Feature Archives

On Saturday, January 10th there were nationwide protests against the atrocities and occupation perpetrated by the Israeli government in Gaza. The San Francisco protest started in Civic Center at 11am and then thousands of protesters marched through the downtown. More then 850 people have died and thousands have been wounded in Israel's attacks on Gaza. 1.6 million Gazans are living without access to basic services and face constant Israeli attacks in one of the most densely populated areas of the world. On January 8th, the UN accused Israel of purposefully killing its aid workers. The UN has also reported that Israeli troops ordered Palestinian civilians into a house in Gaza City, and then shelled the building 24 hours later. The ICRC has also accused Israel of restricting access to thousands of wounded civilians, including several young children who the Red Cross found living for several days among the corpses of over a dozen dead relatives.

On Saturday January 3rd, Israeli ground troops moved into Gaza, cutting the territory in two and surrounding Gaza City. At least 600 Palestinians have now been killed with thousands wounded and an even larger number left without water and other basic services. As protests occur around the world and many world leaders denounce the massacre, the US is trying to delay a ceasefire and US politicians like NY mayor Bloomberg and Democratic Congressman Gary Ackerman have flown to Israel to show their support for the continuation of the killing.

In San Francisco, an emergency protest took place Saturday at Powell and Market. Over one thousand protested in San Jose Sunday. On Monday morning in San Francisco, a thousand protesters marched from Market and Montgomery to the Federal Building, demanding that Israel halt its invasion of Gaza. A small delegation attempted to enter the Federal Building to deliver a message asking the US government to stop supporting the Israeli military.

Protests against the attacks on Gaza have been taking place around the Bay Area and across California. On December 28th, a San Francisco protest took place at Powell and Market at noon. On December 29th, there was a protest at Feinstein's office and hundreds of protesters took over the intersection of Montgomery and Market to protest the Gaza massacre. There was also a protest Monday in San Mateo. On December 30th, as part of a National Day of Action, there were demonstrations at the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco and in downtown Sacramento. On Friday, January 2nd, protesters gathered at Powell and Market at 2:30pm and marched to the Israeli consulate.

On December 27th, 28th and 29th, Israeli air strikes targeted Gaza killing over 364 people and seriously injuring thousands more. As Israeli tanks mass on the Gaza border, thousands of Israelis are protesting. The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, an umbrella group of Arab organizations, declared a national strike and a mourning day in the Arab sector beginning Sunday morning. There have also been large protests across the Middle East and in Europe.

IVAW (Iraq Veterans Against the War) performed "Operation First Casualty" throughout downtown San Francisco on Black Friday, interrupting shoppers' routines with a graphic display of the action that they were missing by not being in Iraq. Volunteer "civilians" were detained, cuffed and hooded by the Iraq vets in a graphic reenactment of the US military's occupation of Iraq. Several volunteers were water-boarded. Volunteers pretended to be Iraq citizens suffering under the occupation of U.S. forces.

On November 16th, over 200 people from numerous communities throughout the Monterey Bay area came out to join the 15th annual Peace and Unity March, organized to demand an end to violence. In attendance was the family of Ray Ray Cervantez, a recent victim of violence, who shared words of their sorrow and urged peace.

The 15th annual Peace and Unity March takes place Saturday, November 1st starting with a rally at 11:00am in the Watsonville Plaza. For the last 15 years, the Watsonville Brown Berets, along with families of fallen victims and other community members, have organized the Peace and Unity March. In this time, more than 80 residents of the Watsonville community have lost their lives to violence.