By Martha Grevatt
April 3, 2024

Palestine Land Day — March 30 — is an annual commemoration of a deadly 1976 crackdown on protests and a general strike in Palestine against Israel’s confiscation of Palestinian land. Six unarmed protesters were killed and over 100 wounded by the Israeli Occupation Forces. That specific land theft was canceled, but the confiscation of Palestinian land for Israeli settlements has gone on relentlessly.

Solidarity actions were held all over the U.S. this year, making clear the need for “Land back!” to the Indigenous people of Palestine.

The Boston Coalition for Palestine drew over 1,000 people to a demonstration on March 30. Activists occupied the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge and raised the slogan “Land back, from Turtle Island to Palestine!” The first rally speaker was Jean-Luc Pierite of United American Indians of New England and North American Indian Center of Boston.

Thousands of people rallied in Times Square in New York City to observe Land Day. Waving Palestinian flags, the crowd passionately chanted “Free, Free Palestine!” and “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free!” Three contingents — Educators for Palestine, Labor for Palestine and Artists Against Apartheid — marched into Times Square. Workers World Party participated in the demonstration, which was organized by the People’s Forum.

The Philadelphia action started with a rally in Washington Square Park. During a 200-plus person march through Center City, over 50 people, who were attempting to block the I-676 expressway, were kettled by police on the expressway between the 8th Street and Broad Street entrances. They were zip-tied and taken to the Belmont Barracks, where they were eventually released with citations. The rest of the crowd marched to City Hall where the demonstrators dispersed.

In Cleveland, hundreds of people marched through Edgewater Park for Palestine Land Day. The commemoration was organized by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network. A huge banner demanding Cleveland City Council pass a ceasefire resolution was displayed, but the Council finally passed a ceasefire resolution March 25 after 17 weeks of Palestinians and their supporters packing Council chambers.

On March 29, activists demonstrated outside Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office to protest his support for Israeli genocide. Brown is among the top10 recipients of campaign contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Despite having an appointment to meet with Brown’s staff, a delegation of Palestine supporters were barred from entering Brown’s office.

Hundreds of people, from babies in strollers to elders with walkers, gathered in Houston. Led by the Palestinian Youth Movement and supported by over a dozen organizations, people engaged in creative chanting, drumming and singing, and speaking. The crowd rallied on a pleasant afternoon, but speeches, chants, and signs were anything but pleasant, reflecting the horror of the ongoing genocide in Palestine — paid for by President Joe Biden and the U.S. ruling class with our tax dollars.

In a show of solidarity and strength, people in Portland, Oregon, came out to remind those enjoying the unseasonably warm weather that Palestine is still suffering at the hands of the brutal Zionist-U.S.-European Union genocidal settler-colonial forces. Led by a local Palestinian group, Zaytuna of the PNW (Pacific Northwest), protesters were able to join in Dabke dancing and choral singing. Rousing speeches fired everyone up to take to the streets.

Around 500 people marched across various parts of downtown Portland and stopped traffic on two bridges. Many people in vehicles and in residential towers showed support, along with a sympathetic bridge operator.

With a parallel demo in Seattle, the Pacific Northwest of Turtle Island helped to keep the struggle fresh on the minds of the masses. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people marched through the city on March 30. Among them was a strong delegation from Seattle’s Martin Luther King Labor Council, which endorsed the march. The Labor Council represents over 100,000 workers in King County, Washington.

Gigantic protests worldwide

All over the world, Palestine Land Day was the occasion for huge demonstrations of solidarity.

In Amman, Jordan, millions of people have held daily protests for over a week outside the Israeli Embassy, including on Land Day. Demonstrators filled the streets in Rabat, Morocco, to condemn the genocide against the Palestinian people. Throughout occupied Palestine there were marches, with people defying the Zionist state’s ban on Palestinian flags. Powerful protests were held throughout West Asia and North Africa, including in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

Over 200,000 marchers took to the streets in London. Large numbers demonstrated in Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid and many other European cities. In Johannesburg, South Africa, people amassed outside the U.S. Consulate.

Across the globe, the word in the streets on March 30 was “Free, free Palestine!”

Jey C, Jim McMahan, Lyn Neeley, Joe Piette, Gloria Rubac and Brenda Ryan provided on the ground reports of actions in their cities.