CHICAGO -- Peace activists staged an emergency picket at the Israeli consulate Monday around 5 p.m. to protest the U.S.-endorsed Israeli war on Lebanon and Palestine.

The picket is at 111 E. Wacker Dr. in downtown Chicago. More than 45 activists are calling for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon, where hundreds of civilians have been killed in Israeli bombing raids in the last three weeks. An immediate ceasefire in occupied Palestine is also demanded, which has also seen dozens of civilians killed by Israeli military action in the last month.

The picket, which is being convened by the Chicago Coalition Against War & Racism, has been endorsed by AFSC, ANSWER Chicago, the Gay Liberation Network, HammerHard MediaWorks, International Socialist Organization, the International Solidarity Movement - Chicago, Nicaragua Solidarity Committee, and Sankofa Way Spiritual Services.