San Jose demands no U.S. war on Iran
San Jose, CA – On March 15, over 40 people gathered in downtown San Jose to demand an end to the U.S. war on Iran. They chanted “Hands off Iran,” to supportive honks from people driving past the protest. Community members waved Iranian and Palestinian signs and held signs reading, “No war on Iran” and “San Jose: divest from genocide.” The protest was part of the Anti-War Action Network National Day of Action.
Philip Nguyen of San Jose Against War stated, “On March 7, the United States and Israel bombed several Iranian oil storage facilities in Tehran, causing untold amounts of destruction and creating large black rainclouds with acid rain. These were not precision strikes on military targets; this was chemical warfare waged on civilians.”
Palestinian-American community member Dina Saba stated, “We are now spending more than $1 billion per day on this illegal war on Iran.”
Saba continued, “Our tax dollars are paying for Israel’s education, universal healthcare and subsidized housing while the average American continues to struggle to pay rent, to put food on the table, and is barely surviving paycheck to paycheck.”
Drusie Kazanova of Freedom Road Socialist Organization addressed the crowd, saying, “Iranians are being killed by the thousands, and everyday people in the United States who have nothing to gain from these criminal attacks are watching the prices of basic goods soar. American billionaires are the ones making this war, and the rest of us are being made to pay.”
Kazanova continued, “From Iraq, to Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran – these wars, which have killed millions, have all been waged in order to secure the economic and geopolitical interests of the billionaire ruling class.”
Nassim Nouri of the Green Party stated, “We are not represented. We all know it. And it doesn’t seem like all the shouting in the world that we do on the street is getting to the ears of those bought politicians that sit in Washington and feed us the lies about the evil people ‘over there.’”
Nouri continued, “The evil people are right here. Yes, we need a regime change – we need a regime change right here, in Washington D.C.”
John Duroyan of Students for Democratic Society at San Jose State University spoke about SDS’s campaign demanding that the university cut ties with war profiteers like Lockheed Martin, saying, “We say no jobs for genocide, no tech for genocide, no tech for war and intervention, no more money for Trump’s wars!”
Duroyan continued, “SJSU administration remains shamefully complicit. So while you in the community are fighting for divestment in the city, we the students are fighting for divestment on this campus.”
Nguyen gave a call to action to demand that the city of San Jose pass an ethical investment policy, saying, “San Jose Against War and other organizations are ramping up for the city council meeting where they’ll be voting on their annual investment portfolio. We’re going to show up and demand that they pass an ethical investment policy.”
Nguyen continued, “This policy would divest and bar any future investments in companies complicit in genocide, companies enabling ICE, and companies who profit from prisons.”
San Jose Against War and other organizations will be mobilizing to the San Jose City Council meeting at San Jose City Hall on Tuesday, March 24, at 1:30 p.m. to give public comment demanding ethical investment.