Cuba has continuously denounced Israel’s assault on Gaza and has long supported the Palestinian people and their fight for freedom.
On March 2, millions of people worldwide will march through the streets of Cuba demanding that Israel immediately end its genocide in Gaza and halt its planned invasion of Rafah on March 10.
Declaring on X that “Cuba joins the global mobilization this March 2 in support of Palestine,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel made the announcement about the mobilization call. We will be protesting the Holocaust that Israel is attempting to incite in Rafah and showing our support for our brother people by taking to the streets in all of the provinces and in Havana. For Gaza, everybody!
The central mobilization organized by the Union of Young Communists and the Women’s Federation of Cuba, will be held in Havana, the Cuban capital, at the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Plaza. The plaza is located in front of the US Embassy and is a traditional site for anti-imperialist protests and actions in Havana.
Wasim Mustafa, a third-year Palestinian medical student in Cuba told Peoples Dispatch, “Cuba continues to provide outstanding support to the Palestinian cause and the right of the Palestinian people to life, to the best of its ability.”
Mustafa, one of 200 young Palestinians currently studying medicine in Cuba, highlighted Cuba’s consistent position to stand with Palestine, politically and materially, “Over the years it has not tired of receiving and graduating medical students from Palestine, and here it is today…renewing its position with Gaza, Palestine, and its people in this terrible moment, by organizing several massive solidarity marches in its cities and streets.”
“The march on Saturday March 2, will witness Cuba’s loyal stance towards the just cause,” Mustafa declared.
Yenifer Pérez, of the National Secretary of the Federation of University Students, also emphasized the importance of the mobilizations on March 2. “We call on all mass organizations in our country and also at the international level to join this call to help the Palestinian people.”
“We want to call on young university students to come to the Anti-Imperialist Plaza,” Pérez emphasized, and added that despite the challenging economic conditions facing Cuba right now, “our universities should walk here if necessary to support the Palestinian people who need us so much and what we have fought for for five months…we want Palestine to be free!”
The Cuban president in January 2024 had remarked, “For Cubans, Palestine is a dear sister nation. The cause of its people has always been defended by the Revolution. In days of so much horror, so much pain and so much shame for humanity, we renew our firm commitment to a Free Palestine.” Cuba also supported South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide.
Global day of action
The call for the March 2 global day of action was launched by the Palestinian Youth Movement, the International Peoples’ Assembly, Progressive International, ALBA Movimientos, Pan Africanism Today, La Via Campesina, World March of Women – Latin America, the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas, and the International League of People’s Struggle, among others. Around 100 protest actions have been confirmed for March 2 in Argentina, Venezuela, Jamaica, South Africa, El Salvador, Lebanon, Hawai’i, Morocco, Spain, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, Canada, Sweden, the United States, and Japan.
In the United States, over 200 organizations have endorsed the day of action such as the ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, The People’s Forum, Al-Awda the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, American Muslims for Palestine, and Friends of the Congo.
After over 100 Palestinians were massacred by Israeli forces in Gaza City early on February 29, who opened fire on civilians while they were waiting in line for food, organizers say their protests are even more important. In a statement condemning the massacre, the Party for Socialism and Liberation in the US emphasized, “The moment is urgent — and we must show out in full force to demand an immediate ceasefire.”