28 April 2008 - The 7th annual Chicago Palestine Film Festival kicked off on Friday, 25 March at the Gene Siskel Film Center with director Jackie Salloum at the screening of her film Slingshot Hip Hop. The PFF began in 2001 as a student project. The festival was founded by Danya Qato. It exists exist today because of the huge contributions from Danya and the other "alumni" commitee members: Widad Al Bassam, Rena Barakat, Christopher Khoury, Stacy Goldate, Jenny Gheith, Farris Wahbeh, Dwan Kaoukji, Mona Aburmishan, and others.

This year's selection includes filmmakers from Palestine, Norway, USA and Japan presenting motion pictures covering the Palestinian experience in the Palestine, Israel, the US and even Cuba. The program has a mix of features and documentaries, including shorts, that are screening until 8 May when it closes with Mohammad Alatar's Jerusalem: The East Side Story.

According to festival director Benjamin Doherty, the PFF exists "to share new views of Palestine with Chicago audiences." Houston festival organizer Sousan Hammad says the "festival hasn't been around very long but we have a small pool of great filmmakers so we definitely have the potential to get on the international cinema circuit," and compares the Palestinian filmmaking situation to that of Iran in that with concentrated support from abroad, the profile of Iranian films has risen steadily despite an oppressive government. In addition to supporting films about Palestine and by Palestinians, Hammad states that it can help advance the cause of Palestinian liberation as "the camera can be used as a tool to reveal the conflict," and can help dispel "notions or assumptions that have polluted the understanding of Palestine and the wider region."Read more

Interview with Susan Hammad & Benjamin Doherty | PFF reviews by CIMC

Update 4: All of the Holy Name 6 have been freed.

Donations still urgently needed.

March 23 – Six members of the anti-war group “Catholic Schoolgirls Against The War” staged a dramatic die-in during the 11AM Easter mass at Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago’s most prominent Catholic parish – and the home of one of the nation’s most conservative church leaders, Cardinal Francis George

The action was staged in the Gold Coast cathedral’s parish center, an auditorium where mass is being said while the main cathedral undergoes renovation. Easter services at Holy Name are traditionally one of the most heavily attended masses of the year, and this mass was no exception, with people packed wall to wall for today’s Easter morning holiday service.

The group of young men and women, dressed in their Easter best, sat through the 11AM mass until George reached the homily. A few seconds into the cardinal’s main holiday message, the protesters rose from their seats, turned to address the hundreds of parishioners in the auditorium, and talked about the continuing death of both Iraqis and Americans in Iraq as the war enters its sixth year. The group also decried George's January 7 meeting with Mayor Daley and President Bush — and his failure to publicly raise opposition with Bush against the war.

The police have slapped the six peace activists with both felony and misdemeanor charges , and supporters are working to raise bail funds for what is anticipated to be significant bond for each arrestee. They've also denied one arrestee access to his medication. Read More.

DONATE to the Holy Name Six Legal Defense Fund.

Photos: [ 1 | 2 | 3 ] | Video: [ 1 ]

Thousands of Chicagoans turned out on March 19 for a rally and march to mark — and oppose — five years of war and Iraq. The action, convened by a broad coalition of local groups, didn't quite wind down as local cops had hoped — instead, members of the radical feeder march kept the protest rolling into the night.

Activists set aside March 20 for a day of direct action and guerilla theater, with more than a dozen actions throughout the city. Locals kicked the day off with an early morning action at the Millenium Flame off the Kennedy Expressway to honor the memory of Malachi Ritscher, who burned himself to death in late 2006 in the tradition of Buddist monks a generation earlier to oppose the war.

Columbia students brought the reality of waterboarding home with street theater. Peace activists staged a lockdown at the office of congressman Rahm Emanuel, one of Congress's biggest boosters of war and occupation. The question of the day at this action? How many cops does it take to unchain a congressman's office.

Other actions included a penny poll — and sit-in — at the Federal Plaza, a banner drop and protest at the local headquarters for Boeing, a protest against a Raytheon-affiliated research lab at UIC, and a protest at a local recruiting center.

More Photos: [ 1 | 2 ] Labor Beat/CIMC joint video coverage: [ Part 1 | Part 2 ] | Audio from M19 rally in Federal Plaza | One of many banner drops

Efforts and struggles continue in court over the legendary 2003 Chicago peace protest on Lake Shore Drive and the subsequent repressive police response. On March 10, activists and National Lawyers Guild attorneys won another key victory when a Chicago federal judge rejected a class action request in a City of Chicago countersuit against hundreds of peace activists.

Quoting a newswire post: "In response to a class action suit brought by hundreds of anti-war protesters who were illegally arrested that night, the City of Chicago took the unusual step of counter-suing against the demonstrators."

An attempt to have the counterclaim dismissed was itself dismissed, but U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall dismissed the class action request in the countersuit. The city claimed that activists were "liable for the expenses incurred by the city in responding to such alleged legal violations as failing to obtain a permit for the march, obstructing traffic and jaywalking.".

This setback marks the latest in a series of legal setbacks by the city and the police efforts in the wake of the 2003 protests. All charges against protesters were dismissed, and a lawsuit against the city by some 500 peace protesters itself won class-action status. Read more

Additional Resources: Chicago Free Speech Zone Coverage | National Lawyers Guild - Chicago chapter | The Emmy nominated film: "Where We Stood - Chicago's Resistance Against The War In Iraq", 2, 3

On January 29, immigrant rights activist Flor Crisóstomo announced that she will refuse to report for deportation as ordered by Homeland Security and will take sanctuary in Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Crisóstomo's decision follows in the footsteps of fellow activist Elvira Arellano, who herself took sanctuary and defied a deportation order for more than a year before leaving sanctuary to embark on a nationwide speaking tour. In the course of the tour, Arrellano was seized, arrested, and deported.

Crisóstomo, a Mexican citizen driven to the U.S. because of NAFTA-driven economic policies, commented about the difficulty of also addressing xenophobic anti-immigrant policies in the U.S.: "They say they expect us to self-deport, but we cannot leave because of what U.S. economic policies have done to destroy jobs in our home countries. That is why the current policy will not end the system of undocumented labor. It will only drive us into worse and worse jobs."

Crisóstomo and Arellano have a shared history of activism besides sanctuary. The two activists also participated in a successful month-long hunger strike to win an immigration continuance.

Read more.

Past coverage: Two part interview with Elvira Arellano on Chicago Independent Television - part one | part two

Despite bitter cold and blizzard conditions, hundreds of concerned citizens rallied on January 29 in front of the Lakefront Theater on Chicago's Broadway Avenue to protest a benefit for Friends of the Israel Defense Force.

The protest — which included many Chicago-area Palestinian, Arab-American, and progressive Jews — considerably outnumbered the meager IDF turnout and counter-demonstration.

The protesters called an end to the latest Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip, which forced more than 500,000 Palestinians beyond the border into Egypt desperate for food and supplies, and has been referred to as "the biggest prison break in history."

Read more | Additional photos | Video: Stop the Siege on Gaza Now

Chicago Indymedia has once again proved itself as a news and organizing resource for Chicagoans concerned about social justice and the efforts for a better Chicago. The past year 2007 is no different; Chicago Indymedia has covered unserved and underserved stories, and has also broken stories that make a difference.

Chicago Indymedia is proud to present the 2007 Chicago Indymedia Year in Review.

Reverend Edward Pinkney is a longtime political activist in the nearby Michigan community of Benton Harbor. In an effort to combat waterfront gentrification, Pinkney had successfully led a recall effort against a corrupt Benton Harbor official. But the city fought back by charging Pinkney with voter fraud under an overbroad state law, and placed Pinkney on probation and under house arrest.

On December 13, Pinkney was charged again for violating his probation. The reason: he openly criticized the judge who sentenced him on dubious grounds. Pinkney has now been forced into jail, but has now responded back with a hunger strike which has now extended into a week. Full article from The Black Commentator

Additional Resources: BANCO: Black Autonomy Network Community Organization | Chicago Indymedia video: March to St. Joseph (2003) | Coverage from Pan-African Newswire | Coverage from the Black Commentator: May 10 and Dec. 13 | Media Mouse coverage