second Intifada. Last Friday, Palestinian citizens of Israel gathered at the entrance to Umm al-Fahm, one of the largest Arab towns inside the pre-1967 lines, to protest against Israeli attacks in the West Bank and were violently dispersed by police, who deployed tear gas and stun grenades.

On July 2, after thousands of Israelis marched through the streets of Jerusalem chanting ‘death to Arabs’, the charred and mutilated body of 17-year old East Jerusalem resident Mohammad Abu Khdair was found in a forest near Jerusalem, a likely victim of a revenge killing. Israeli forces have killed at least nine other Palestinians during the past two weeks, including at least three children.

Endorsed by:

American Friends Service Committee
American Muslims for Palestine – Chicago
Anti-War Committee - Chicago
Chicago Islamic Center
Jews for Justice in Palestine
Jewish Voice for Peace - Chicago
Palestinian American Council
Palestinian Community Center
Palestine Solidarity Group - Chicago
Students for Justice in Palestine's Chicago network
US Palestinian Community Network – Chicago

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1479409155627269/

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