Category Archives: Israel/Palestine

“We’re Good, They’re Evil,” Israel Defense Forces Reservist Tells Chabad Audience—While Protesters Object to a “Murderer” on Campus

Posted on 05/14/2025 by Kimberlie Kranich

On March 5, the Chabad Center for Jewish Life at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign hosted Ari Kalker, a reservist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who spoke about his combat experiences in Gaza. Meanwhile, protesters across the street shouted … Continue reading →

 127 total views

Posted in Gaza, International, International, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Section, War | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on “We’re Good, They’re Evil,” Israel Defense Forces Reservist Tells Chabad Audience—While Protesters Object to a “Murderer” on Campus

Israel Anti-Boycott Act a Threat to Free Speech

Posted on 05/14/2025 by Belden Fields

As part of our continuing republication of past articles written by our late cofounder, editorial collective member, and longtime social activist Belden Fields, we chose the article below, from our September 2017 issue, for its clear relevance to the ongoing, … Continue reading →

 194 total views,  3 views today

Posted in Boycott, Free Speech, Israel/Palestine, Politics, Politics, Section, World-wide death and suffering | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Israel Anti-Boycott Act a Threat to Free Speech

Remembering the Work of International Human Rights Lawyer Francis A. Boyle

Posted on 05/13/2025 by Karen Medina

Francis Anthony Boyle passed away suddenly on January 30, 2025 at age 74. Francis A. Boyle was always in the right kind of trouble. Boyle was an international and human rights lawyer and professor in Urbana. He spent his life … Continue reading →

 228 total views

Posted in Human Rights, Imperialism, In Memorium, International law, Israel/Palestine, Justice, Middle East, Sanctuary movement, Section | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Remembering the Work of International Human Rights Lawyer Francis A. Boyle

CU MAC Open Letter to Champaign City Council

Posted on 02/23/2025 by CU Muslim Action Committee

This letter was sent on January 28. It has been lightly edited for style. Dear Champaign City Council, Since May 7, 2024, the Muslim community here in Champaign-Urbana has shown up to city council meetings as part of a diverse … Continue reading →

 246 total views,  1 views today

Posted in Gaza, Islamophobia, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Palestinians, Voices | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on CU MAC Open Letter to Champaign City Council

Local Organizers Share Winning Strategies with Weary Residents

Posted on 12/28/2024 by Elizabeth Sotiropoulos

As the Champaign-Urbana community considers how we’ll navigate a second Trump presidency, we can learn from the organizing that led to local ballot victories this past November. The massive effort that made these ballot wins possible holds part of the … Continue reading →

 340 total views,  1 views today

Posted in Gaza, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Police, Politics, Section, Trump | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Local Organizers Share Winning Strategies with Weary Residents

Safer For Who?

Posted on 12/26/2024 by Dua Aldasouqi

For many community members, Tuesday night means Champaign City Council (CCC) night. The council chambers are the spot to be! Dozens of diverse community members show up to ask our elected officials to endorse a resolution that includes 1) a … Continue reading →

 254 total views

Posted in Gaza, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Peace movement, Politics, Section | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Safer For Who?

Mob Action Charges Against Activists for Pro-Palestinian Encampment at UIUC

Posted on 10/18/2024 by Brian Dolinar

As students are returning to university campuses, we are seeing signs of continued support for Palestinians who are enduring an onslaught by Israeli military forces. Here at the University of Illinois, the first week of classes students chalked “DIVEST” on … Continue reading →

 619 total views

Posted in Gaza, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Police, Policing, Section, States'Attorney, University of Illinois | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Mob Action Charges Against Activists for Pro-Palestinian Encampment at UIUC

The Gaza Protests and Grassroot Challenges to US Foreign Policy

Posted on 10/18/2024 by Janice Jayes

Letters to the editor, teach-ins, motions for divestment, campus protests, city resolutions . . . These expressions of citizen concern are not unique to the ongoing war on Gaza and are entirely appropriate to a democracy. Local communities have the … Continue reading →

 373 total views

Posted in Foreign Policy, Gaza, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Peace movement, Vietnam War | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Gaza Protests and Grassroot Challenges to US Foreign Policy

Popular University for Gaza at UIUC

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Clara Belitz and Sana Saboowala and Izzy Grosof

From Friday, April 26 through Friday, May 10, we established a branch of the Popular University for Gaza at UIUC, joining the national student movement for Palestine. This encampment was just one small piece in the long movement for Palestinian … Continue reading →

 542 total views,  1 views today

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Section, Students, University of Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Voices | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Popular University for Gaza at UIUC

May/June Issue Front Cover

Posted on 05/03/2024 by Public i

The Suffering in Gaza is Our Community’s Concern!  1,168 total views,  1 views today

 1,168 total views,  1 views today

Posted in Gaza, Israel/Palestine, Justice, Middle East, Palestinians, War | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on May/June Issue Front Cover

City Business is Whatever the Community Cares About

Posted on 05/03/2024 by Dua Aldasouqi

Americans have been in the streets since October 8 demanding an end to the US-backed Israeli attack on Gaza. They’re at sporting events and camping out in front of top politicians’ homes. They were at tree-lighting and caroling events over the … Continue reading →

 1,970 total views,  1 views today

Posted in Gaza, Israel/Palestine, Justice, Middle East, Palestinians, Politics, Section, Voices, War | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on City Business is Whatever the Community Cares About

March/April Issue Back Cover

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Public i

Hundreds gathered in Westside Park on Saturday, March 2 as part of a Global Day of Action for Palestine. They heard speeches and then marched through downtown Champaign.  464 total views,  2 views today

 464 total views,  2 views today

Posted in Imperialism, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Peace movement, Violence, War | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on March/April Issue Back Cover

The Age of Disconnect: US Policy and the War Beyond Gaza

Posted on 02/12/2024 by Janice Jayes

The hypocrisy gap between US diplomatic pronouncements and US actions is no surprise to world audiences, but the disconnect on display since October 7 has put the nail in the coffin of the American Century. American officials have been invoking … Continue reading →

 1,584 total views

Posted in Foreign Policy, Imperialism, International, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Section, War | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Age of Disconnect: US Policy and the War Beyond Gaza

November/December Issue Front Cover

Posted on 11/18/2023 by Public i

GAZA CEASE-FIRE NOW!  785 total views,  1 views today

 785 total views,  1 views today

Posted in Israel/Palestine | Tagged , , | Comments Off on November/December Issue Front Cover

Israel’s Violence Will Never Bring “Safety” to Anyone, Including Jews

Posted on 11/18/2023 by Sarah Lazare and Maya Schenwar

This article was published in Truthout on October 18, 2023. It has been updated to reflect numbers as of November 2, and lightly edited for style. The horror and heartbreak in Gaza reaches new proportions each minute: Israel’s siege has … Continue reading →

 671 total views

Posted in International, Israel/Palestine, Middle East | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Israel’s Violence Will Never Bring “Safety” to Anyone, Including Jews

Academic Freedom Cases at the U of I, Part 2

Posted on 02/10/2023 by Belden Fields

In the October/November issue of the Public i, I discussed two cases in which the University faced pressure to dismiss professors because of their speech or extramural writing. These cases go back to the 1960s but have recently been resurrected … Continue reading →

 791 total views,  2 views today

Posted in Academic freedom, Censorship, Free Speech, Israel/Palestine, Public Universities, Section, University of Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Academic Freedom Cases at the U of I, Part 2

Palestinians Aren’t Safe Anywhere, Not Even in their Classrooms

Posted on 08/03/2021 by Sireen Amra

In the past month, Palestinians have witnessed yet another escalation of Zionist violence inflicted onto our homeland without reservation. Israeli warplanes murdered over 250 Palestinians and displaced nearly 100,000 people from their homes during a two-week-long bombardment of the Gaza … Continue reading →

 1,453 total views

Posted in International, International, Israel/Palestine, Palestinians, Section, Students, Voices, Women | Comments Off on Palestinians Aren’t Safe Anywhere, Not Even in their Classrooms

Separating Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism

Posted on 12/06/2020 by Jenni Walkup

The morning after the 2016 presidential election, I woke up wondering if I was still white. I am Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish, and had always felt confident in the safety my light skin afforded me. That day, for the first … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-Semitism, Israel/Palestine, Students, Women | Comments Off on Separating Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism

Students for Justice in Palestine Triumphs in Illinois Student Government Vote

Posted on 12/24/2019 by Rue Abbas

On October 23, student organizers and members of Illinois Student Government (ISG) were elated to hear that a resolution demanding an apology from University of Illinois Chancellor Robert Jones had been passed by a vote of 29-4. The resolution criticized … Continue reading →

Posted in Antisemitism, Israel/Palestine | Comments Off on Students for Justice in Palestine Triumphs in Illinois Student Government Vote

Anti-Semitism: Still the “Socialism of Fools”?

Posted on 06/13/2019 by Richard Esbenshade

Scandals over alleged anti-Semitism have recently ensnared leftist British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn; the populist Yellow Vest movement, which leans both Left and Right (and neither, rejecting both); and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), critic of Israel and supporter of … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-Semitism, Boycott, Israel, Israel/Palestine, Middle East | Comments Off on Anti-Semitism: Still the “Socialism of Fools”?