cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17339715

Ghassan Kanafani Assassinated (1972)

Sat Jul 08, 1972

Ghassan Kanafani was a Palestinian author and leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), assassinated on this day in 1972 by Israeli forces in retaliation for the Lod Airport Massacre, claimed by the PLFP.

In May, when the outbreak of hostilities in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War spilled over into the city of Acre, Kanafani and his family were forced into exile while he was still a child. After fleeing ~eleven miles north to Lebanon, they settled in Damascus, Syria as Palestinian refugees.

In 1969, after establishing himself as an author and journalist, he joined The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and, resigned from his post as editor for the magazine Al-Anwar to edit the PFLP's weekly magazine, al-Hadaf ("The Goal"). He drafted a PFLP program in which the movement officially took up Marxism-Leninism, a notable departure from pan-Arab nationalist ideology.

On July 8th, 1972, at the age of 36, Kanafani was assassinated via car bomb by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad for his role in the PLFP, which claimed responsibility for the Lod Airport Massacre.

The massacre, committed by three members of the Japanese Red Army recruited by the PLFP, killed 26 people, injuring 80 others.

Ghassan Kanafani was an influential author, whose literary works have been translated into at least 17 languages and published in 20 countries. He began writing short stories when working as a teacher in refugee camps. Often written through the eyes of children, his stories were designed to help his students contextualize their surroundings.

"Everything in this world can be robbed and stolen, except one thing; this one thing is the love that emanates from a human being towards a solid commitment to a conviction or cause."

- Ghassan Kanafani

• Date: 1972-07-08
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.middleeastmonitor.com.
• Tags: #Marxism, #Assassinations, #Massacre.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16976545

Founding of the IWW (1905) The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), founded on this day in 1905 in Chicago, Illinois, is an anti-capitalist and internationalist labor union whose slogan says "An...

Founding of the IWW (1905)

Tue Jun 27, 1905

Image: The IWW logo

The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), founded on this day in 1905 in Chicago, Illinois, is an anti-capitalist and internationalist labor union whose slogan says "An injury to one is an injury to all!"

The IWW promotes the concept of "One Big Union", and contends that all workers should be united as a social class to supplant capitalism and wage labor with industrial democracy.

The IWW was officially founded in Chicago, Illinois on June 27th, 1905. A convention was held of 200 socialists and radical trade unionists from all over the United States who opposed the policies and politics of the more moderate American Federation of Labor (AFL). In particular, the IWW opposed the American Federation of Labor's acceptance of capitalism and its refusal to include unskilled workers in craft unions.

The IWW's founders included many historically important labor activists and socialist thinkers, including "Big Bill" Haywood, James Connolly, Daniel De Leon, Eugene V. Debs, Thomas Hagerty, Lucy Parsons, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, Frank Bohn, William Trautmann, Vincent Saint John, Ralph Chaplin, and many others.

• Date: 1905-06-27
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, iww.org.
• Tags: #Socialism, #Labor, #IWW.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15788619

George Floyd Murdered (2020) On this day in 2020, a Minneapolis cop murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd's death became the catalyst for protests around...

George Floyd Murdered (2020)

Mon May 25, 2020

Image: George Floyd with his six-year old, Gianna [blackpast.org]

On this day in 2020, a Minneapolis cop murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd's death became the catalyst for protests around the world; by July, more than 14,000 were arrested in the U.S. alone.

Floyd, a 46-year old black man, had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. The cop, 44-year old white man Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd's neck for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds while he was handcuffed and lying face-down in a street. Floyd was dead before Chauvin's knee left his neck.

The following day, after videos made by witnesses and security cameras became public, all four officers involed were fired. Floyd's state murder became the catalyst for worldwide Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality, which took place on every continent except Antartica.

The scope of civil unrest within the U.S. was nearly unprecedented. Author Malik Simba writes: "the protests have involved more than 26 million Americans in 2,000 cities and towns in every state in the U.S., making [them] the most widespread protests around one issue in the history of the nation. By the end of June alone, one month into the protests, 14,000 people had been arrested."

Initially, the local District Attorney's Office only harged Chauvin with third-degree manslaughter, but this charge was later increased to second degree murder, following mass protests. On April 20th, 2021, Chauvin was convicted and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. The other three officers were also later convicted of violating Floyd's civil rights.

Floyd's murder was witnessed by several people, including children. On the incident, seventeen year old Danella Frazier stated "When I look at George Floyd, I look at my dad, I look at my brother, I look at my cousin and my uncle." Her nine year old cousin, also an eyewitness, testified in court: "I was sad and kind of mad and it felt like [Chauvin's knee] was stopping him from breathing and it was hurting him."

• Date: 2020-05-25
• Learn More: www.blackpast.org, en.wikipedia.org.
• Tags: #Protests.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

The University of Barcelona will break rellations with Israel.

Source: https://t.me/comunitatpalestinacatalunya (catalan language).

(Auto)ranslated announcement:

_🚨 ATTENTION! *Tomorrow everyone in front of the University of Barcelona to celebrate the historic victory of the students.

After 17 days of camping in Palestine at the University of Barcelona:

The university has not only approved the severance of relations with Israel, but has committed itself and activated the necessary mechanisms to make it possible. After more than two weeks of daily assemblies, actions, meetings and communiqués, the students demonstrate that the action works and push forward for a free Palestine.

After a historic victory today they have announced that tomorrow May 24 in the afternoon they will end the camp. The end of the camp implies a step forward in the struggle, to continue mobilizing our collective struggle in different spaces. We hope that yesterday will be one more victory of the gains to come and bring us closer to a common goal for life and dignity.

Come make noise with us and welcome the students: 🗓️ Friday 24 May at 6.30pm 📍Plaça Universitat (in front of the UB door)

📢 Together we can shake the world for Palestine; to stop genocide, occupation and apartheid in Palestine. We know it works and we won't stop until we get it: free Palestine, from the river to the sea.🇵🇸_

Samar Badawi (1981 - )

Sun Jun 28, 1981

Image: **

Samar Badawi, born on this day in 1981, is a Saudi Arabian feminist activist who participated in the driving campaigns of 2011-12, sued the government for the right to vote, and was imprisoned by the state for her activism. Her brother, Raif Badawi, is also a civil rights activist who was imprisoned by the government, released on March 11th, 2022.

In 2011, Samar filed suit against the Saudi Arabian government for the right to vote, making her the first person to file a lawsuit for women's suffrage in the country.

Samar has been arrested multiple times for her activism and non-compliance with laws that restrict rights for women. This includes participating in a women's driving campaign, violating the law that prohibits women from driving, a law that was repealed in 2018.

After Badawi missed several trial dates relating to charges of disobedience under the Saudi Arabian male guardianship system (brought by her father, who physically abused her), she served six months in jail.

In 2018, Badawi and several other feminist activists were arrested by the Saudi authorities, sparking a major diplomatic dispute between Canada and Saudi Arabia when the former demanded Badawi's immediate release. In June 2021, Badawi was released from prison.

• Date: 1981-06-28
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.amnesty.org.
• Tags: #Birthdays, #Feminism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org

Walter Audisio (1909 - 1973)

Mon Jun 28, 1909

Walter Audisio, born on this day in 1909, was an Italian partisan and politician who was the person most likely to have executed Benito Mussolini. After World War II, Audisio served in Parliament as a member of the Communist Party.

Audisio was a prodigious students and worked for some years as an accountant before joining a clandestine anti-fascist group in 1931. When the group was discovered by the fascist secret police, ORVA, Audisio was sentenced to five years confinement on the island of Ponza.

Released during World War II, he continued to resist the Mussolini's fascist government and, in September 1943, he started to organize the first bands of partisans in Casale Monferrato.

By January 1945, he had become a leading figure of the Italian resistance movement in Milan and began using the pseudonym "Colonnello Valerio", a name possibly also used by Luigi Longo.

It was as an official of the National Liberation Committee that he received the order to execute Mussolini and his mistress, who had been captured the day before.

Although it is not known with certainty who pulled the trigger (various figures, including Audisio, have claimed to have executed Mussolini), the version of events with Audisio being directly responsible are generally considered the most credible.

After the war, Audisio was elected to parliament for the Italian Communist Party, where he served for 20 years.

• Date: 1909-06-28
• Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.nytimes.com.
• Tags: #Communism, #Birthdays, #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org