Feature Archives

On May 31st, Israeli commandos attacked an unarmed aid flotilla, killing at least nine and injuring dozens of others, in international waters forty miles off the coast of Gaza. On board the ships were hundreds of civilians attempting to bring 10,000 tons of supplies and humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which has been under an illegal Israeli-imposed siege for the past three years.

Demonstrations against the Israeli attack have been taking place around the world with the largest being in Turkey where at least four of those killed were from. At a protest in the West Bank, an American solidarity activist was shot in the face with a tear gas canister and is currently in Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem undergoing surgery to remove her left eye.

Protests have taken place all week at the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco. The next protest will be Thursday June 3rd at 4pm at Powell and Market with a march to the Consulate at 5pm.

On April 27th, people believed to be paramilitaries affiliated with the ruling party of Oaxaca ambushed an international aid caravan en route to the autonomous town of San Juan Copala, Oaxaca. At least two people are reported dead. The caravan was carrying food, water, and other basic necessities to the town, which has been subject to a paramilitary blockade that has prevented anyone from entering or leaving the community since January.

Four-Twenty (including 4:20, 420 and 4/20) has long been associated with marijuana use and marijuana activism. 4:20 is a time of day when people smoke marijuana. April 20th has evolved into a counterculture holiday, known for large gatherings of people celebrating and consuming marijuana, a.k.a. cannabis. Thousands of people gather annually in Boston, Boulder, New York, Santa Cruz, Seattle and many other cities in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and elsewhere around the world.

On February 20, 2010 – The Israel Ballet’s recent performance of Don Quixote was protested by a coalition of activists who sought to highlight the troupe’s role in the Israeli government’s attempt to whitewash its record of war crimes, violations of international law, and other atrocities through promotion of its country’s artistic and cultural workers. Only two days prior, activists in Burlington, VT succeeded in disrupting the Israel Ballet’s actual performance with a banner saying "No tutu is big enough to cover Israel's War Crimes".

On February 25th, 2010, activists and organizations from around the world joined together in solidarity with the Palestinian residents of Hebron/al Khaleel, through local protests that demand the opening of Shuhada Street to Palestinians and an end to the Israeli occupation. In San Francisco, nine were arrests, after protesters holding a banner that read "Israeli Apartheid closes streets" closed off Powell Street and refused police orders to disperse, while a crowd of hundreds looked on cheering. In Al-Khalil, a peaceful march to Shuhada st, was met with tear gas, stun grenades, and arrests.

On Saturday, February 6, a rally in support of the Iranian people and marking the 31st anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution will be held at 1pm at the Plaza De Cesar Chavez in San Jose. "The Iranian Revolution of 1979 stopped short of establishing a democratic government," say event organizers. "But today, after enduring more than three decades of renewed repression, Iranians are protesting once again to complete a mission that was left unfinished."

On January 28, at around 9pm Andrea Caraballo, Guadalupe Rodriguez Lopez, James Wells and Jennifer Lawhorne were eating ice cream in the zocalo of Oaxaca. At that time, one of them recognized the face of the governor of Oaxaca who was about nine feet away. A friend of Brad Will took advantage of the governor’s presence to ask him about the case of Mr. Will, which to this day remains unresolved.

Bradley Roland Will, a journalist with New York City Indymedia, was shot and killed in October 2006 during the six-month long uprising in Oaxaca. His assailants are believed to be local officials with ties to the ruling political party.