Minnesota organizes another car caravan for Palestine
Minneapolis, MN – On December 14, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) led a caravan of over 40 cars with the Free Palestine Coalition to draw attention to the people of Palestine facing genocidal violence during evening rush hour.
Protesters decorated their cars with signs and Palestinian flags. Half of them drove slowly on Interstate-94 between Minneapolis and Saint Paul while the other half drove slowly south to Lake Street, then to Hennepin Avenue and to Franklin Avenue. At the same time, protesters held banners and Palestinian flags over I-94 on the 25th Avenue bridge near Augsburg University in Minneapolis and on the Lexington Avenue bridge in Saint Paul.
Allison Gunderson explained, “This was huge visibility! No doubt we sparked a lot of dinner table conversations for the night.” Gunderson was one of many drivers from the coalition.
Samantha Alsadi of the Anti-War Committee agreed, “We had a lot of positive feedback from the community. Many people on their way home from working all day were enthusiastic when they saw our presence in our cars and bannering on bridges. Many Palestine flags being flown at once throughout the city really grabbed people's attention.” Attendees enthusiastically waved flags to appreciative vehicle honks, despite clear police intimidation from State Patrol officers driving alongside them on I-94.
AWC member Amy Banker had a very positive experience being in the Minneapolis car caravan, saying, “Those of us driving on the city streets saw so many enthusiastic supporters excited to see and hear us pass, including business owners running out of their shops to yell “¡Viva Palestina!” healthcare workers still on the clock giving us heart signs, and pedestrians, some of whom joined in for blocks.”
These actions were only three days after the arrest of eight people by the State Patrol during a Palestinian-led car caravan on I-94 in Minneapolis.
Andrew Josefchak, an organizer with the Anti-War Committee explained, “There was a massive State Patrol presence around us trying to intimidate us, but they didn’t stop us. It was important that we defended the right to use car caravans as a protest tactic and didn’t back down.”
Similar actions were done the week before by Palestine activists in Chicago.