In an unprecedented outpouring of popular opposition to U.S. policy in support of the Israeli invasion of Gaza, a full month of nearly continuous protests brought tens of thousands into the streets of major cities in the state of California. In the city of San Jose more than 3,000 people demonstrated over a period of four successive weekends beginning on January 4, 2009. They halted traffic and shopping in Silicon Valley's high-end shopping district, Santana Row. More than 10,000 demonstrated in San Francisco between December 28 and January 10. Thousands more in southern California and in the state capital of Sacramento took to the streets in support of Gaza during the weeks-long attack.

Young Arab-Americans mobilized in unprecedented numbers during this time. Jewish Americans joined protests in front of the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco and in the shopping districts of San Jose, demonstrating that not all Jews support Israeli policies.

A variety of oppressed communities in the San Francisco Bay Area found common cause with Gaza's situation. Latino immigrants in San Jose linked their struggle for freedom of movement to and from the U.S. to the Palestinian struggle for freedom of travel to and from Gaza. In the East Bay city of Oakland, people protesting the murder of an unarmed 22-year-old black man by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police carried signs linking the their cause to that of Palestinians in Gaza.

With a common legacy of bantustans – Indian reservations and encircled Palestinian territories – Native Americans understand well the situation of Palestinians. Members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) spoke of solidarity with the Gaza struggle during a demonstration for Native American sovereignty in San Francisco.

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Previous Indybay Gaza Coverage: Activists Lockdown at Israeli Consulate in San Francisco as Gaza Massacre Intensifies | For Second Week Gaza Demo in San Jose Halts Traffic & Shoppers | January 10th Gaza Protest In San Francisco | Over 600 Palestinians Killed. Humanitarian Crisis Faces 1.6 Million | Egyptian Government and Other Arab Leaders Seen as Complicit in Gaza Assault | Bay Area Protesters Take to the Streets to Protest Attack on Gaza | Over 364 Palestinians Dead as Israel Attacks Gaza