Feature Archives

UPDATE: The trial has been delayed. More details will be forthcoming.

On November 17th, a Jerusalem civil court will convene regarding the case of Tristan Anderson, an international solidarity activist from Oakland, California, wounded in March 2009 when he was shot in the head by Israeli border police in Ni'ilin, Palestine. He survived the attack on his life, but has been left paralyzed on one side of his body and with significant damage to his brain. To date, no one has been charged with any crime whatsoever related to the shooting of Tristan Anderson. Also on November 17th, supporters are invited to an event in Berkeley in solidarity with the trial featuring Tristan, an update from court from Gabby, and a discussion as well as music.

On November 14th, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and the National Lawyers’ Guild (NLG) filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Oakland Police Department (OPD) for its egregious constitutional violations against Occupy Oakland demonstrators. The ACLU-NC and the NLG are suing OPD on behalf of Scott Campbell and other demonstrators subjected to excessive force during recent demonstrations. Additional plaintiffs include Kerie Campbell, Marc McKinnie, Michael Siegel, and NLG Legal Observer Marcus Kryshka.

Students at UC Berkeley walked out of classes on November 9th to protest budget cuts and rising tuition, and to support the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. The rally protested economic inequality and its impact on students, the poor and the young — in the words of the occupy movement, a protest by the 99% of the people who are exploited by a system that only benefits the top 1%. Later that night, students were beaten by police batons as they tried to set up tents in Sproul Plaza, and six students and an assistant professor were arrested. Students continued to occupy the plaza without tents, however.

Occupy Oakland continues to kick through the boundaries of what was previously thought possible, upping the ante of what it means to resist against corporate greed and state oppression. Just one day after a hundred people were arrested, two encampments were physically smashed to the ground, and a thousand supporters were attacked by police with chemical weapons and projectiles in a manner that shocked the conscience of the nation, Occupy Oakland collectively took the audacious and ambitious step of calling for the first General Strike in America in sixty-five years.

Early on October 25th, expecting a police raid at Occupy Oakland in Oscar Grant Plaza, occupiers began to erect barricades along the perimeter and access ways to the plaza. At 4:30am, over 500 police surrounded the plaza. Police fired projectiles and tear gas shells and hand-lobbed at least one flash-bang grenade over the barricades before marching through the camp tearing down tents and pulling down almost everything that stood in the plaza. Over 70 people were arrested during the raid. Later in the day, Alameda County Sheriff's deputies repeatedly deployed massive amounts of tear gas and fired projectiles into a crowd of marchers throughout the night. Numerous people were injured, some seriously when projectiles were fired at the heads of protesters. On October 26th, occupiers removed fencing and again took Oscar Grant Plaza, holding their daily General Assembly which voted 1484 to 46 for an Oakland general strike on Wednesday, November 2nd.

On Friday, October 14th, Jeff Halper, director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD), will be speaking at UC Berkeley. Halper, who has been arrested many times for his nonviolent direct action against house demolition, is the author of three books and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

The Oakland General Assembly decided on October 4th that the people of Oakland should occupy Frank Ogawa Plaza at the corner of 14th and Broadway on Monday, October 10th starting at 4pm in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, the many occupations underway across the country, and Indigenous Resistance Day. Organizers say, "Come ready to spend the night or just swing by to say hello. Let's do this Oakland style!" Nearly 1000 people gathered on the first day, with around 50 tents set up overnight, including one tent occupied by Oakland city council member Desley Brooks. The plaza has been dubbed "Oscar Grant Plaza" by Occupiers.