May 2005

http://alawda.newjerseysolidarity.org

March Protests War, Calls for Jobs, Education

MARCH 19 - The Troops Out Now Coalition led a demonstration that marched from Harlem to Central Park in New York City on Saturday, March 19, the second anniversary of the launching of war on Iraq. Attended by 10-15,000 marchers, the demonstration, which began in Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park, brought together antiwar activists, labor leaders, community groups, and activists from a variety of movements and struggles in a united effort to call for U.S. troops to leave Iraq immediately and for immediate funding for jobs, education and health care. Waleed Bader of the National Council of Arab Americans, Khalid Lamada of the Arab Muslim American Federation, Dr. Hani Awadallah of the Arab American Civic Organization, Noel Winkler of New Jersey Solidarity-Activists for the Liberation of Palestine and Samia Halaby of the New York Committee to Defend Palestine spoke about the Palestinian and Arab struggles for liberation at Central Park.

Teach-In Discusses Lebanese Civil War

APRIL 9 - The New York Committee to Defend Palestine held a teach-in on the Lebanese Civil War at ABCNORIO on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The teach-in, attended by many deeply concerned by current U.S. threats to Lebanon and Syria, drew on the history of the Lebanese Civil War in "Our Roots Are Still Alive," an early-1980's work published by the People's Press, as well as the work of scholar Rosemary Sayigh to reveal the political and class nature of the struggle in Lebanon. Exploring the history of colonialism in Lebanon, as well as the history of attempts to divide popular movements along religious lines, and the historic roles played by "Israel" and Syria, the teach-in drew connections to current attempts to divide the Lebanese and Syrian people, stifle the successful resistance spearheaded by Hezbollah, and once again foment disunity, as the U.S. continues to seek ever-expanding control in the Arab World.

National Council of Arab Americans Holds Conference

MAY 15 - The National Council of Arab Americans (NCA) held its Founding Conference in Washington, DC, on the weekend of May 13-15. The NCA, which "aims to be a unifying framework for the Arab-American community across gender, racial, religious and socio-economic backgrounds through multi-level political empowerment, chapter-based grassroots democratic mobilization and accountability, and need-based service programs," is working to build an umbrella organization of the Arab community in the United States. NCA members reported on projects, including the Defense of Civil Rights in Academia Project, the Arab American Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Al-Kitab Educational Program, Arab American History Project and the NCA Media Project, and elected a National Board of Directors to steer the organization.