Richfield, MN – On June 14, over 50 protesters gathered outside a U.S. Army recruitment center to demand an end to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Lebanon, highlighting the war crimes committed by U.S. military personnel while admonishing recruiters for preying on vulnerable people’s basic needs. The event was organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) with a wide range of grassroots organizations participating in the event.

The day also marked the Flag Day holiday. Instead of flying the U.S. flag, protesters displayed the flags of Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Cuba and other countries targeted by Trump, calling on Americans to respect the sovereignty of other nations. Hundreds of passing cars honked in support.

Maamoun Slayhi, a member of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), spoke at the rally. “They tell us this is about security. But whose security? Not the security of the children in Gaza. Not the security of the families in South Lebanon. Not the security of the people of Iran,” said Slayhi. “And certainly not the security of working families here in the United States who are told there is no money for healthcare, no money for schools, no money for housing, and no money for infrastructure, but somehow there is always money for bombs, warships, and unconditional support for Israel.”

Slayhi continued, “Brown University’s Costs of War project found that the U.S. spent over $21 billion on military aid to Israel after October 7 [2023], not counting billions more in related U.S. military operations in the region. And now over $15 billion for the Iran War. That is our money. That is money that could be spent on healthcare. That is money that could be spent on schools.”

The Pentagon has not been forthcoming about the true cost of the war on Iran. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, at a House Armed Services Committee on April 29, estimated the cost of the war to be about $25 billion. However, a more comprehensive analysis by Popular Information estimated the total cost of the war through the first 60 days at $71.8 billion, almost three times the stated cost.

Doubts about the true cost have been further legitimized by reports that the Pentagon has sought hundreds of billions to be added to the War Department’s budget.

Sima Shakhsari, a founding member of the grassroots group Let Iran Live, connected military recruitment to the human toll the U.S. military has inflicted on their home country, saying, “These recruiters make it sound like it is a heroic act to go and fight in the U.S.-Israeli wars. I ask you: Is it heroic to kill a three-day-old baby in Lebanon or a 20-day-old baby in Iran? How heroic is it to kill Avina, a two-year-old girl who struggled to take her last breaths with her pacifier still in her mouth, as doctors tried to save her?”

In the last week, the U.S. and Iran reportedly reached a memorandum of understanding — reportedly including major U.S. concessions — aimed at ending the war. Continued Israeli violations in Lebanon, as well as mixed signals from the Trump administration about the terms of the agreement, have threatened to keep the war going.

“Many of us are skeptical about the end of the military attacks, because we have seen repeatedly how Israel, under the protection of the U.S. government and under the cloak of ceasefire agreements, continues to bomb and kill Palestinians and the people of Lebanon,” cautioned Shakhsari.

Cedar Larson, a member of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM), spoke about the system that is ultimately responsible for these wars, saying, “We, as the people, the majority in this country, the workers of the world, we are so united. We see the world around us – we see that our enemy is the ruling class! It is the billionaires – the trillionaires! Elon Musk is an official trillionaire. The Pentagon budget is one trillion dollars. And still millions go hungry. We can see that the only option is an end to capitalism, an end to U.S. imperialism, and the time has never been more ripe!”

“The U.S. government itself creates the poverty conditions that many look to escape by joining the military,” explained Yossi Aharoni of the AWC, one of the rally’s emcees. “We can all see the corruption of the Iran war: completely illegal, immoral, built on lies upon lies. It is a disgusting immoral war and it is a disgusting immoral act to recruit young people at the prime of their lives to fight and die for this administration or any U.S. war.”

Members of Veterans for Peace and U.S. Palestinian Community Network also spoke at the rally.

Protesters concluded the event with a group photo in front of the recruitment center, leaving behind a few signs bearing the words: “Genocide is not a job!”

#RichfieldMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Iran #AWC #AMP #WAMM

Minneapolis, MN- Al-Nakba, meaning “The Catastrophe,” is a day of remembrance when communities grieve the over 15,000 Palestinians the Israeli occupation murdered in 1948 and the over 750,000 Palestinians displaced from their homeland. After the Anti-War Action Network called for their third annual day of action commemorating Al-Nakba, the Twin Cities hosted two protests to mark the importance of resisting U.S. funding for Israel.

On Friday, May 15, Women Against Military Madness held their weekly protest at the Summit and Snelling intersection in Saint Paul with a specific focus on the Nakba. Speaker Wyatt Miller from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) said, “I’ve given plenty of speeches like this on past Nakba Days. I usually say something about how Palestinians are the bravest people on Earth. I still believe that, but let’s have this year’s Nakba Day be the one where we say, the Palestinians have been brave enough. They have made enough sacrifices. The world can no longer deny the injustice of the occupation. It’s time for the rest of us to learn to find that bravery in ourselves. The Palestinians have taught the world that dignity doesn’t mean mere politeness or etiquette; true dignity means standing up for what is just and refusing to tolerate anything less than justice.”

On Sunday, May 17, over 30 cyclists gathered at Minnehaha Falls for the Gaza Sunbirds solidarity ride in commemoration of Al-Nakba. The Great Ride of Return global bike rides are organized in support of the Gaza Sunbirds, a Palestinian para-cycling team bringing awareness to the ongoing Israeli siege on Gaza and its production of disability under occupation. The cyclists biked through Minneapolis with Palestinian flags attached to their bikes, chanting “Free, free Palestine” over their bullhorns.

The bikers joined hundreds of activists and community members gathered at Chute Square to march along the Mississippi River in protest of 78 years of Israeli occupation in Palestine. The Nakba Day march was organized by the Minnesota chapter of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and the AWC.

Nadiyah Salawdeh, co-chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network’s Minnesota chapter stated, “Palestinians had been rebelling against British and Zionist forces for decades,” they said. “Every time a fascist settler murders a Palestinian, it’s a catastrophe. Every time a Palestinian is illegally detained, it is a catastrophe. Every time a child starves to death, it is a catastrophe. Home demolition, poisoned water, burning olive trees—these are all catastrophes. Just as the Nakba was not confined to 1948, it is not confined to the borders of historic Palestine. The Lebanese people and the Lebanese resistance have been on the front lines defending their land from Israeli settler expansion. Since the U.S.-Israeli war was launched on Iran and Lebanon, thousands have been murdered, and over a million have been displaced. That is a catastrophe.”

Joe Yamine of the AWC told the crowd, “Today, the Zionist entity is more callous, more destructive, more depraved, and more afraid than it has ever been.”

Yamine continued, “The Western regimes [that] back it have revealed their utter contempt for their people, who turn out in the streets demanding justice and liberation for Palestine now. In Minnesota, we're confronting our municipal governments as they try to sign contracts with Israeli tech companies like Zencity and Waterfall. We are fighting for an end to our state's complicity in Israeli apartheid and the ongoing Nakba by pressuring the State Board of Investment to divest.”

Alissa Washington of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice and the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-sentenced Families Council expanded on the theme of state detention as she discussed the Palestinian right of return.

“The right to resist oppression, occupation and dehumanization is rooted in the struggle of oppressed people across the world,” Washington affirmed. “That is why we also demand freedom for Salah Sarsour and all people targeted, criminalized, or punished for standing with Palestine and speaking out against injustice.” Sarsour, the Islamic Society of Milwaukee’s president and an AMP board member, has been held in ICE detention since March 30.

Washington contined, “Today, let us remember: They want us divided because united people are dangerous to systems built on oppression. From Minneapolis to Palestine, our struggles are connected. From the prison walls to the refugee camps, our people are connected. From the streets demanding accountability to the marches demanding liberation, our resistance is connected. And as long as oppressed people continue to rise together, there will always be hope for freedom.”

Before the protesters flooded the streets to express their grief, hope and rage, Taher Herzallah of AMP articulated Israel’s commitment to dehumanization, breaching international law and fostering a culture of settler violence, concluding, “Israel has absolved itself of its right to exist.” In this spirit, the crowd marched down to the Mississippi River and disrupted business as usual to demand an end to the ongoing Nakba, Sarsour’s release, and a free Palestine.

After two and a half years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its continued annexation of the West Bank and southern Lebanon, people of conscience know that the Nakba is an ongoing ethnic cleansing project that the U.S. government has funded for over three-quarters of a century. Indeed, Minnesota state pensions are currently funding Israel’s crimes to the tune of $5.5 billion in SBI investments. The SBI canceled two of its quarterly public meetings in 2025, and on Wednesday, May 13, it deleted the details of its previously announced meeting scheduled for June 3 from its website.

The MN Anti-War Committee will demand answers at the 2026 DFL State Convention, taking place in Rochester, Minnesota on May 29.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nakba #AntiWarCommittee #USPCN #AMP #SalahSarsour

Minneapolis, MN – On the evening of Saturday, April 25, 50 members of the Twin Cities community rallied downtown Minneapolis to demand the release of Salah Sarsour from ICE custody. Sarsour serves as president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and is a board member for American Muslims for Palestine. He has been an organizer for the Palestine movement in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for decades. Saturday’s protest was organized by the Twin Cities chapter of American Muslims for Palestine and the Minnesota Anti-War Committee.

On March 30, Sarsour outside his home near Milwaukee when he was pulled over, surrounded by ten ICE agents, and taken into custody without cause by ICE and DHS. He was initially held at a facility in Chicago, before being transferred to a detention center in Indiana where he remains in custody. Sarsour is a father, grandfather and husband, and has been a lawful permanent resident of the United States for 32 years.

At the rally, organizers led the crowd in chants of “Protesting is not a crime, free free Palestine” and “When immigrants are under attack what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” The crowd handed out fliers to passersby and to cars stopped at the busy downtown intersection of Washington and Hennepin Avenues to inform people about Sarsour’s abduction and the fight to free him from ICE.

Rani Hamza from American Muslims for Palestine articulated that Sarsour’s abduction is not some attempt at immigration enforcement but in fact an act of political repression against the Palestine movement by the Trump administration. Hamza said, “As they try to strip us of our dignity, we will fight harder to protect it. As they try to strip us of our humanity we will fight harder to preserve it. As they try to silence our voices, we will make them louder. And no matter how long it takes, and no matter what obstacles stand in our way, we will continue to fight for our dignity, our humanity, and our right to speak.”

Freedom Road Socialist Organization member Wyatt Miller laid out successful tactics of past battles against repression stating, “We do it by putting up a fight in court and by mobilizing the masses, by taking to the streets, by raising the banner of ‘Free them all’ without any qualifications and without fear.”

Insisting this is an opportunity to favorably shift the political terrain of the movement, Miller continued, “Fighting back against repression changes the political conditions and can help make what was impossible become possible.”

Alissa Washington of the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-sentenced Families Council and the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice spoke at the protest. Washington’s fiancé Cornelius Jackson has been wrongfully incarcerated and over-sentenced in Minnesota for the past 19 years. Connecting Jackson’s case to Sarsour’s she said, “His case is not unique. It is a reflection of a system that relies on informants, hides evidence, and then expects us to just accept it. At the same time, we are seeing that same system expand beyond prisons into our streets, into our neighborhoods, into our immigrant communities. Because today, we are also demanding: free Salah Sarsour from ICE detention.”

Representing the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), Alvin Sheng said, “All immigrants and their families have to band together to ensure that our constitutional rights are preserved for everyone in this country.” He called on supporters of the immigrant rights struggle in the Twin Cities to show up this Friday for MIRAC’s 20th annual International Workers Day march. “The biggest opportunity for us to exercise our collective power and unity with immigrant communities is coming up next Friday May 1. The International Workers Day march is starting at Lake Street and Chicago Avenue at 4:30 p.m. Come out to the most important march of the year for immigrant and labor rights!”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #ImmigrantRights #MNAWC #AMP

On Monday, March 30 DHS and ICE took Salah Sarsour into custody. While driving, he was pulled over by ten ICE agents with no just cause.

Salah has been a lawful permanent resident in the United States for over 32 years. Salah serves as the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee (ISM), board member of the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), and has been a prominent advocate for the Muslim and Palestinian communities for three decades.

Members of these communities understand that Sarsour is being targeted due to his leading roles locally and nationally. Like the targeting of Mahmoud Khalil, Leqaa Kordia, Mohsen Mahdawi and other pro-Palestinian people of conscience, Sarsour is being subjected to the same treatment. Just as in their cases, the people are calling to mobilize!

A press conference will be held today, April 2, at 4 p.m. in the Islamic Society Milwaukee Community Center (815 W. Layton Avenue).

Solidarity to Sarsour, his family, the Palestinian, Muslim, and immigrant communities. Opposing the genocide in Gaza is not a crime! Fighting for Palestinian liberation is not a crime! Free Salah Now! Join the movement to free Salah!

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #ICE #ImmigrantRights #AntiWarMovement #FRSO #ISM #AMP #Palestine

Chicago, IL – On October 2, 60 protesters disrupted Union Station to take a militant stand against the U.S./Israeli genocide of Palestinians. Momentum was high after the illegal kidnappings of 497 activists of the Global Sumud Freedom Flotilla from 44 countries. This is the first time since 2009 that a boat has made it into Palestinian waters and broken Israel’s siege of Gaza.

The emergency action was led by Students for Justice in Palestine-Chicago (SJP Chicago) and successfully disrupted traffic as well as people trying to leave and enter the Amtrak station.

Escalating for Gaza

Protesters gathered on a corner across from Union Station. A member of SJP set the tone, chanting defiantly, “Gaza must have food and water! We won’t pay for Gaza’s slaughter!” As momentum built up, members of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), New Students for a Democratic Society at UIC (New SDS at UIC) and more took to the streets.

As the march proceeded, protesters rushed inside of Union Station. They progressed downstairs as the racist Chicago Police Department (CPD) attempted to isolate and intimidate young activists. Rather than freeze and look away, protesters surrounded said officers chanting, “Back up, back up, we want freedom, all these racist ass cops we don’t need em need em!” and “Move cops get out the way, we know your Israeli trained!” leaving officers no choice but to stand idle and concede to their demands. Protesters continued, rushing to the lower level and catching people there by surprise.

Protesters gathered at the center of the station as Jinan Chehade, from American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), expressed the urgency of the situation in Gaza, stating, “We are here today to make some noise! Over the last 24 hours, 500 activists from 44 countries have been kidnapped by the Israeli military for delivering baby formula and medicine to Gaza. The global Sumud Flotilla showed us that Israel is not invincible. That the siege can be broken and will be broken.”

The final vessel made it through to Palestinian waters despite the seizure of 44 boats. This is the first time a boat has entered Palestinian waters since 2009. Chehade continued, “This just shows, two years later, that our movement is strong, it is not weak, we are strong, we get louder every single day! They are calling this week the global crossing to Gaza, from Naples, to Rome, to Italy, to Malaysia, to Chile, these people have taken to the streets to protest against Israel.”

Chehade concluded, “Finally I want to end by saying this showed us that even though Israel has U.S. backing and billions of dollars it is not invincible, their navy is not invincible. Let a thousand flotillas sail next time, while a thousand conflicts still happen, we will keep sailing, we will keep marching, we will keep screaming, until we break the siege on Gaza.”

As protesters continued further into the station, attempting to reach the railroads, CPD proceeded to continue grabbing protesters, brutalizing them, smashing megaphones, threatening arrests and stealing megaphone batteries in the process. Through this hectic confrontation, it was clear the police were caught completely off guard by the youth.

Protesters proceeded outside, marching in downtown Chicago, chanting and creating a spectacle of green smoke that gained support from onlookers. The march ultimately landed in front of the Israeli consulate. Protesters gave full energy as Farah Chalisa, an international human rights lawyer for a U.S. Freedom Flotilla member, spoke, along with a member of the Malcom X Grassroots movement.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PYM #SDS #AMP #SJP #MXGM #StudentMovement #Feature

Minneapolis, MN – On August 28, approximately 50 protesters rallied outside Senator Amy Klobuchar's office to protest U.S. support for Israel's forced starvation of Palestinians. The rally drew much attention from onlookers on what was a day of multiple protests in the city. This action was organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC).

On August 22, the UN officially declared a famine in Gaza. In recent months, Israel's intentional starvation campaign has produced countless images of malnourished, skeletal Palestinians, shocking people around the world. In response, MPAC speakers expressed disgust at Israel's actions and at those who have contributed to the bombing and starvation, not least of which is Amy Klobuchar.

Taher Herzallah, director of outreach and community organizing for American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), told the crowd, “They hope – as Smotrich stood on the pulpit and said today – that the mass murder of Palestinians, the large scale, engineered starvation of an entire population, [will] teach them a lesson so that they never rebel again. The only thing that Smotrich will accomplish, him and his government in Israel today, is to cause more people, millions and millions more people around the world and in Palestine, to hate them even more.”

This growing worldwide revulsion towards Israel has placed politicians like Amy Klobuchar under significant pressure. Klobuchar, a staunch Zionist who continues to affirm the genocidal colony's right to “defend” itself, recently gave a speech on the Senate floor where she actually criticized Israel's starvation policy. While this concession can be seen as a minor victory for the pro-Palestine movement, Trent Fast, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), made it plain that Minnesotans are not taken in by empty posturing, stating, “Where was this outrage when you were posing and smiling with Netanyahu not a week before your speech to the senate?”

CeCe Maves, another AWC organizer, gave an agonizingly detailed description of the effects of starvation on the human body stating, “Starvation can cause permanent brain damage and, with children under the age of two, severely alter brain development. The psychological impacts of this will be seen for years to come.”

Nadiyeh Salawdeh of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network closed out the event by stating, “Like all liberal Zionists, Amy Klobuchar is doing all that she can to extend the life of the collapsing U.S. empire and its proxy in Israel. She wants to redeem the irredeemable. The world sees the fascist entities for what they are, and they see you as a foot soldier for genocide. You can no longer hide. It is our job to make sure that people like Amy Klobuchar are always held accountable for their role in genocide.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #MPAC #AMP #AWC

Chicago, IL -The Chicago Coalition for Justice In Palestine held another weekly protest on Saturday, August 16. Around 100 protesters came out to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza, an arms embargo, and justice for Anas al-Sharif, the martyred Al Jazeera reporter who the Zionist entity bombed outside of a hospital.d

Protesters banged pots and pans and held signs that read “Justice for Anas” as well as a list of the names of the recently martyred Palestinian journalists. Then they brought out a casket to represent and honor the martyred Palestinian journalists.

“The genocidal state of Israel deliberately targeted the Al Jazeera tent, murdering Anas Al-Sharif — he fought with nothing but a lenses and his words,” said Nadia Alyafai with the US Palestinian Community Network.



Alayafai continued, “He stood against the bombs and the occupation armed with billions of dollars and global complicity. And he never stopped telling Gaza’s story. They feared him because he revealed reality,”
adding, “They believed if they silenced reporters, they could silence Gaza, that the world would forget their war crimes — but they are wrong, because we remember.”

Alyafai told protesters that they must live to tell the stories of the reporters and highlighted the importance of disrupting representatives who are guilty with perpetuating this genocide — such as Congressman Sean Casten of Illinois, who refuses to support the Block the Bombs Act.

A member of American Muslims from Palestine (AMP) stated, “Gaza’s fight is our fight, and while we may not be in Palestine, Palestine lives in every single one of us. Those bombs over Gaza, they bear our fingerprints. We are part of the story, so we must continue protesting and talking about Gaza in every single conversation we have.”

“Right now, we have to continue the legacy of resistance, and unite with people all around the world, from Yemen to Puerto Rico; from Palestine to the Philippines,” said Kobi Guillory with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR). “When Trump attacks DC, Chicago, Rafah, immigrants, Mexico, South Africa – we have to stand up, fight back – and loudly – in solidarity with oppressed people in the fight against oppression.”

The crowd then took to the streets and marched around the Loop area chanting, “Hey Israel what do you say? How many reporters did you kill today?” As they marched, it began to rain, but that did not stop them.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #USPCN #CAARPR #NAARPR #AMP

Minneapolis, MN — On May 17, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), American Muslims for Palestine — MN (AMP), and the Free Palestine Coalition held a march to remember Al Nakba. They were joined by more than 250 community members in a march that shut down several of Minneapolis’ busiest downtown arteries. The action was a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s week of action.

Nakba Day, the commemoration of Al Nakba, Arabic for “the catastrophe,” marks the 1948 expulsion of more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homes by militias that would later become the formal Israeli army.

Demonstrators marched with signs that read, “Victory to the Palestinian Resistance!” and “End the Nakba.” They carried a banner demanding “Trump: Hands off Gaza!”

While those in Minneapolis were commemorating Nakba Day by demanding an end to Israel’s apartheid laws and genocide in Gaza, Israel is currently carrying out a continuing Nakba. Hundreds have been massacred since Thursday, May 15, as Israel intensifies its aerial bombing and ground invasion in Gaza.

Speaking at Saturday’s march, Sana Wazwaz said, “I don’t want to give a speech today. The people of Gaza were saying their goodbyes the other night. And honestly, I’m sick of the sound of my own voice. But we’re here to say we’ve heard their goodbyes and yet Palestine will never say goodbye.” Wazwaz led the crowd in a series of call-and-response chants, the crowd responding with chants of “Never again!” as Wazwaz listed atrocities that have been carried out by the Israeli military.

The U.S. Palestinian Community Network-Minnesota (USPCN) was represented by Nadiyah Salawdeh, who emphasized that Israel’s crimes against humanity aren’t limited to Gaza. They described the apartheid conditions faced by Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank, including the 793 military checkpoints that Palestinians must navigate as they live their daily lives, the land theft that has accelerated in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, and the 40,000 Palestinians who have been driven from their homes in the West Bank in the past few months.

Salawdeh stated, “As genocide continues in Gaza, don’t turn away and forget the escalations happening in the West Bank. It’s no secret that what Israel is doing in Gaza, Israel hopes to one day do in the West Bank as well. We are here to remind you: the Nakba never ended. It has evolved, shifted, and changed, but the goal of the Israeli regime has always been the same: permanent displacement of the entire Palestinian people.”

Layna Crandell, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, spoke as a Jewish anti-Zionist, saying, “This genocide is our modern-day Holocaust. I could talk about how Jews can’t be safe while Palestine is under attack, until Palestine is free, but ultimately this isn’t about us. Our solidarity is with Palestinians and their liberation. Our solidarity is with Palestinian resistance, who have fought for decades for their people and land.”

Crandell continued, “It’s not just Netanyahu or Ben Gvir or Smotrich. Israel has been a strategic pawn for U.S. imperialism for decades and continues to exist through U.S. economic and material support. Israel has been a stable ally throughout the U.S.’s destabilization efforts in the Middle East in pursuit of their own economic interests. Israel has also allied with the U.S. through supplying weapons to paramilitaries and far right governments in Latin America, collaborating with apartheid states in Africa, and supporting U.S.– led invasions in Asia. The IDF even trains our own police!”

Vash Lamp of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) spoke on the necessity of the movement for immigrant rights standing up for Palestine. He summed up the sentiment of the demonstrators when he said, “My friend shared with us the posts made by Palestinians in Gaza sharing their final goodbyes, because they didn’t expect to make it through the night. In these times, it’s hard to remain hopeless when we have the means of forging the future that we’re fighting for. Despite how bad this week has been, I’m not feeling hopeless, I’m feeling like I want to fucking fight!”

Organizers ended the march by emphasizing the need for all those standing for justice in the U.S. to show solidarity across movements, calling for marchers to attend an upcoming demonstration against Trump’s empowerment of police departments.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #MNAWC #AMP #FPC #Nakba

Minneapolis, MN – On March 11, over 300 people protested in front of the Federal Building downtown Minneapolis to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil and an end to the Trump administration’s criminalization of the pro-Palestine student movement at U.S. The protest was a part of Student for a Democratic Society’s call for a National Day of Action in solidarity with Khalil.

On the evening of March 8, the Department of Homeland Security detained Palestinian Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil. This was the first detention after Trump ordered the State Department to deport students for pro-Palestine activism. Khalil is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., a green card holder, and his arrest is an unlawful violation of freedom of speech and immigration laws.

Trump’s Executive Order 13899 requires “the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with each other […] report activities by alien students and staff relevant to those grounds and for ensuring that such reports about aliens lead, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to investigations and, if warranted, actions to remove such aliens.”

On February 28, The Department of Justice announced that a federal task force to “Combat Antisemitism” would visit ten college campuses that “experienced incidents of antisemitism.” Trump’s administration conflates antisemitism with anti-Zionism and criminalizes students, staff and faculty who have protested a deadly genocide that has killed over 48,000 people in Gaza. This is a discrimination against Muslim, Palestinian and Middle Eastern students, faculty and staff. Columbia University and University of Minnesota are among campuses under investigation.

Crista Ocampo, an organizer with the MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, spoke to the crowd, “We condemn this egregious case of political repression at the hands of ICE. ICE officers have terrorized communities across the country for far too long and now they are being used as a tool by Trump to further repress the Palestine movement. Shame! We won’t let them get away with this. Just look at the hard fought battle SDS put up and won against their administration to get the suspensions dropped for the Halimy Hall students. When our oppressors’ attacks become more blatant, it only makes it easier for us to unite with each other on the path to justice. We will never stop fighting because we know that that’s how we win.”

Lina Jebara, an organizer with the MN Anti-War Committee, closed out the protest, “These acts of political repression – of plucking community leaders from movements, of threatening organizers with unconstitutional deportations or with phony felony charges, as we’ve seen here in our community – are not new for this country. These are deliberate actions taken to make us fear retaliation for standing up against depraved injustices, to push us towards acquiescence. We’re out here today, after witnessing months of harrowing genocide in Palestine carried out by Israel on our dime, to say that these tactics do not and will not work on us.”

The protest was organized by the MN Anti-War Committee, UMN Educators for Justice in Palestine, UMN Students for a Democratic Society, and endorsed by UMN Students for Justice in Palestine, Minnesota Immigration Rights Action Committee, Jewish Voice for Peace, and American Muslims for Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement #PoliticalRepression #Trump #SDS #MNAWC #SJP #MIRAC #JVP #AMP

Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, December 8, the Minnesota Anti War Committee held their annual Human Rights Day action. 200 protesters gathered in Minneapolis’s Washburn Fair Oaks Park and marched down the busy Nicollet Avenue, shouting demands for human rights for all and calling on the Minnesota State Board of Investment to divest from apartheid Israel and weapons manufacturers.

Every year, Human Rights Day is celebrated internationally to commemorate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that protects the inalienable rights of every person. During this Human Rights Day, protesters connected different struggles, including healthcare and abortion access, immigrant rights, police abolition, climate justice, land back, and anti-imperialism, to call for an end to human rights abuses in the U.S. and those sponsored by the U.S. abroad.

Abdullah Muhammad, a member of the Minnesota chapter of American Muslims for Palestine said, “Our unity today underscores a profound truth, the struggles for justice are interconnected.”

This protest heard speeches from the Anti-War Committee, Health Care Workers 4 Palestine, Climate Justice Committee, Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, American Muslims for Palestine, Minnesota Abortion Action Committee, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, and Minnesota Workers United.

Robyn Harbison, a member of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee, stated, “Countries are not playgrounds, nations are not chess pieces, nations are the people.” Connecting abortion access to the broader fight for human rights, Harbison asserted the “commitment in demanding better for the working class, our trans family, undocumented sisters, and victims of police violence.” Harbison is an outspoken Palestine solidarity activist and is fighting felony charges for protesting for Palestine at the University of MN.

Nicholas Tolliver, a member of the Anti-War Committee, stated that imperial powers, “monopolize access to resources and secure global supply chains on a planet that is being suffocated by climate change and ecological collapse caused by capitalist production and resource extraction.”

In order to stop imperial violence and human rights abuses, Tolliver stated, “divestment is one of the most powerful tools that we, living here in the imperial core, have to fight against imperialist human rights violations.”

The Minnesota State Board of Investment, which controls and organizes public workers’ pensions and state investments funded by taxpayers, invests $5.4 billion in public assets belonging to entities complicit or profiting from the Israeli apartheid and genocide. They are holding their quarterly meeting this Tuesday, December 10, at 10 a.m. in the Department of Administration Building, where the Minnesota Free Palestine Coalition is planning to pack the room.

The MN Anti-War Committee Human Rights Day protest was also a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s call for a week of action.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiWarMovement #MNAWC #AMP #MinneapolisFederationofTeachers #HealthcareWorkersforPalestine #CJC #MAAC #MIRAC #MWU

The event featured prominent speaker Taher Herzallah, the director of outreach and grassroots organizing for American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Herzallah was the primary target of the vocal attacks by Zionists and Mayor Frey in the lead-up to the event. Herzallah was labeled an antisemite, and the event was denounced as a sign of antisemitism in public education unions. Despite this opposition, rank-and-file members of both chapters of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT 59) enjoyed Palestinian food, breakout sessions and well-informed discussions.

The attack on Taher Herzallah and the unionists seems to originate in part with the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), a national Zionist pressure group, and far-right website Alpha News.

Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) Twin Cities explained in their statement, “As Minneapolis Jews, we are outraged by the shameful provocation from the JCRC and Mayor Frey. We are grateful for Taher’s tireless work in speaking out against Israel’s ongoing attacks in Palestine and Lebanon and his years of multifaith organizing for justice, and we are grateful to MFT Educators for Palestine for organizing this important event.”

“Herzallah and I are clear that Zionism – which claims Jewish safety requires a nation-state where Jews have more rights than others – is a political movement that must be condemned, that Jews are a politically diverse group and that we can work together across faith lines for justice,” said Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg of JVP’s Rabbinical Council in a separate statement, adding they “look forward to working with Herzallah for years to come.” She called for an apology to Herzallah, detailing her years of work shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

Mayor Frey released a video parroting right-wing critics of public schools and teachers’ unions. Frey said teachers need to teach reading and math, not what he called “hate, pure and simple.” He called for the event’s cancellation. Nevertheless, the event was a major success and kept Herzallah as its main event speaker. It marks another loss for JCRC’s reactionary campaigns locally. Previously the JCRC’s Minneapolis operation failed in major campaigns to stop a Minneapolis city council ceasefire resolution and to prevent multiple unions from taking pro-Palestine, anti-Zionist actions.

The attack from the JCRC is particularly egregious, considering many of the members of the Free Palestine Coalition served on the solidarity committee for MFTs historic strike, while JCRC offered no material, written, or verbal support. Many in the Free Palestine Coalition are union members, or, like Taher Herzallah, are active supporters of unions and workers fighting for the right to organize.

The breakout sessions included lessons from Jewish educators about the differences between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Teachers also learned about the ongoing campaign to divest unions and Minnesota from apartheid Israel.

The divestment breakout focused on the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI). It manages Minneapolis Public Schools’ teacher, education support professional and public worker pensions, and has extensive holdings in Israel. Event organizers and attendees expressed outrage at the investment board’s ongoing decision to invest in Israel's apartheid and genocide, but were determined to work collectively toward divestment, a material contribution in the Palestine solidarity movement.

MFT 59 members have repeatedly given public comment at meetings of the SBI, demanding that it take immediate action to divest from apartheid Israel. Class struggle unionists celebrated this victory while looking ahead, members will make their voices heard at the upcoming SBI meeting on Tuesday, December 10.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Labor #Teachers #MFT59 #AMP #Palestine

Minneapolis, MN – On October 6, over 4000 protesters gathered in downtown Minneapolis on to mark one year of protest and resistance to Israel’s U.S. funded genocide in occupied Palestine. The Free Palestine Coalition started the march with a rally at the Gateway Park Fountain on the corner of Hennepin and Washington Avenues. Protesters marched through downtown and the North Loop neighborhood, proudly displaying support for Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iran, Iraq and all people caught in the crosshairs of Israel’s terror campaign.

Red and green smoke flares filled the air as the crowd marched, and onlookers came out of businesses and apartments to cheer on the protestors and show their support. Chants of “Fight fight fight! Resistance is a human right!” and “Lebanon make us proud, turn another tank around!” echoed off the walls of high rises. Protesters and opponents of Israel's U.S.-bankrolled murder spree held various signs, some notable ones reading, “Resisting genocide is not a crime” and “Arms embargo on Israel now!”

The action held a special significance not only because it took place one day shy of the anniversary of October 7, but also in the wake of Israel's recent escalations into Lebanon, notably terror attacks carried out via exploding pagers and walkie talkies which killed at least a dozen Lebanese civilians, including children, and left as many as 3000 injured. This was followed by an aerial bombing campaign, with one attack requiring U.S.-made bunker buster bombs to flatten six buildings in order to assassinate Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and finally a “special ground operation” in southern Lebanon, which has yet to yield the Israelis any material results other than dozens of dead soldiers.

The previous Tuesday, October 1, had also seen Tel Aviv come under fire from resistance missiles launched by Iran, presumably a retaliatory strike for Israel's assassination of Hamas’ top negotiator in ceasefire talks, Ismael Haniyeh, which took place in Tehran. These strikes caused significant damage to Israel's Nevatim air base, proving Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system to be egregiously more ineffective than Israel and Western media have attempted to lead people to believe.

Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine spoke to the crowd before the march, highlighting the theme of resistance that took precedence on the day. Speaking on opposition to the Israeli project he noted, “At the same time that we have witnessed an entire year of genocide, we have also witnessed an entire year of resistance. We have witnessed an entire year of courage and bravery like we have never witnessed before. Just like Minneapolis in 2020 sparked the global reckoning on race, in 2024 Minneapolis and the rest of the country has sparked a global reckoning on the United States’ relationship with this apartheid regime.”

Herzallah continued, “There are those around the world who think that they can act with impunity, to do whatever the hell they want and not face accountability, there are those who believe they can kill innocent people left and right, that they can blow up other countries, that they can take whatever steps necessary to ‘defend themselves’, but what we have seen the last year, is the people of the global South, the people of Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq, and the people of Gaza, have shown them that they will pay a price.”

Yossi Aharoni, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee who was born in occupied Palestine also spoke at the march. Referencing the recent acts of desperation by the Israelis, Aharoni noted, “Iran recently conducted the largest military attack against Israel, unprecedented in its size, scope and success in history, rendering the Iron Dome useless. By all metrics both politically and military, Israel has lost the war, that is why we see it so desperately lashing out like a wounded animal caught in a bear trap; Israel knows the only way to continue is through a U.S. supported regional war. Israel’s successes lie only in the fact that now the vast majority of the world sees what we have known all along; the state of Israel is a terrorist state and the greatest threat to West Asia and world peace.”

Touching on the role of U.S. imperialism in Israel’s campaign, Aharoni later added, “Let us be clear, the problem is not a religious issue, nor is the problem Netanyahu, or Gallant, or Smotrich, or Gantz; the problem is Jewish supremacy, colonial occupation, apartheid; the problem is Zionism and its primary endorser, U.S. imperialism. The Black, indigenous, Chicano and LGBTQ movements support Palestine, not only because they recognize the moral travesty at hand, but because they know, like the Palestinians, their success hinges on the destruction of U.S. imperialism.”

The march wound its way through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, ending up back where it began two hours before at the Gateway Park fountain. There, Sanaa Wazwaz from American Muslims for Palestine told the crowd, “The Israeli occupation, it’s not a system – it’s a time, and that time is coming to an end in our lifetime. That time is coming to an end when we know 52% of Americans, including one-third of Republicans want an arms embargo on Israel.”

Many pro-Palestine voters have expressed a willingness to sit out this year's presidential race as a show of solidarity with Palestinians.

As the final chants of the afternoon rang out, a brisk autumn wind blew across the crowd and the message of the day had been made clear. With the calendar turning on one year of genocide since the October 7 resistance uprising, and Israel’s tactics only becoming more desperate and widespread into West Asia, the people of Minnesota made it clear that they’re in it for the long haul, meaning for as long it takes – until Minnesota divests its holdings in apartheid Israel, and until Palestine is free.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Lebanon #MNAWC #AMP

Dallas, TX – A coalition led by the Palestinian Youth Movement met at Dallas’ own Grassy Knoll, October 5 to observe a year of resistance against escalated genocide and expanding occupation at the hands of the Israeli state.

Speakers included Dr. Hatem Bazian of American Muslims for Palestine, Nida Abu Baker of the Holy Land Foundation, Dr. Omar Suleiman of the Yaqeen Institute, Pastor Frederick Haynes of Friendship West Baptist Church, and presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein. Freedom Road Socialist Organization, DFW Anti-War Committee and the Party for Socialism and Liberation supported the protest.

Crowds arrived with energy in the early afternoon as Dr. Hatem Bazian addressed the crowd by proclaiming “A free Palestine is a state of mind,” followed by Nida abu Baker affirming, “We will chant for the voiceless and we will demand justice.”

Dr. Omar Suleiman condemned the Zionist state as a “ruthless regime that turns its wrath on women and children, using means many of which are supplied by the U.S. government.”

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein followed, repeating the call for an immediate embargo on the movement of U.S. weapons and Israeli economic aid, proclaiming “The U.S. is not just a partner, the U.S. is leading the charge.”

The Dallas Fort Worth area is no stranger to weapons manufacturers, from its suburbs to its schools, with companies like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. Actions and shut-downs have repeatedly been held at facilities such as General Dynamics and Elbit Systems as well as at campus events hosted by Lockheed Martin in North Texas. Participants have faced repression at the hands of police and administrations.

The crowd took to the street with chants and signs. Pastor Frederick Haynes led with, “We don’t intend on relinquishing our claims” and “We will not bow down to the U.S. war machine.”

The crowd stopped briefly again at Dallas City Hall as Jo Hargis of DFW Anti War Committee spoke about the city’s complicity in genocide through a 2023 resolution. “Once again this city council has stood on the side of genocide and occupation.”

Just days after October 7, 2023, amid waves of misinformation targeted at the American public, the Dallas City Council reflexively and unanimously passed an extreme resolution giving its “unequivocal” support to the Israeli state. This came at the heavy objection of their constituents and 75% of the speakers present at the meeting, resulting in the city choosing to dig in further with an even more extreme draft of the resolution. The coming months would see Dallas Forth Worth community members march, teach and organize to shut down bomb factories, airports and schools – chanting “Whose streets? Our streets.”

Hargis continued, “The arc of history does not bend on its own. The people of Gaza broke out and took hold of the arc of history.”

The march concluded back at Dealey Plaza with cheers of “Wise up, rise up!” As the crowd dissipated back into the scenery of Saturday afternoon, organizers packed up to debrief and move on themselves, ready for another year of action.

#DallasTX #TX #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PYM #DAWC #AMP #PSL #FRSO