The action was organized by Al-Awda--The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, which last September sponsored a similar national protest in Washington, D.C.

Protesters gathered across the street from the Israeli Mission to the United Nations where several speakers addressed the crowd and then marched downtown 28 blocks for a rally in Union Square park. The Daily News gave their "unofficial estimate" of the crowd at 5,000.

A news release issued prior to the action by Al-Awda pointed out that in addition to demanding the right of more than 5 million Palestinian refugees "to return to their properties and homes of origin," the rally "will also demonstrate support for people in the occupied territories where more than 400 Palestinians have been killed, and over 15,000 injured by Israeli occupation forces in the past six months. A third of those injured and killed are children." Similar protest actions were held in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth and Dheishe, Balata, and several Palestinian refugee camps in the occupied territories. Actions were slated for Lebanon, Syria, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, and Spain, according to a release issued by Al-Awda.

The rally coincided with the 53rd anniversary of the massacre of Palestinian civilians in the village of Deir Yassin, where Zionist military units murdered 254 unarmed inhabitants on April 9, 1948. The town is now part of Israel. This and other attacks by Israeli forces were designed to provoke a massive flight of Palestinians from their homes and land out of the area that was declared the state of Israel on May 15, 1948. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were driven into exile in this manner.

In addition to a strong presence at the protest from New York residents, participants came on buses from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago. Some 100 people flew in from California. Participants also came from Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Canada.

"I'm here to support the struggle of the Palestinian people, the efforts to get the right to return and live freely, and the right not to be made homeless by the Israeli government," stated Ephraim Bahar, a bus driver for the Transit Authority in Cleveland, who came to the action with the Islamic Center there.  
 
Stepped up assaults by Israeli rulers
On the minds of many at the action were the latest stepped-up assaults by the Israeli rulers, and the importance of international solidarity with their brothers and sisters who are at the forefront of the resistance today in the occupied territories and within Israel itself.

The week prior to the action, the Israeli military razed nearly 30 homes of Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank. At the same time Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon announced plans April 5 to build another 700 houses for Jewish settlers at two locations in the West Bank.

"The settlers can do what they please and we're forbidden to build," Muhammad Salah, whose house was just razed, told a New York Times reporter. "How can you build trust and good relations when you destroy my house? This is terrorism," he said.

Meanwhile, Israeli helicopter gunships rocketed two Palestinian police stations in the Gaza Strip April 6 and knocked out power to thousands of homes. Israeli authorities are continuing their policy of assassinating prominent Palestinian figures. For example, a top official of the Islamic Jihad movement, Iyad Hardan, was assassinated in the West Bank city of Jenin April 5 when a public phone exploded as he made a call. Palestinian officials said personnel in Israeli planes flying nearby detonated the hidden bomb by remote control.

The UN Commission on Human Rights in a 48-2 vote April 6 reaffirmed the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and statehood. Only the United States and Guatemala voted against the resolution. Delegates from Britain, China, France, and Russia voted in favor, while Canada abstained.  
 
'Palestine should be free'
"I think this demonstration is wonderful," commented Jamilah Alzer, a young Palestinian participating in the New York action and currently living in Washington, D.C. "Palestine should be a free state and Jerusalem should be declared Palestinian territory, and America should cut off all aid to Israel," she emphasized.

A group of high school students with the group New Generation Palestine were some of the most enthusiastic participants in the demonstration. Ahmad Barqawi, 15, is a student at Washington Township High School in southern New Jersey, and vice president of the organization. Formed 12 years ago and currently based in Philadelphia, south Jersey, and Maryland, the group's aim "is to educate the American people about Palestine and present our side of the story," said Barqawi. "We are here to help fight for our country." A busload of some 47 people affiliated with this youth group came to the action from Philadelphia.

A number of fighters for the independence of Puerto Rico marched behind one of the largest banners in the demonstration that read, "Puerto Ricans in Solidarity with Palestine--U.S. Navy Out of Vieques. Stop the U.S.-Backed Occupation of Palestine." Also part of their contingent was a colorful banner saying, "Women for Peace and Justice for Vieques." Among those marching was longtime Puerto Rican rights fighter Rafael Cancel Miranda. "It's the same struggle, the same enemy," stated Cancel Miranda in an interview. "Palestinians are the Puerto Ricans of the Middle East and Puerto Ricans are the Palestinians of the Americas."

Cancel Miranda was also one of the featured speakers at the Union Square rally. "I feel honored to be here. Everyone who believes in dignity should be here," he stated. "We have the right to fight for our children by any means." Cancel Miranda pointed to the fact that the U.S. rulers held him in jail as a political prisoner for 28 years during which time "they tried to take the dignity out of me." He received a rousing round of applause in response to his expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people and with the Cuban Revolution.

Dr. Mazen Al-Najjar, a Palestinian professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa who was released from U.S. prisons December 15, also addressed the rally. Al-Najjar had been jailed by U.S. authorities for three years and seven months on what the government claimed was secret evidence. Facing widespread protest, a district court judge ruled his detention violated the constitutional right to due process. Having been dealt a blow in their attack on democratic rights, Attorney General Janet Reno in January said the U.S. Justice Department would attempt to deport Al-Najjar.

"It's wonderful to see the youth are holding firm on the truth," Al-Najjar told the rally. "We have the moral high ground on this issue. We're not here to inflict oppression, but to reverse the unjust situation [of the Palestinian people]. We will keep going and insisting that the truth should be defended and upheld."

Other speakers included Palestinian activist and Columbia University professor Edward Said and Palestinian-American journalist Muna Hamzeh. A message was also read from Dr. George Habash, former secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

"For the first time, we're seeing a grassroots movement growing in the United States around the issue of Palestinian rights," stated Mary Nazzal, 21, a leader of Turath (Heritage), a group at Columbia University in New York. "And there is a lot more potential," she added, "given the recent development occurring in the Middle East."

Lew Amore, 26, who lives in New York and identifies himself as an Italian-American, said he was "most impressed by the number of non-Arab supporters at the demonstration."  
 

Protesters chanted, "Quebec-Palestine: solidarity!" "No justice, no peace!" "Sharon, assassin!" and "Stop the massacres!" in French, English, and Arabic as they marched from the University of Quebec to the American and Israeli consulates. Many in the demonstration carried Palestinian and Quebec flags.

The demonstration was organized by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) in collaboration with the Medical Aid for Palestine, Jewish Alliance Against the Occupation, Palestinian and Jewish Unity, and the Canadian-Palestinian Foundation. SPHR is a campus-based Montreal organization comprising all university students wanting to organize activities in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. SPHR has committees in McGill and Concordia universities, as well as at the two French-speaking campuses, UQAM and UdeM.

Dimitris Fasfalis is a member of the Young Socialists in Montreal and a member of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights at the University of Montreal.  
 
 
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