On April 15, 2002 an estimated 100,000 American Jews, and their right-wing Christian allies, descended on the U.S. capitol to “stand in solidarity” with Israel in the largest Washington rally in support of Israel in U.S. history.  Five days later, an estimated 100,000 diverse protesters took to the streets of Washington DC to demand an end to the U.S. war on communities of color at home and abroad. The crowd overwhelmingly demanded justice for Palestine from Israel’s brutal occupation in what was the largest demonstration for Palestine in U.S. history.

The antiwar movement never died. The movement has shifted to the work of long-term, community-based organizing to mount a comprehensive challenge to US militarism. This work is growing inside grassroots movements led by veterans, immigrants, queers, and low-income communities of color. Everywhere domestic militarization burns to the bone, people are fighting for a different future. The mass street marches of 2003 sought to preemptively raise the political cost of the Iraq war. We always knew that beyond those marches we would have to confront the real human cost if the wars moved ahead.

AIDS, health, and anti-globalization activists scored a major victory against corporate greed in mid April when they forced 42 Pharmaceutical companies to drop their lawsuit against the South African government’s production of generic AIDS drugs. The HIV/AIDS pandemic had reached such a catastrophic level in South Africa that the government was forced to take drastic measures to begin addressing the problem. South Africa has the highest number of people living with AIDS: 4.7 million. Four hundred thousand South Africans have died of AIDS related illnesses since a generic drug law was introduced in 1997.

The WTO in practice

The US military has not withdrawn from Iraq, but the US media has. A December article in the New York Times reported “America’s three broadcast network news divisions have stopped sending full-time correspondents to Iraq.” The article went on to note “network evening newscasts devoted 423 minutes to Iraq [in 2008]…compared with 1,888 minutes in 2007.” The fading coverage of Iraq is a reflection of political decisions and ratings pressures, but it further illustrates that funding is being cut for serious journalism in almost every format. Media’s role as a force for communication in our society and as a counterforce against the powerful is in crisis.