St. Paul, MN – Dozens of protesters gathered at the intersection of Summit and Snelling Avenues here, July 24, to remember last summer’s war on Gaza. They held signs, Palestinian flags, and chanted “Free Palestine” as cars that drove by the busy intersection. After getting supportive honks and peace signs for an hour they concluded with a short rally.

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, spoke to the protest representing the Anti-War Committee, “We picked today to protest with WAMM because of the significance of this date last summer. On July 24, 2014, 10,000 Palestinians on the West Bank took to the streets to protest in solidarity with their sisters and brothers in Gaza, and a UNRWA school in Beit Hanoun which served as a shelter for internally displaced people was struck by several Israeli missiles killing at least 13 people and injuring 200. Today’s date tells a story of solidarity and survival.”

Margaret Sarfehjooy, chair of the Women Against Military Madness’ Middle East Committee, also spoke and addressed the importance of political pressure, “Gaza is the example, and continues to be the example for what happens when we fail to hold our leaders accountable for their actions and complicity. Israel is by far the largest recipient of U.S. foreign military aid. According to the Congressional Research Service, the president’s request for Israel for 2015 is approximately 53% of total U.S. foreign military financing worldwide and Annual Military Finance grants to Israel represent 20% of Israel’s defense budget. With our tax dollars and our government’s unconditional support, the Gaza Strip has become a laboratory for Israeli weapons. For Israeli arms makers, Gaza wars are cash cows. The Israeli army launches an attack against Gaza every 2 years to battle test their latest munitions.” She added that the Gaza Strip, “is a laboratory for a social experiment in which an entire population is incarcerated and isolated, controlled from the land, the sea and the air – all with our government’s complicity. It is time to hold our elected officials accountable.”

The Women Against Military Madness Middle East Committee holds a Palestine vigil every Friday at Summit and Snelling Avenues and this particular one was a part of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee’s #51DaysinGaza summer campaign.

The next Palestine protest will be on August 26 to mark the end of the Gaza war of 2014, with a 4:30 protest followed by a march starting at Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office at 1200 Washington Avenue in Minneapolis.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #Gaza #Palestine #PeoplesStruggles #Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN – On July 8, about a 150 Palestinians and their supporters rallied in Loring Park and marched through the Uptown neighborhood here to mark the one-year anniversary of Israel’s 51-day bombing campaign against Gaza. The demonstration was organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC).

“It’s important we make waves in the streets so that people know what we stand for and so our cause cannot be ignored,” said Karmel Sabri, who joined the AWC after coming to protests against last summer’s bombing of Gaza.

From July 8 to August 26, 2014, Israel committed many atrocities, including killing 2310 Palestinians (519 children), bombing seven United Nations shelters, permanently displacing over 108,000 people through the systematic targeted bombings of multi-family homes, and deliberately damaging Gaza's only power plant.

Top Israeli officials circulated explicit incitements to genocide during the war against Gaza, and have continued to do so. The U.S. is directly complicit in these war crimes, providing more than $3 billion in foreign aid to Israel every year. The protesters urged an end to that support.

The protest began with a theater skit starring 10-year old Adel Sabri, who played the part of Omar, a boy who lives with his family in Gaza. As Omar spoke of uprooted olive trees, a brother arrested for throwing rocks, the bombing of Gaza, and the tireless resistance of the Palestinian people, U.S. reporters got the story wrong again and again. Adel said, “The play made me cry because I thought that could have happened to me.”

Sarah Martin of Committee Against FBI Repression spoke about the case of Rasmea Odeh, and urged all to make plans to travel to Cincinnati for Odeh’s appeal in September. “She is our hero, and she has come under attack only because she is a Palestinian who has dedicated her life to the liberation of Palestine.”

Also speaking before the march were Craig Wood, of Veterans for Peace Chapter 27 and Hussein Khatib of American Muslims for Palestine, Minnesota (AMP). AMP-MN helped to lead all of last summer’s demonstrations against the siege of Gaza.

After the speakers, rush hour traffic was stalled as marchers took to the major thoroughfare, Hennepin Avenue. Sabry Wazwaz of the AWC took to the bullhorn for a mile and a half, leading the crowd in chants of, “Free free Palestine!” and “Netanyahu you will learn, by the millions we’ll return!”

At the end, marchers gathered for closing remarks by Mel Reeves. He struck a hopeful cord, reminding folks of the victories of African Americans against slavery and South Africans against apartheid. While the struggle for Palestine may look dire, he said, “We will win.” The crowd joined in, “We will win! We will win!”

The AWC called on supporters to hold Minnesota senators accountable for supporting Israel throughout last summer’s war on Gaza. The Anti-War Committee held protests at both senators’ offices, including civil disobedience at Franken’s campaign headquarters.

The protest also launched the AWC’s social media campaign #51DaysinGaza. Follow and share @AntiwarMN posts that aim to educate and mobilize action through the end of August.

Endorsers of protest included Women Against Military Madness, Students for Justice in Palestine, Veterans for Peace Chapter 27 Minneapolis, MN Peace Action Coalition, Welfare Rights Committee, MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, U.S. Palestinian Community Network-MN Chapter, MN Break the Bonds Campaign, and American Muslims for Palestine-MN.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #51daysinGaza

Minneapolis, MN – On July 8, Palestine solidarity protesters will gather in Loring Park, at 4:30 p.m., and march through Uptown Minneapolis to mark the one-year anniversary of Israel’s 51-day bombing campaign against Gaza. They will demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

The July 8 action will also launch the Anti-War Committee’s social media campaign #51DaysinGaza, that has the goal of educating and mobilizing people to take action through 51 days of online posts.

From July 8 to August 26, 2014, Israel committed many atrocities, not the least of which include killing 2200 Palestinians (519 children), bombing seven United Nations shelters, displacing over 108,000 people through systematically targeting multistory family homes and deliberately damaging Gaza's only power plant.

Top Israeli officials circulated clear incitements to genocide during the escalation of the war against Gaza. The U.S. is directly complicit in these war crimes, providing $3 billion in foreign aid to Israel every year.

Meredith Aby-Keirstad, of the Anti-War Committee states, “Last summer we had the largest Palestine solidarity protests we've ever had in Minnesota against the war on Gaza. With this protest, we hope to mark the horrific events of last summer and continue to build the movement to take a stand against U.S. aid to Israel.”

The Twin Cities based Anti-War Committee is organizing the July 8 protest, with the backing of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP UMN), Veterans for Peace Chapter 27 Minneapolis, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Welfare Rights Committee, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), U.S. Palestinian Community Network-Minnesota Chapter (USPCN-MN), Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign (BBC), American Muslims for Palestine – Minnesota (AMP-MN).

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #GazaUnderAttack #FreePalestine #AntiWarCommittee