Blake Jones

Blake Jones

Land Day

On Saturday, March 29, 2025, 30 vehicles took to the streets in a car caravan to commemorate Land Day. Land Day, held on March 30 every year, recognizes the day in 1976 when Palestinians took to the streets to protest Israel’s theft of their land. Six Palestinians were killed and over 100 injured by Israeli forces.

This year’s local event, led by the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee, began with a rally as participants finished up decorating their cars with signs, car paint and Palestinian flags. Vehicles had car toppers and posters – reading, “Free free Palestine,” “Palestinians will return” and “Stop the genocide” – jutting out of windows.

Emily Harris of the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee spoke first. “Commemorating Land Day means gathering together and reaffirming the love and ownership Palestinians have for their land. We must continue to demand their right to return, and in the U.S., we must denounce the forced deportation of those who stand alongside Palestine!” said Harris, to cheers from the crowd.

Yaseen Najeeb from Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine remarked, “How can you claim to be indigenous to the land of olives when the majority of your population is allergic to olive oil?”

Blake Jones from Freedom Road Socialist Organization pointed out, “Our struggles are connected, from the picket lines here to the streets of Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan, the Congo and across Latin America. The same system that bombs Gaza represses oppressed nationalities and working-class communities here.”

The emcee for the event, Kayla Kuo from the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee, read out a statement provided by Milwaukee 4 Yemen that highlighted the recent attacks on Yemen and relating it to the Palestinian struggle.