One thousand people marched in Los Angeles and Toronto, and hundreds held picket lines from San Francisco to Boston.

Several of the larger protests were originally organized by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) to mark the forcible dispossession of the Palestinian people from their land by the Israeli regime. The yearly protest, known as Land Day, commemorates the March 30, 1976, killing of six Palestinians during protests against massive land confiscations by the Israeli government. "End the occupation! End the violence!" were the demands of the protest here.

Participants in the rally came from up and down the East Coast, with many waving Palestinian flags or holding handmade signs condemning the Israeli assault and demanding a free Palestine. High school students and other young people turned out in large numbers, putting a militant stamp on the action.

During the entire rally participants lined Pennsylvania Avenue chanting, "No Land, No Peace," and "Bush, Sharon you will see, Palestine will be free." Other chants included "Free, free Palestine," "Free, free Arafat," and "Bush, Bush, you should know, we support the PLO."

"The timing of the rally can't be more appropriate," said Monica Tarazi, the director of the New York ADC chapter, at the opening of the rally. "We want to send a strong, loud message demanding an end to the occupation, and for peace and freedom."

Hasan Abdul Rahman, representative of the Palestinian Authority in the United States, told the crowd that he had just received a call from Yasir Arafat's office in Ramallah, which is surrounded by Israeli tanks and troops. He denounced Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon as a war criminal and an enemy of peace, and questioned Washington's "evenhandedness" in the conflict.

Among other demands raised by the speakers at the rally were for an end to U.S. government shipments of military supplies to the Israeli regime and for Washington's support for UN resolutions demanding immediate withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian cities.

"Jewish people are dying and I feel for them," said a young Palestinian high school student from Falls Church, Virginia, "but they are asking for it when they have their military occupying Palestine," she said. "We are going to fight back. Even if they hit us harder, we will fight back."

Marwan Hishmeh, 25, who was born in the United States, said, "I want to add my voice against America's support of the Israeli occupiers," adding that his uncle is locked up in Ramallah under the Israeli military occupation of that Palestinian city.

Larry Johnson came on the bus with 35 people from Youngstown, Ohio. He was waving the Irish flag and said that he came because the action was about "basic rights--whether it be in Palestine, South Africa, or Ireland. These are parallel struggles. All are opposed to occupation."  
 
March in Toronto
Chanting "Israel, USA, how many kids did you kill today," "End the occupation now!" and "Long live Arafat," protesters from cities throughout southern Ontario marched through the streets of Toronto to the Israeli trade mission and then to the United States consulate. The demonstrators were in their majority Palestinian, and others from the Middle East, organized by the Canadian Arab Federation, Palestine House, and local Muslim mosques. They were all ages but many were of high school age. The protesters displayed spirit, militancy, and confidence in the Palestinian struggle.

Hundreds of cardboard coffins were covered with Palestinian colors, many labeled with the names, ages, refugee camps and other locations where Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army. Some coffins represented Israelis who have died. The coffins were carried by the demonstrators and placed on the street in front of the Israeli trade mission offices.

Marchers included members of Jewish Youth Against the Occupation. speakers included both Palestinians and Jews opposed to the murderous policies of the Israeli government. New Democratic Party provincial legislature member Peter Koromos called for an end to the occupation, the formation of a Palestinian state, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their land.

In Los Angeles, Michel Shehadeh, Western Regional Director of the ADC, chaired the rally. "It is essential that the American people understand that the Israeli occupation of Palestine is the root cause of all evils in the region," he said, addressing the crowd of 1,000. Those who joined the demonstration included Arabs of many generations, students from local campuses, and others. Across the street a dozen supporters of the Israeli regime held up a single sign that said, "Killing Israelis and American Civilians Will Not Solve the Conflict."

Four hundred people turned out in San Francisco and another 120 participated in an emergency picket line held in front of the Israeli consulate in Boston April 1. Another demonstration is being organized at Government Center in Boston. A student at the picket line said he and others at Boston University are organizing a Palestinian Awareness Week to be held later this month.

John Steele, a meat packer and member of the United Food and Commercial Workers in Toronto, Ted Leonard, and Róger Calero contributed to this article.  
 
 
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