FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2025
Press Conference
Media Contact: John Parker, Harriet Tubman Center – (323) 899-2003
Community Organizations Demand End to U.S./Israeli Starvation of Gaza and Military Occupation – From Los Angeles to Gaza
Los Angeles, CA – On Saturday, August 2nd, at 4 PM, a coalition of social justice organizations, activists, and community members will gather at Midnight Books (941 2nd St., Los Angeles) to demand an immediate end to the U.S.-backed Israeli military occupation and starvation of Gaza and the systemic violence inflicted on Brown, Black, Asian, Indigenous, Palestinian, immigrant and migrant communities in Los Angeles and beyond by the Department of Homeland Security/ICE. The press conference will launch the 3-day Hunger Strike Against the Starvation of Gaza that will proceed to the location of La Placita Olvera in Downtown Los Angeles.
The speakers will include organizers from the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice, Palestinian Youth Movement, LA Community Self Defense Coalition, Unmute Humanity, Union del Barrio, Interfaith Communities United for Justice & Peace (ICUJP) and others, who will highlight the connections between genocide in Gaza and state violence in the U.S., including ICE raids, police brutality, and systemic racism.
John Parker of the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice remarked:
“Frustration is what we feel. But frustration doesn’t solve the problem. What solves the problem is organizing against genocide – a genocide that allows the greatest child abusers, serial killers, and terrorists to reside in the United States and Israel today. The state officials, the Mayors, The Democratic and Republican politicians – they are the ones who are enabling the genocide against the people here in Los Angeles and who collaborate with the genocide against the people of Gaza. We must put a stop to this.”
The action will frame the struggle in historical context, drawing parallels between the U.S. civil war against slavery, the Dred Scott decision denying Black African descendants (whether slaves or former slaves) citizenship, and today’s attacks on birthright citizenship and immigrant rights. Trump’s plans for an executive order denying birthright citizenship echo the dehumanization and racist logic of Israel denying humanity and food based on ideologies of white supremacy, targeting Palestinians and peoples of the Global South.
“The condition of the working class in this country reflects the war on Palestinians,” said a coalition representative. “Our labor enriches the same monopolies that profit from bombs, starvation, and poverty abroad – and those policies come back to haunt us here. This action is a step toward building a united working-class movement against fascism and white supremacy. FREE PALESTINE.”
Who: Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice, Palestinian Youth Movement, Community Self Defense Coalition, Unmute Humanity, Union del Barrio, ICUJP and more.
What: Rally and speak-out against U.S./Israeli genocide and militarized oppression from LA to Gaza.
When: Saturday, August 2nd, 4 PM
Where: Midnight Books – 941 2nd St., Los Angeles, CA
Media is encouraged to attend.
