Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition
Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition is a far left Islamic organization founded by Abbas Hamideh.[1],[2] They often coordinate with the ANSWER Coalition.
Background
From the Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition website:[3]
- "Palestine Right to Return Coalition, is a broad-based, non-partisan, democratic, and charitable organization of grassroots activists and students committed to comprehensive public education on the rights of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands of origin, and to full restitution of all their confiscated and destroyed property in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International law and the numerous United Nations Resolutions upholding such rights..."
National Board
Archived from the Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition dated Oct 11 2023:[4]
The following are represenatives of chapters currently serving on Al-Awda’s National Board, also referred to as The National Coordinating Committee:
- Chair, Amani Barakat, Moorpark/Los Angeles, California chapter
- Vice-Chair, Khalid Hijazi, Charlotte, North Carolina chapter
- Treasurer, Anas Amireh, South Florida chapter
- Fundraising, Aida Williams, San Diego, California chapter
- Communications/Secretary, Charlotte Kates, Vancouver
- External Affairs, Noura Khouri, San Francisco, California chapter
- New York Representative, Lamis Deek, New York chapter
- Upstate NY Representative, Eyad Kishawi, Upstate NY chapter
- Al-Awda Youth Representative, Nerdeen Kiswani, New York
- Dan Cione, New York (alternate)
People's Conference for Palestine
Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition was identified as a convener of the People's Conference for Palestine. The People's Conference for Palestine was "Funded and Supported by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Communist-Terrorist Group which is Headquartered in the Syrian Capital of Damascus".[5],[6] The conference was held May 24 - May 26, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan.
Verbatim from an Answer Coalition email dated May 22, 2024:
- "This moment calls on us to strengthen our relationships, our strategies, our tactics, and our unity for the struggle ahead. We must build a shared assessment of the moment, and chart out the next phase of our struggle. The Palestinian people have been fighting for liberation for over 100 years, and are committed to continuing this fight generation after generation, until victory. Join us as organizations, collectives, movement leaders, community members, students and intellectuals, artists and cultural workers, and activists for a three-day convening to reflect, exchange, and strengthen ourselves and our fight for a free Palestine!
- "This landmark conference is being convened by: Palestinian Youth Movement, National Students for Justice in Palestine, The People's Forum, Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, The U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), ANSWER Coalition, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, International Jewish Anti Zionist Network, Writers Against the War on Gaza, Healthcare Workers for Palestine, Palestinian Feminist Collective, Palestine Popular University, Palestinian American Women's Association, Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), and National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression.
- "We are in an unprecedented moment in history. As we bear witness to the ongoing and brutal genocide against the Palestinian people, we are also part of building a mass movement that is committed to struggling for Palestinian national liberation. The demands for an end to the genocide, lifting of the siege of Gaza, an end to all US aid for Israel, and a free Palestine echo in the streets, in classrooms and universities, disrupting the halls of government and the daily lives of all genocide-profiteers. The movement for Palestine has never been stronger: but with this strength comes a monumental responsibility.
Anti-Israel March on Washington
The ANSWER Coalition organized an anti-Israel protest dated November 4, 2023[7] with the following organizations featured on the flyer: Palestinian Youth Movement, U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), The People's Forum, Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, American Muslim Alliance, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, and National Students for Justice in Palestine.
From a mass email dated October 20, 2023:
- "The growing coalition of organizations mobilizing for the national march on Washington for Palestine is excited to announce that permits have been obtained! The demonstration will begin at 2:00 p.m. at Freedom Plaza (Pennsylvania Avenue between 13th and 14th streets). Tens of thousands will gather at this historic location in the heart of D.C. to raise our voices for justice.
- Now is the time to stand with the besieged people of Palestine! Gaza is being bombed by the hour. Its people are denied food, water and electricity by Israel. Tens of thousands more people are likely to die. We must ACT! People are in the streets everyday in their local cities and towns. Now we must UNITE!
- Hundreds of new endorsements are pouring in from across the country for this mass action. As Israel intensifies its genocidal assault on Gaza, more and more organizations and individuals are coming forward to stand with the Palestinian people. Initial co-sponsoring organizations include:
- Palestinian Youth Movement
- ANSWER Coalition
- American Muslim Association
- The People's Forum
- National Students for Justice in Palestine
- Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition
- U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)
- U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR)
- Maryland2Palestine
Response to Hamas Terror Attack October 7, 2023
Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition was involved in and/or amplified numerous anti-Israel protests in the wake of the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023. The featured image from The People's Forum was retweeted by Al-Awda.[8]
Protest Russian Sanctions after Ukraine Invasion
ANSWER has heavily advertised a demonstration held on March 18, 2023 filmed by BreakThrough News to protest sanctions on Russia in the wake of their invasion on Ukraine. Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition was listed as a supporting organization on their flyer.[9] The rally was live-streamed on BreakThrough News.[10]
From a flyer on their website:[11]
- The war in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia are making it harder for people to pay their rent, fill their gas tanks, put food on the table and keep the lights on. Much of the damage is due to the sanctions placed on Russia, a major producer of everything from oil to wheat. The US Federal Reserve admits that the conflict is “pushing up inflation” while slowing down growth.
- To fight inflation we need to end the US’s massive international sanctions regime and demand they stop sending weapons to fuel the Ukraine war, and stop blocking peace negotiations.
- The Wall Street Journal now says: “Gas Prices Poised to Rise Again as Sanctions on Russia Take Effect,” while global economists say the “massive shock” of the war will produce new “inflationary pressures, sapping confidence and household purchasing power.”
- US sanctions on Venezuela and Iran are further impacting the market in oil and gas prices, driving up prices and driving the climate crisis destroying the planet. It’s clear as ever that the US’s own policies of sanctions, and the proxy war provoked by NATO policies, is directly impacting the cost-of-living crisis for working class people. Meanwhile the military industrial complex and Wall Street get richer. This is criminal — the time to act is now!
Speakers included:
- Noam Chomsky, professor
- Jacqueline Luqman, Black Alliance for Peace
- The Black Workers Center Chorus
- Jill Stein, two-time Green Party presidential candidate
- Claudia De La Cruz, The People's Forum
- Mike Inouye, Oahu Water Protectors
- Gabriel Shipton, brother of Julian Assange
- Abby Martin, Empire Files
- Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK
- Hermela Aregawi, African People's Forum
- Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance
- Yolian Egbu, AAPRP
- Carsey Blanton, cultural worker
The protest was supported by World BEYOND War.
2016 National March to Support Palestine
On Sunday, March 20, 2016, ANSWER and Al-Awda, The Palestinian Right to Return co-sponsored the "National March to Support Palestine"[12]
Endorsers
Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition and the ANSWER Coalition are co-sponsoring the National March on March 20. Endorsers include:
- 14 Friends of Palestine - Marin,
- Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice,
- Alliance for Global Justice,
- Al-Nakba Awareness Project,
- American Muslims for Palestine (AMP),
- Berkeley Women in Black,
- Brash For New Jersey,
- Cindy Sheehan,
- Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel,
- Committee for Palestinian Rights - Howard County, MD,
- CU-Divest!,
- Deir Yassin Remembered,
- Free Palestine Movement,
- Friends of Sabeel - North America,
- Hilton Head for Peace,
- If Americans Knew,
- Indiana Center for Middle East Peace,
- International Action Center,
- International Solidarity Movement - Northern California,
- Jews for Palestinian Right of Return,
- Media Watch on Hunger & Poverty,
- Methodist Federation for Social Action,
- Middle East Crisis Response,
- Neturei Karta,
- National Lawyers Guild,
- Orange County Peace Action,
- OWS Special Projects Affinity Group,
- Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace,
- Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network,
- Solidarity Iran – SI,
- St. Pete for Peace,
- United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC),
- Veterans for Peace,
- Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality,
- Voices for Justice in Palestine,
- Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and more!
Speakers
- Speakers include:
- Dr. Cornel West, professor of philosophy and Christian practice at Union Theological Seminary and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University;
- Abbas Hamideh, co-founder, Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition & National Organizer;
- Sabry Wazwaz, Palestinian documentary filmmaker and activist;
- Laila El-Haddad, award-winning Palestinian author and speaker;
- Brian Becker, National Director, ANSWER Coalition;
- Rami Ibrahim, Palestinian kickboxing world champion-USKA;
- Fatina Abdrabboh, attorney, Executive Director, ADC-Michigan;
- Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general;
- Eugene Puryear, ANSWER Coalition;
- Amer Zahr, Palestinian comedian and entertainer;
- Said Durrah, Palestinian comedian and entertainer;
- Joe Catron, American journalist, Gaza massacres on the ground in 2012 and 2014;
- Omar Kurdi, Arabic singer, poet and human rights activist;
- Robert Matin, Australian International Palestine Activist;
- Iyad Burnat, Palestinian activist, head of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall;
- Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister, Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, Washington, D.C.;
- Robby Martin, Irish International Palestine activist;
- Rabbi Weiss, Neturei Karta;
- Ahmad N. Abuznaid, Palestinian-American attorney, co-founder of the Dream Defenders;
- Alison Weir, Founder and Executive Director of If Americans Knew and President of the Council for the National Interest; and more!
References
- ↑ Abbas Falasteen Hamideh Facebook As of October 14, 2023 (accessed Oct 14, 2023)
- ↑ Abbas Falasteen Hamideh Facebook As of October 14, 2023 (accessed Oct 14, 2023)
- ↑ (accessed Oct 14, 2023)
- ↑ Archived from the Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition dated Oct 11 2023 (accessed Oct 14, 2023)
- ↑ X Post from Open Source Intelligence Monitor dated May 26, 2024 (accessed May 26, 2024)
- ↑ Archive Link: X Post from Open Source Intelligence Monitor dated May 26, 2024 (accessed May 26, 2024)
- ↑ National March for Palestine: Saturday, Nov. 4 in Washington, D.C. (accessed October 20, 2023)
- ↑ Tweet dated October 12, 2023 (accessed Oct 14, 2023)
- ↑ Sat. March 18 -- National March on Washington: Fund People's Needs, Not the War Machine! (accessed March 14, 2023)
- ↑ National March on Washington: Fund People's Needs, Not the War Machine! (accessed August 25, 2023)
- ↑ FIGHT INFLATION, STOP THE WAR (accessed March 14, 2023)
- ↑ National March to Support Palestine (accessed October 15, 2023)
- People's Conference for Palestine
- Israel
- Palestine
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- Answer Coalition
- Palestinian Youth Movement
- The People's Forum
- Students for Justice in Palestine
- U.S. Palestinian Community Network
- US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
- International Jewish Anti Zionist Network
- Writers Against the War on Gaza
- Healthcare Workers for Palestine
- Palestinian Feminist Collective
- Palestine Popular University
- Palestinian American Women's Association
- Arab Resource and Organizing Center
- National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression
- Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition
- American Muslim Alliance
- ANSWER Coalition
- American Muslim Association
- Maryland2Palestine
- Red/Green Axis
- BreakThrough News
- Anti-war organizations
- World Beyond War
- Party for Socialism and Liberation