Aug. 5 national day of protests grows

Organizers from coast to coast have reported that the call to demand “U.S. Out of the Middle East” on Aug. 5 is growing as the outrage over the U.S./Israeli war has deepened. Actions are set from New York City to San Francisco, from Boston to Los Angeles, from Detroit to Atlanta and in many other cities and areas.

Palestinian activist Samia Halaby speaks at July 28 rally at Israeli UN mission in New York.

Larry Holmes, a national spokesperson for the Troops Out Now Coalition exclaimed, “It is imperative that anti-war activists and all justice-minded people act immediately and forcefully to oppose the U.S./Israeli war. Israel could not have launched its criminal invasion on Lebanon and Palestine if it did not have the full support of U.S. imperialism.”

Holmes continued, “The Aug. 5 actions will build for the national demonstrations on August 12th in Washington D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles.” The Troops Out Now Coalition is organizing buses for the D.C. mobilization. New York City protesters have set a 4 p.m. march from Times Square to Rockefeller Center on Aug. 5.

Joan Marquardt reported that activists with the International Action Center in San Francisco are planning an outreach and street protest on Aug. 5 to build for the demonstration on Aug. 12. Sacramento, Calif., is also planning to protest on Aug. 5.

In Southern California, Los Angeles is holding a major regional activity at the Westwood building including a march which has the support of Arab and Muslim forces. San Diego activists are organizing transportation for both weekends in Los Angeles. There will also be a local protest in San Diego on Aug. 12 called by the San Diego chapter of the National Council of Arab Americans and San Diego Al-Awda.

Steven Ceci, a Baltimore union organizer, pointed out that “workers in the U.S. will lose in this war also.” The All Peoples Congress, a city-wide community group in Baltimore, is planning an Aug. 5 protest in the Black community.

Washington, D.C., IAC spokesperson Pam Parker explained that all of the workers she has talked to in the anti-war movement are anxious to respond, especially after the horrible massacre in Qana, Lebanon, committed by the Israelis.

In Cleveland, a rust belt city that has seen workers thrown on the scrap heap by the bosses, the Fight Back Center is marching from a popular local park. Activists in Chicago, which has been the site of major immigrant rights protests, are planning Aug. 5 protests and buses to the Aug. 12 march in D.C.

The Boston Rosa Parks Human Rights Day Com mit tee, which launched a major march to honor Rosa Parks this past Dec. 1 and has helped to revive the struggle against racism, is one of the key organizers for the August 5th actions.

In Michigan, communities are uniting. The Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice (MECAWI) called for a protest in downtown Detroit. Jerry Goldberg, a MECAWI organizer, explained, “There are nightly demonstrations in Dearborn, Mich. Many of the residents of this mostly Arab community have family members in Qana and they are outraged. Within minutes of the most recent massacre protesters gathered at the site of a memorial to the victims of Qana which was established in Dearborn following the 1996 massacre. Dearborn was declared a sister city with Qana. The Congress of Arab American Organizations has declared Aug. 5 in Detroit as one of their nightly actions.”

In addition, Rochester, N.Y., and Buffalo, N.Y., are holding a regional New York State action on Aug.4. Atlanta, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tuscon, Ariz., along with other areas have reported actions for this coming weekend.