Die-in demands ‘No U.S. aid for Israel’ on anniversary of Gaza War

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 demonstrators rallied in front of the office of Senator Klobuchar (D-MN), August 26, to mark the end of the 2014 Israeli/U.S. war on Gaza. Cars driving up and down Washington Avenue honked in support.

Sophia Hansen-Day of the Anti-War Committee told the crowd, “Last summer over 2200 Palestinians, 513 of whom were children, were massacred by the Israeli military in a horrific 51-day war. In terms of explosive force, the Israeli military used the equivalent of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in the course of its war on Gaza. International law experts agree Israel is guilty of nothing short of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and, incitement to genocide.”

“U.S. military aid to the tune of at least $3 billion every year, unfaltering diplomatic support, media propaganda – the U.S. government directly supports Zionist terror, sustains the occupation and enables massacres such as the one we witnessed last summer. Today, we stand in front of Senator Klobuchar’s office to demand the U.S. government ends all military, political and economic support for the apartheid state of Israel,” Hansen-Day continued.

After the rally at Klobuchar’s office, protesters marched through the streets, blocking rush-hour traffic and chanting. Upon arriving at May Day Plaza, Sarah Martin of Women Against Military Madness spoke and urged protesters to come to Cincinnati, Oct. 14, to support Palestinian American leader Rasmea Odeh.

On May Day plaza, there was a heart-wrenching die-in. A member of the Anti-War Committee read an account written by a woman from Gaza who lost 18 people in one attack. She read out the relatives’ names and ages. After each name, the crowd chanted “Presente!” Protesters representing the family members fell to the pavement as each name was called. White sheets splattered with red paint to represent blood were draped over the people on the ground. After all 18 names were read, the crowd chanted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and the die-in participants sprang up, joining in the resistance chant.

The protest was initiated by the Anti-War Committee and endorsed by American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voices for Peace – Twin Cities, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAc), Students for a Democratic Society at UMN, Students for Justice in Palestine – U of MN, Welfare Rights Committee, Veterans for Peace, U.S. Palestinian Communities Network – MN Chapter, and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).

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