------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the April 5, 2001 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- APRIL 7 IN NEW YORK: RALLY FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS By Leslie Feinberg On April 7, thousands of Palestinians and those who stand shoulder to shoulder with them will march and rally to demand the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their land and their homes from which they were expelled. Marches and rallies are scheduled for New York and cities in Palestine, Spain, Canada and Australia. It is especially important for all in the United States who support Palestinian self-determination to bolster the New York demonstration. The Zionist settler occupation of Palestine could not survive for a week without a massive $10-million-a-day infusion of U.S. military and economic aid. Israel has been a bastion of the U.S. oil monopolies and a bulwark against Arab revolution. And the region has great military and strategic importance for U.S. imperialism. No demand is more central to winning true justice for Palestinians than the right of over 5 million refugees to return home. And so these events will focus on ending five decades of exile and expropriation. The protests also coincide with the 53rd anniversary of the massacre of Palestinian civilians in the village of Deir Yassin by Zionist death squads. These lynchings helped create a wave of terror designed to drive Palestinians from their land. In a news release, Al-Awda, the group that called the April 7 events, wrote: "Organizers intend to draw the public's attention to the human rights abuses and suffering inflicted on the Palestinian people. They also plan to send a strong signal of support of Palestinians in territories occupied since 1948 and 1967." The release stressed that more than 350 Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces in recent months. More than 11,000 have been injured. Many of those maimed and killed were children. Confirmed speakers at the April 7 rally in New York include Dr. Souheil Natour, Dr. Mazin Al-Najjar, Muna Hamze, Dr. Sami el-Aryan, Puerto Rican Nationalist Rafael Cancel Miranda, Rafiq Jaber, Richard Becker and Sara Flounders of the International Action Center, and Abbas Hamidah, a son of Deir Yassin massacre survivors. The rally will also include a statement by George Habash, former secretary general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Internationally renowned musicians Marcel Khalife and Simon Shaheen have been invited to take part. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
