St. Paul, MN – On Thursday, March 26, 20 members of the MN Anti-War Committee (AWC)turned out to a midday rally outside Minnesota’s Retirement Systems Building, where Minnesota’s State Board of Investment (SBI) was holding its quarterly meeting.

Members of the AWC gave public testimony at the meeting. AWC members demanded divestment from apartheid Israel and weapons companies, but focused particularly on Palantir, a company whose AI surveillance software has directly facilitated human rights violations in Palestine, Iran, and Minnesota itself. As of June 2025, the book value of the SBI’s investments in Palantir was $55 million.

This marked the board’s first open quarterly meeting in nearly a year, and the first attendance of the AWC since 11 of its members were arrested during a sit-in at the Retirement Systems Building last fall — a sit-in prompted by the board declining to hold in-person, public hearings over many months. Public admittance to the meeting room was limited to just eight members of the community, not including speakers.

As of the 2025 fiscal year, Minnesota SBI managed a total of $161 billion in assets. It is funded by Minnesota public employees’ salary contributions and taxpayer dollars, and serves workers in the Teachers’ Retirement Association, Minnesota State Retirement Association, and many of the union members of AFSCME, SEIU, Education Minnesota, and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), among others.

The board emphasizes their fiduciary responsibility to pension holders and evaluates what is an “acceptable risk” investment. Governor Tim Walz serves as the board’s chair, along with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, State Auditor Julie Blaha, and the Secretary of State Steve Simon. The SBI currently invests over $586 million in weapons companies, including Elbit Systems, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

“This board has defended its continued investment in death-dealing companies like Palantir with the claim that it is a wholly apolitical body that merely does its financial duty to the state. But I have to ask, in what sense is funding the Trump administration’s agenda an apolitical act?” questioned Andrew Josefchak, union member and organizer with the Anti-War Committee. During the meeting Josefchak submitted into the record thousands of physical signatures collected from constituents who agree that Minnesota must divest from Israel and companies that facilitate war and genocide.

Public employee and MAPE member Kevin Snyder testified during the meeting and asked how the board could claim to be taking into account the interests of Minnesotans while ICE actively weaponizes Palantir tech against residents of the state.

While the AWC’s DivestMN campaign specifically demands that the SBI divest from entities and companies complicit in Israel’s crimes of genocide and apartheid in Palestine, its researchers have found that many of the same companies are complicit in ICE violence in Minnesota and across the country. Palantir is contracted by Israel’s Ministry of Defense, ICE and the U.S. military. Palantir’s products track populations on a massive scale and maintain large databases of intrusive personal information. Its software can be integrated into surveillance and weapons systems, including drones, and company executives have told concerned staff that Palantir places no restrictions on client use of its tools.

Even before October 7, the AWC’s DivestMN campaign demanded that the SBI divest from Israel (in the form of Israeli stocks and bonds) and weapons manufacturers that directly enable Israel’s destruction and genocide in Palestine. The same corporations are now profiting off of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which commenced with the bombing and murder of at least 175 school children in Minab.

AWC member Naveen Borojerdi, who testified before the SBI, is an Iranian American public employee and a member of MAPE. Borojerdi urged the board “to do better,” adding, “My people have a right to self-defense against joint American/Israeli terrorism, and I have the right to not have my own money facilitating that same terrorism against my own people.”

Jill Schurtz, the executive director of the SBI and its chief investment officer, admitted during the March 26 meeting that the “conflict in the Middle East” is “eroding gains” in their portfolio. “War destroys the working class,” Andrew Josefchak said as he took the mic outside the building and shared this information with demonstrators who had not been allowed into the meeting.

Throughout the meeting, members who were refused entry were heard and seen chanting from outside the first-floor windows. The silence and order in the room, maintained by the presence of no less than a half dozen police and state patrol officers, was broken by continuous calls directed at the SBI from outside: “Money for murder? No! Money for workers? Yes! Money for schools? Yes! Money for Palantir? No!”

The AWC will maintain their presence at SBI meetings until total divestment is reached.

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #AWC #AntiWarCommittee #SBI #DivestMN #Palestine #Palantir

Minneapolis – On the evening of Saturday February 28, 200 protesters answered an emergency call from the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) to gather at Chicago Avenue and Lake Street in Minneapolis to oppose U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Overnight the news broke that the U.S. and Israel had begun carrying out coordinated strikes by land and sea which struck the Iranian cities of Tehran, Qom, Tabriz, and Khorrashahr. Dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” by the Pentagon, the attack took place in the midst of negotiation talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Saturday’s protest featured speakers from many anti-war groups in the Twin Cities, many of which are member organizations of the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition.

In their speech, Lina Jebara of the U.S. Palestinian Community told the crowd, “We should be clear with ourselves and with our peers, that the U.S. bombing Iran is not evidence that Israel controls the U.S. Trump is not being blackmailed to drag us into this war, and this is not something that could only ever happen under the Trump administration.”

Jebara pointed out, “Taking down Iran has long been an aim of this country because this country prioritizes lining the pockets of billionaire oil execs and friends rather than its own working-class people.”

Yossi Aharoni of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke to the crowd about the bombing of an elementary school in the Iranian city of Minab, “the largest attack of which was directed against an all-girls school, murdering at least 108 young girls and injuring 80 more. This is all amidst the backdrop of two and a half years of the ongoing genocide of Gaza, four years of the U.S. proxy war against Russia, two months after the illegal kidnapping of President Maduro of Venezuela, three months of the federal occupation of Minneapolis by ICE, and barely one month since the murder of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”

Naveen Borojerdi, an Iranian American with family in Iran, spoke as a representative of MPAC and had a message regarding his recent meeting with a staffer for Minnesota Senator Tina Smith.

Saturday’s protest was just one of dozens that were held across the United States to oppose Trump’s war with Iran. The nationwide Anti-War Action Network called on member organizations in cities ranging from New Orleans, Portland, Dayton, Tucson, Philadelphia, Colorado Springs, Dallas, New York, and many others to hold demonstrations against the war.

The next protest against U.S. attacks on Iran will be on Tuesday, March 3 at Lake Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis at 5 p.m. as a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s call for action for that day.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Iran #AntiWarCommittee #USPCN

St. Paul, MN - As Donald Trump was inaugurated the 47th president of the United States on Monday, January 20, people gathered in Saint Paul to make a promise that from day one they would resist Trump’s agenda. 

The day began at the Saint Paul Police Department’s Western District precinct. With temperatures dipping to negative five degrees, a single hearse led a caravan of over 100 cars in remembrance of Marcus Golden. At the young age of 24, Mr. Golden was murdered by Saint Paul Police on January 14, 2015. He is the nephew of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities organizer Monique Cullars-Doty. 

The caravan participants decorated their cars with Palestinian flags and signs in support of the defense of Black lives, immigrant rights, and reproductive rights. The caravan proceeded from The Saint Paul Police Department’s Western District precinct along University Avenue. Two young men exited their parked cars in subzero weather to wave a Palestinian flag in support as the caravan passed. The caravan participants honked as they continued east toward downtown.

Cullars-Doty spoke about the significance of the single hearse leading the caravan today. “The hearse is from the same undertaker who took my nephew Marcus Golden’s body from Ramsey County Coroner’s office, but it also represents all the revolutionaries this country has killed and silenced. It is also symbolic that we all follow the hearse because we are still fighting. So as this Trump administration rolls in, we cannot let our dreams die. It means we have to keep fighting.” 

A coalition of organizations led by Black Lives Matter Twin Cities (BLM-TC Metro), the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), and Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) organized the car caravan and indoor rally.

In the shadow of the Minnesota State Capitol, the caravan arrived at Saint Paul College where 500 attendees filled the cafeteria to chants of “Black Lives, they matter here! and “Immigrants are welcome here!” 

Despite the somber occasion of Trump’s second inauguration, the room buzzed with enthusiasm as the emcees led the crowd in chants. Speaking for MIRAC was Manuel Pascual - a first generation Filipino immigrant who witnessed the violence of ICE raids against his community first hand. 

Pascual stated, “Immigrants and the working class are the backbone of this country. It is extremely important we don’t panic or fall into despair in this time of uncertainty. Instead, we organize. We take to the streets. We continue speaking up, showing up, and fighting for one another.” 

Charlie Berg, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, affirmed the task ahead of everyone in the room: “It is up to all of us to unite the many in order to defeat the few. We need to make this country ungovernable! Our job is to take the fight to higher stages than ever before.”

Toshira Garraway, the founder of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, whose fiancé was murdered by the Saint Paul Police in 2009, inspired the crowd saying, “When we see someone being hurt or harmed or mistreated for any reason at all it’s going to take every nationality of people from every walk of life to stand up against the evil and the corruption in this world and we are going to win!”

Sarah Murphy from the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee who spoke about the fight for abortion access under Trump and the fight against the predatory crisis pregnancy centers that are run by the Christian right and embed themselves in predominantly Black and brown working-class communities and college towns to dissuade people from getting abortions.

The crowd also heard speeches from the Climate Justice Committee, the TCC4J, the Minnesota Immigrant Movement, among many others. Other groups were present to table and talk to community members and other organizers throughout the day to share information and get more community members involved in joining the fight against Trump. 

Closing out the program was Anti-War Committee and Free Palestine Coalition member Sabry Wazwaz, who connected the fights for Black and Palestinian liberation, stating, “This connection is not something new. It has always been there. They don’t want us to remind each other that our struggle is one struggle! If you go to Palestine, you will see murals all along the apartheid walls of Martin Luther King, of Malcom X, of George Floyd - because our struggle is one struggle!”

After the program, participants returned to their cars to caravan to the Minnesota State Capitol building where they ended the day of protest honking outside of the Minnesota State Capitol to send the message that Minnesotans will be in the streets to fight Trump’s agenda starting on day one, even in extreme subzero weather.

#StPaulMN #MLKDay #MLK #Trump #Inauguration #Minnesota #AntiWarCommittee #FreePalestineCoalition #FreePalestine #Abortion #AbortionAccess #ReproductiveFreedom #ReproRights #BLM #BlackLivesMatter

Minneapolis, MN – During the harsh winter conditions on January 11, the streets of Minneapolis were filled with the flags, signs, vehicles and chants of the pro-Palestine movement. 

Marking the one-year anniversary of the Great Ride of Return, an international cycling movement dedicated to raising awareness and funds to support aid efforts for the people of Gaza, a caravan was held to take the streets of the city in an effort to continue applying pressure to get Governor Tim Walz to divest the billions of Minnesota pension holder’s funds from modern day apartheid and genocidal efforts.

The caravan was initiated by the MN Anti-War Committee. It began at Minneapolis South High School, wove through one of Minneapolis’ busiest roads, Lake Street, crossed the Mississippi River, and ended in front of Governor Walz’s mansion in St. Paul.

Before the caravan, participants heard from several speakers. Liz Bolsoni of Minnesota’s Anti-War Committee praised the efforts of the Gaza Sunbirds, a paracycling team that has worked tirelessly to distribute aid throughout the Gaza Strip for the past year. Signifying Minnesota’s complicity with the ongoing genocide, Bolsoni told the crowd, “In a statement of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, the Office of Humanitarian Affairs reported that the besieged Gaza Strip is home to the largest cohort of child amputees in history. Each day, tenchildren are losing one or both legs.” 

Bolsoni continued, “Right now, the Minnesota State Board of Investment - chaired by Walz - has over $700 million invested in weapons manufacturers that are actively selling to Israel. This being only a fraction of the $5.4 billion invested in other corporations that kill, displace, and terrorize Palestinians.”

Brian Chval of Minnesota’s Anti-War Committee explained, “From weapons, tech, and heavy machinery companies, whose inventory marks Palestinian existence for death to demolition the banks, businesses, and government bonds of Israel itself, the SBI has put our tax money and the retirement funds of workers around the state to the service of genocide.” 

Naveen Borojerdi, a unionized public employee and member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, stated, “You would think after losing an election on the national stage, Tim Walz would start listening to his constituents. Time will tell if he, and the rest of the State Board of Investment, will start listening to us. Otherwise, it will be a repeat of what happened this past November.” 

Borojerdi also told how the State Board of Investments recently closed their public meetings to community members, by no longer allowing the public to participate in the meetings in person, limiting their participation to being able to watch the meeting as a live stream. 

After the powerful speeches, a caravan of 75 vehicles and cyclists took to the streets of Minneapolis to begin their journeytowards the mansion of Governor Walz. Slowly traversing the traffic of streets, the caravan continued to grow in size as it approached the mansion.

Cheers echoed, fists were raised, and pride in the continued fight against oppression was experienced by thousands who were witness to the action. Upon arriving at the Governor’s mansion, protesters exited their vehicles to plant and hang signs and messages to make it clear to Walz that his willing participation in genocide will not be forgotten.

#MinneapolisMN #Walz #TimWalz #FreePalestine #MNAWC #AntiWarCommittee

Minneapolis, MN – On September 26, 200 protesters demonstrated to demand an end to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. The protest started with a lot of energy as Students for Justice in Palestine marched from the University Minnesota Student Union and across the Mississippi River to the West Bank campus to join the community solidarity action. Protesters filled the plaza in front of Mayday Books to chant and wave Palestinian and Lebanese flags. The emergency action was organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee as a part of a wave of protests nationally in solidarity with Lebanon.

On September 17-18, Israel detonated thousands of communication devices in Lebanon. This act indiscriminately killed and wounded civilians, including many children. It ran against all war conventions and was unprecedented in cruelty. This week, Israeli airstrikes have killed over 600, including at least 50 children, wounding 1800 and displacing hundreds of thousands.

Anna Madison, a member of the newly-formed Families Against Military Madness, was the first speaker and addressed the recent attacks, “There is nine-year-old Fatima and 11-year-old Bilal who were murdered by Israel using exploding pagers. There are the 50 children murdered earlier this week during the single deadliest day in Lebanon in decades. The reality is I could spend hours listing the dates and times that Israel murders children with impunity. We can talk about 1978, 1982, 1993, 2006, 2024. I can no longer keep track because every time I look at my phone, I see that more children have been murdered. This cannot be normalized. And look, I’m saying this knowing full well that this country doesn’t care about terrorizing and murdering children.”

Israel’s violence in Lebanon has a long history. In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon, triggering a large-scale conflict that killed tens of thousands. After occupying nearly 10% of Lebanon's territory, Israel withdrew in 2000 from its “security zone” following years of Lebanese resistance. Israel attempted another invasion of Lebanon in 2006 but quickly withdrew, killing hundreds in the process.

Many speakers showed solidarity with both Palestine and Lebanon as well as support for resistance to Israel. Lina Jebara, a Lebanese American member of the MN Anti-War Committee, told the crowd, “The struggle against U.S. imperialism and Zionist occupation in the Middle East has never been a struggle belonging to a single nation.”

Jebara continued, “Ironically, and inevitably, Israel’s attempts to turn the Lebanese people against the resistance through unabashed acts of terrorism has failed tremendously. The defiance in the face of brutal occupation has continued to shine effervescently among the resistance, and among the civilians of those countries continuing to resist, united in their cause, now, more than ever before.”

Mick Kelly, the political secretary of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, has traveled to Lebanon and addressed the crowd, “We know for a fact that the Zionists cannot win. And we also know for a fact that the Lebanese resistance is powerful, and it is strong, and it is determined. Hezbollah has at the top of its agenda the liberation of Palestine and the defense of Lebanon.”

Kelly continued, “In Washington DC there’s a group of politicians in the White House and Pentagon who are facilitating a genocide. It is something we cannot and will not ever accept! We absolutely will not rest while it’s taking place.”

Other speakers included Jae Yates from Twin Cities Coalition for Justice and Mnar Adly, the Palestinian American editor of Mint Press News.

The closing speech was from Shahd Abouhekel, an organizer from Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Minnesota, who told the crowd that the students would continue to fight for Palestine and for Lebanon regardless of the repression from U of MN administration.

Wyatt Miller from the Anti-War Committee closed out the protest by encouraging everyone to come out on October 6 to march a year of resistance to genocide at the Free Palestine Coalition march, which will start at 1:30 p.m. at Hennepin and Washington Avenues in downtown Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #Lebanon #StudentsforJusticeinPalestine #FamiliesAgainstMilitaryMadness #AntiWarCommittee

Saint Paul, MN – On August 14, members and supporters of the MN Free Palestine Coalition packed every available seat at the quarterly Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) meeting to demand divestment of state-managed pension funds and other public monies from Israeli weapons manufacturers, banks and bonds, and other entities, complicit in Israel’s apartheid system that contribute to the genocide in Palestine.

The MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) has identified a total of nearly $4.3 billion in public Israeli entities and multinational corporations, some of which explicitly contribute to the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians, all of which profit from it, including Elbit Systems, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Dynamics.

The SBI meeting was chaired by State Auditor Julie Blaha because Governor Tim Walz, who usually chairs the meetings, was campaigning for the Harris/Walz Democratic presidential ticket.

The meeting had a significantly higher number of state patrol troopers than previous meetings and every attendee was given a purple ticket which informed them that disrupting the meeting would lead to gross misdemeanor charges. Multiple protesters were searched by cops and had their signs taken away. Despite these attempts to intimidate pro-Palestinian protesters, four banners and many pictures of murdered Palestinian children were snuck into the meeting and the protesters chanted loudly throughout the whole meeting.

16 union members and community activists testified at the SBI meeting asking for the state of Minnesota to divest from genocide. Stacey Gurian-Sherman, an anti-Zionist Jew and a former public employee who organizes with the Climate Justice Committee, was the first speaker. Her powerful speech kicked off the public comment section of the meeting, “This is painful to me because it is being perpetrated in my name as a Jew – and in violation of Geneva Convention protocols created as a direct result of Nazi atrocities during WWII that murdered 6 millionJews, and 5 million more Romanies, persons with disabilities and in the queer community. What Israel is today should be painful to all of us for being perpetrated in our names as Americans.”

Omari Hoover, a member of both the MN Anti-War Committee, the Free Palestine Coalition and executive board member of AFSCME Local 2822, gave the SBI the 3425 petition signatures the AWC collected this summer and their updated white paper on the board’s investments.

Hoover stated in his testimony, “Earlier this year, when the Palestinian death toll was just under 30,000, we passed a resolution for divestment in Israel. Since then, the death count has risen to almost 40,000 with an anticipated 186,000 for those unaccounted for. In April, I watched Governor Walz give an impassioned speech at the AFSCME Council 5 Day on the Hill about how he plans to stand in solidarity with laborers and would continue to put efforts into thriving unions. Since then, along with everyone on the Minnesota State Board of Investments, you have shown that the solidarity is only with organizations that build an economy in favor of infinite financial growth. You meet quarterly with no indication that there'll be any progress in Minnesota’s divestment of the ongoing atrocities that is the current genocide, happening daily in occupied Palestine, of which many labor organizations have put forth divestment and ceasefire resolutions for.”

Neil Radford, a member of MFT 52 and Minnesota Workers United, also has his pension invested by the SBI. He testified, “Divestment is not a request, it is a demand, and it does not stop with Palestinian liberation. The SBI needs to divest from Israeli apartheid and divert itself and this state from a future where increased militarism is our only answer.”

Michael Runyon, an organizer with Students For Palestine-Normandale and the MN Peace Action Coalition testified, “When you decide to invest in companies like General Dynamics you are choosing to fund the only company in the United States that produces that shell casings for the MK bomb series that was used by Israel to bomb a school in a so-called safe zone killing over 100 innocent men women and children who had gathered for morning prayer. You helped pay for the bombs that tore those people to shreds, so much so, that not one complete body could be recovered.” Runyon is also a part of organizing a protest on September 14 in Bloomington, Minnesota at General Dynamics.

Many protesters said goodbye to each other acknowledging that they will ride the Anti-War Committee’s buses to Chicago on Sunday to March on the DNC on August 19.

#SaintPaulMN #FreePalestine #Antiwarcommittee #Walz #MinnesotaWorkersUnited

Minneapolis, MN – An estimated 300 Twin Cities residents came out in a downpour of rain to participate in the Free Palestine Coalition’s emergency rally to show solidarity with Rafah, May 27. The protest took place outside of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office near downtown Minneapolis.

Protesters wore keffiyehs and pro-Palestine apparel, held signs favorable to Palestinian liberation, and bellowed chants like “From the olive to the sand, Palestine is our demand,” demonstrating their commitment and continued support of Palestinian liberation.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) utilized the dark of night to engage in military tactics that continued genocidal efforts on the Palestinian people, dropping over 60 bombs within 48 hours and killing at least 45 civilians who sought any semblance of solace Rafah had to offer.

The Rafah massacre took place on the weekend of the anniversary of the death of George Floyd, and on this Memorial Day, the MN Free Palestine Coalition’s emergency response rally illuminated Israel’s unceasing genocide.

Loretta VanPelt, from Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, placed the Black liberation with the liberation of Palestinians, touching on the offensive chokehold tactics that were used in the killing of George Floyd as equivalent to those used in the massacre of Palestinians. “The cops here, in Minneapolis and across the country are trained by the IOF. We need to continue to fight together for a free Palestine. I’m glad I’m in the same company and on the same side with people who want liberation,” said VanPelt.

Trent Fast of the Anti-War Committee proposed that instead of taking part in the traditional American Memorial Day holiday, “we take part in a different type of remembrance. We should be honoring the millions of innocent civilians who have been beaten, tortured, raped and murdered at the hand of the American military and its willing proxies over the course of this nation’s history.”

Fast went on to say, “The Zionist entity of Israel, with the unrelenting support of Genocide Joe and all of his crooked-mouthed cronies in Washington, have unleashed some of the most devastating attacks to date on the exhausted, malnourished, desperate and dying Palestinians who have fled to Rafah, who are grasping at the sliver of hope that they may somehow escape the nightmare they’ve been enduring for the past seven months in their native land.”

Representatives of Qatar and Egypt have indicated that the recent air strikes and onslaught may be additional deterrents to peace deals that Israel has continued to obstruct. France’s President Emmanuel Macron and the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell have also expressed their disdain – condemning the attacks on Rafah while practicing vigilant avoidance of denouncing the ongoing genocide and displacement of Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the attacks “a tragic mistake,” after Israel’s dismissal of the International Court of Justice order to halt its offensive assault on Rafah. Not in alignment with the verbal sentiments of the prime minister, the IOF took to social media to conceal their adverse attacks, claiming they “carried out an intelligence-based precise strike that targeted senior Hamas terrorists in Tal al-Sultan.”

The world has become aware of the fabrications coming out of Israeli leadership and military operations, seeing the amplified messages coming out of Rafah with reports of the dozens killed and infernos at the refugee camps.

Where international news outlets continue to offer skewed opinions and differing narratives, American Muslims for Palestine’s Maysoon Wazwaz reminded us to pivot attention to the people of Gaza, in the struggle for a free Palestine, stating, “We center them first, we center their work always. When I talk about Palestine, I bring up every person who is on the ground first, before I bring up me. This is about them, first and foremost, and we unite with them for their struggle.”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #MNFreePalestineCoalition #AntiWarCommittee #TCC4J #AMP

Bloomington, MN – On March 16, protesters held a march to the Bloomington facility of weapons manufacturer General Dynamics, to demand that the Minnesota State Board of Investment divests public funds from General Dynamics for its weapons trade with apartheid Israel. Israel has relied heavily on General Dynamics’ weapons for decades, including during its ongoing genocide against Gaza over the last five months.

The protest of 400 people started near the Penn-Lake Library with a rally followed by a march to General Dynamics building in Bloomington. General Dynamics is the world’s fifth largest weapons manufacturer, with an annual revenue of $38.5 billion. General Dynamics manufactures and sells military weapons and equipment – including armored fighting and robotic combat vehicles, tanks, artillery systems, aircraft guns and cybersecurity systems – and is currently the only company that produces the 155mm artillery shells that have been used by Israel in Gaza. These weapons have repeatedly been fired against Palestinian civilians, resulting in numerous casualties as well as mass destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and water and electric systems.

Students for Palestine Normandale, Bloomington Students for Palestine, and the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition organized the protest.

Michael Runyon, the founder of Students for Palestine Normandale, explained the reasoning behind the protest to the crowd, “This location is called a ‘Mission Systems’ location. They develop the technology behind the killing machines. They brag that they are the ‘brains behind the brawn.’ What that means is they are the brains behind the genocide.”

Audrey, a ninth-grader at Kennedy High School in Bloomington and a member of Bloomington Students for Palestine spoke to the crowd before marching, “More children have been killed in Gaza in the past four months than have been killed worldwide in the past four years of wars. How can Biden ask us to vote for him when he’s responsible for this mass murder? How can General Dynamics sit here pretending to be just a tech company when they're responsible for the deaths of so many children? Walz was at the Democratic fundraiser last night. How can he ask for money and have a fancy dinner when he doesn't divest from this genocide?”

She continued, “It’s important that students speak out about this because this is a youth issue. If you were born in Palestine in 2006, you’ve already lived through five Israeli assaults. Kids in Gaza aren’t thinking about going to college, they’re thinking about surviving the next week. Hoping to not starve to death. Hoping to not be bombed. Hoping that their families will survive.”

According to its most recent asset listings, the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) has invested over $31 million of the public pension funds it manages in General Dynamics. The MN Anti-War Committee is leading a campaign to get the SBI to divest its over $3 billion worth of investments from Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers.

Liz McLister, a member of the AWC, also spoke to the crowd, “What brings us to this particular site today? The SBI has funneled almost $37 million of Minnesotan taxpayer money into General Dynamics shares and securities.”

McLister continued, “Long before Israel's current gloves-off campaign, General Dynamics' weapons and equipment were terrorizing, maiming and killing Gazans. Shame! This company has spent years seeding death and destruction in occupied Palestine; along the U.S.-Mexico border; and elsewhere around the globe.”

The march went to General Dynamics’ “Mission Systems” facility on Queen Avenue to draw attention to their role in the rising death toll in Gaza.

#BloomingtonMN #GeneralDynamics #AntiWarCommittee #Palestine #StudentsforPalestineNormandale, #BloomingtonStudentsforPalestine #MinnesotaPeaceActionCoalition

By Sarah Martin and Kim DeFranco

St. Paul, MN – On October 20, over 150 people rallied at the weekly Palestine vigil of the Women Against Military Madness’s (WAMM) Middle East Committee. The people filled each part of the intersection of the busy streets of Snelling and Summit Avenues. The bannering called for an end to the genocidal Israeli bombing of Gaza, to let Gaza live and end U.S. aid to Israel. Protesters also came to stand with Palestinians in their struggle for liberation.

The crowd was almost double the number that demonstrated at the vigil last week. It represents the upsurge of pro-Palestine rallies in the Twin Cities and across the world. A diverse crowd representing all ages including a contingent from nearby Macalester College, members of the Palestinian and Somali communities and of organizations representing all parts of the people’s movements.

The honks and fist pumps from motorists passing by were constant as they responded to the chants, “Netanyahu you will see! Palestine will be free!” and “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes!” Signs and banners included, “Stop funding Israeli massacres” and “End the bombing of Gaza, let Gaza live.”

Robyn Harbison, an emcee and director of WAMM, welcomed the crowd, “I joined the movement in the Twin Cities two years ago and what motivated me was the attacks on Sheik Jarrah. When I found reliable information, I was justifiably fueled with anger. But I found I could use my anger for something worthwhile and join the working people of the world who are showing up by the millions. If not now when? We must not allow genocide funded by U.S. tax dollars to happen before our eyes.”

Harbison went on to talk about the Minnesota state money which is invested in Elbit system, Israel’s largest weapon manufacturer and Lockheed, the largest U.S. weapons maker which makes F-16s used in the horrific bombing of Gaza.

Sara Olson, member of WAMM, gave an opening fiery speech, said. “Israel, which did not exist 75 years ago, was established through one of the most violent acts of ethnic cleansing in modern history with the unwavering support of British imperialism at the time and later U.S. imperialism alongside French and other European imperialist forces,” adding the imperialists “proposed to address the issues of Jews in Europe by establishing the state of Israel and colonizing Palestinian land, displacing its people.”

Olson continued to explain, “This is similar to American history, particularly in terms of wiping out as efficiently as possible the indigenous inhabitants and by denying them their humanity, exactly as the Israelis have done to Palestinians.”

Kent Mori from the Climate Justice Committee rallied the people, “WAMM shows that with this vigil for the past 20 years when we fight, we win. Just as the Palestinians are showing us now. When we fight, we win!”

Liz McLister of the MN Anti-War Committee expressed, “At this juncture I invite you all to remember that the struggle for Palestinian liberation is not a fringe position – not by a long shot. In recent years cracks and grooves have appeared in the bunk ‘both sides, slash complicated, slash conflict’ narrative wall that once obscured the ugly truth about occupied Palestine from the eyes of the average American. Scaling back from the imperial core of the United States, the intersectional, transnational campaign for Palestinian liberation is stronger than ever before.”

Protesters were encouraged to attend the protest on October 22 at Loring Park in Minneapolis at 2 p.m. organized by American for Muslims in Palestine, Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of MN and the MN Anti-War Committee.

#SaintPaulMN #WAMM #ClimateJusticeCommittee #AntiWarCommittee #Palestine

St. Paul, MN – On August 23, over a dozen protesters gathered on the bottom floor of the Minnesota State Capitol building to demand that Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota State Board of Investments (SBI) divest all state funds from companies which profit from Israeli apartheid. Governor Walz and SBI members were greeted at the entrance of the meeting room with signs decrying Israeli apartheid and a large banner in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The SBI has invested over $800 million of public pension funds in companies that benefit from Israeli apartheid such as Lockheed Martin and Israeli weapons companies like Elbit Systems. Members from two different Twin Cities social justice organizations spoke directly to Governor Walz and the SBI members during the public testimony period of the meeting.

Anne Keirstead, a teacher whose pension is invested by the SBI and a supporter of the MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) gave a powerful opening speech, “In this post George Floyd uprising time period, Minnesota teachers are engaged in conversations about how to increase racial justice in our schools and communities.  The state legislature has supported this by mandating that we complete professional development on culturally responsive teaching and by creating an ethnic studies social studies stand. So  would we want to support segregation abroad?  Palestinians do not have the same political or cultural rights as Israeli Jews.”

Keirstead continued, “Our hard earned pensions should not be invested in companies that profit from the occupation of Palestine.  Apartheid was wrong in the U.S.  It was wrong in South Africa.  And it’s wrong in Palestine.”

Mari Mansfield from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, who is also an educator whose funds are invested by the SBI,  spoke about what she observed during her 2019 human rights delegation trip to the U.S./ Mexico border and the connection between the surveillance technology and terroristic methods used against both U.S. immigrants and Palestinians.

Mansfield stated, “I heard the stories of people who crossed the border, people fleeing violence, leaving their homes and families in the middle of the night, telling no one. They travel thousands of miles to make it to our southern border.. When the desert becomes too treacherous for construction of the wall, mountains force you further in, then in the distance you see the Elbit surveillance towers. Inevitably, someone trips and falls, hurting themselves, unable to continue the journey. There is nothing you can do for them, and if you stay with them you will die too so you walk away from your brother, your sister, your mother or your best friend leaving them to die slowly and painfully all alone in the desert.”

Mansfield continued, “This is the system of ‘Prevention Through Deterrence’ that our government assures us is working very well; and the State Board of Investment has made the conscious and informed decision to fund this system of death, using my money and the money of educators across Minnesota. The State Board of Investment must break ties with Elbit or live the rest of your life knowing you are a merchant of death.”

Yossi Aharoni, an anti-Zionist Jew who spoke on behalf of the Anti-War Committee said, “This year alone, Israel has killed 193 Palestinians in its occupied territories, 89% of whom were unarmed civilians; thus cementing 2023 as one of the most violent and deadly years for Palestinians on record. Gaza is besieged on all sides by Israeli military blockades, border walls, fences, checkpoints, and of course Israeli Coast Guard ships in the Mediterranean Sea, with strict controls of all imports and exports to Gaza including food, clothes, energy, medicine and of course water. Across Israel are roads on which Palestinians are forbidden from driving. Of the 3 million Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank and two million in Gaza there is zero representation in the Knesset, no vote, not even the superficial formality of civilian law. Instead, these Palestinians live under Israeli military law. Coercion, abuse and torture are common practice against Palestinians in Israeli prisons. These are the conditions which our tax dollars are maintaining.”

Aharoni ended his testimony by presenting Walz with 1500 signatures that the Anti-War Committee collected this summer.  The AWC will continue collecting signatures at the Lyndale Minneapolis Open Streets in October.

#StPaulMN #Palestine #AntiWarCommittee #MiddleEast

Saint Paul, MN – On July 7, 80 protesters gathered on the Marshall Avenue/Lake Street Bridge to demand the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) divest taxpayer money from Israeli bonds and companies.

Demonstrators spent time on the bridge chanting and holding signs, before marching to Eastcliff Mansion, where Governor Tim Walz temporarily resides. Speakers with the Anti-War Committee (AWC) and other grassroots groups highlighted Israel's recent attacks on Jenin in their calls for divestment.

Nick Tolliver of the AWC declared, “The violence of Israel's government's occupation was fully on display in the recent attacks on the Jenin refugee camps in the West Bank, where 12 Palestinians were murdered in a fruitless attempt to stamp out the resistance of the Palestine people.”

Tolliver was referring to Israel's July 3-5 siege-like offensive on the Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank town of Jenin. Occupation forces spent 48 hours unleashing drones, helicopters, bulldozers and over 1000 ground troops in the largest invasion of any West Bank city since 2002.

These aggressions resulted in at least 12 deaths, over 100 injuries, and the displacement of thousands of Jenin residents. During the attacks, critical infrastructure was lost, roads were demolished, emergency response vehicles were blocked, and 80% of homes in the Jenin refugee camp were destroyed.

Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine condemned U.S. silence in the face of the Jenin raids, saying, “The United States of America was quiet. This quiet was complicity. This quiet shows that the United States of America was observing what Israel was doing with every single penny that it provides for the purpose of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

The Biden administration has indeed remained quiet about recent assaults in Jenin, even as international human rights groups have sounded alarms.

Every year the U.S. sends $3.8 billion in taxpayer money to fund the Israeli occupation of Palestine. What's more, the United States routinely shields the Israeli government from having to answer for its criminal activities against the Palestinian people.

At the Saint Paul event, speakers highlighted specific ways the state of Minnesota fuels apartheid conditions in occupied Palestine. The Minnesota SBI has invested over $800 million in public funds in Israeli bonds, weapons manufacturers, and other companies complicit in Israel's aggressions.

As a result, many Minnesotans' pension funds are bound up in such entities as Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms dealer that boasts about testing lethal munitions on Palestinians and is actively constructing portions of the border wall infrastructure between the U.S. and Mexico.

Teacher Anne Keirstead asserted, “As a person who believes in social justice, I find it unacceptable that my pension dollars are supporting the oppression and ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government.”

Before the crowd dispersed, organizers urged the public to join them at the upcoming SBI meeting. That meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 23 in the G23 Senate Committee Room of the State Capitol building.

#SaintPaulMN #Palestine #AntiWarCommittee #MiddleEast

Minneapolis, MN – On April 15, 70 protesters gathered in the cold spring rain to protest the U.S. federal government’s use of their tax dollars to fund war instead of programs that would benefit people like education, environmental protection and healthcare. The protest was initiated by the MN Peace Action Coalition.

Sarah Martin, a longtime member of Women Against Military Madness, was one of the protest emcees and started off the protest explaining the sizable Pentagon budget, “It is very important that we’re here to send an anti-war message on Tax Day. This past year the Pentagon and the U.S. military spent $858 billion. This exceeded that of the next ten countries combined! The U.S. is only 5% of the world’s population but pays 50% of total military spending. The U.S. along with NATO has 1000 bases around the world. Added to that is the $130 billion sent to Ukraine to wage that disastrous proxy war.”

Martin also called out U.S. aid to Israel, “And of course we need to mention the $4 billion we give in military aid to Israel, which we saw most recently used to beat up and tear gas worshippers in Al-Aqsa during Ramadan as well as the brazen obscene march through occupied territories by settlers and Israel politicians to retake an outpost. But yesterday, on Al Quds Day, all over the world, and of course in Palestine, huge crowds protested Israel’s ongoing occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine.”

Montana Hirsch gave a passionate speech about her recent experience at the U.S.-Mexico border. Hirsch was a part of the Legalization for All border delegation and traveled as a member of the Minnesota Immigrant Right Action Committee, saying, “It is clear that our government would rather let people – families and children – who are fleeing desperate situations die rather than cross the border in hope of a better life.

Hirsch continued, “All of this is what our country is funding, what Minnesota is funding, this deportation machine, this horrific militarization at the border, using funds from taxpayer money – our money! These are funds that could be instead used for human needs like housing, healthcare and fully funding public education right here, and instead they are being used to keep our border militarized and deadly.”

Sarah Murphy, a member of the MN Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC), spoke to the crowd about how healthcare, which includes the right to an abortion, is a human right and should be funded by tax dollars instead of war: “The United States government continuously uses taxpayer dollars to violate the most basic human rights of people around the world. The Christian right talks about ‘the right to life’ only when it applies to unborn fetuses. They are more than willing to destroy the lives of living, breathing people, both in America and abroad, when it benefits them.” She then invited the crowd to join MNAAC at Senator Klobuchar’s office later that day to protest to protect the right to a medical abortion.

Other speakers included members from the War Tax Resisters, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar, the Climate Justice Committee and MN Workers United.

Drake Myers, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee who recently went on a delegation to Venezuela, closed out the rally addressing how the U.S. uses economic sanctions as an act of war, “You all know Venezuela is under a U.S.-led blockade, right? It’s estimated more than 100,000 excess deaths in Venezuela are due to U.S. sanctions; they didn’t even lift the blockade during COVID so the U.S. basically used COVID as a bioweapon in Venezuela. Think about that. They blocked medicine, so they made it into a weapon and people died.”

Myers also addressed the case of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab, who is currently being held in a U.S. prison in Miami, “Alex Saab is a diplomat for Venezuela who worked to make deals to get food and medicine to the poor. Do you know what the U.S. government did to this man who is a hero? They kidnapped him. While he was in Africa. They tortured him, knocked his teeth out even. He’s a diabetic with stomach cancer and he’s vomiting blood now. They won’t let him see a doctor or his family. This is a diplomat who’s a hero for bringing food past a blockade! That’s what he was doing when they kidnapped him. It’s against international law to kidnap a diplomat. It’s unprecedented in history. But the U.S. wants to be able to declare any country’s government illegitimate and arrest their diplomats.” They ended the rally with the crowd chanting “Free Alex Saab!”

Multiple speakers encouraged the crowd to march on May 1 to demand immigrant rights, worker rights and environmental justice for the East Phillips neighborhood. The protest will start at 4 p.m. at the MPS Adult Education Center, 2015 E Lake Street in Minneapolis, with a march to the Roof Depot site in East Phillips.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #AntiWarCommittee

Minneapolis, MN – On January 22, the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, a coalition of anti-war groups in Minnesota, rallied in Mayday Plaza as part of the United National Antiwar Coalition's national call for Martin Luther King Jr. week of actions against U.S. wars to mark his birthday. On the theme of “New Year, Same Wars,” the protest drew a crowd of 70 protesters, eager to hear from activist leaders across the Twin Cities representing the voices of those impacted by U.S. imperialism and endless militarism.

People lined the sidewalks, facing traffic and holding signs expressing the crowd's sentiment, “End the wars! Troops home now!” “War is not humanitarian!” The emcees welcomed everyone who took time to be a visible force and said how it is important to be out demanding the U.S. end all their endless wars.

Setting the tone of the protest, everyone joined in chanting, “Coups and sanctions cost lives! Don't believe the media's lies!”

The organizers drew parallels between Dr. King’s anti-war message during the Vietnam era and the current fight to end U.S. intervention in countries across the globe. Kim DeFranco, member of Women Against Military Madness, explained, “King knew the cost of the U.S. endless wars waged around the world. The cost was not just in dollars but in the human toll. He made the connections between the economic and social costs between the U.S. wars and working people here and in the countries the U.S. destroys.”

The rally included speakers from Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, Black Lives Matter Minnesota, Anti-War Committee, Veterans for Peace, Women Against Military Madness, Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar, Movement for a People’s Democracy, and Minnesota Workers United.

Within the crowd on the plaza, the Veterans for Peace’s minibus was surrounded by colorful signs “Money for the poor not for war,” “Yes to Peace, no to NATO” and “$80 billion for Ukraine – no way!”

Speaking on the ongoing violence and oppression in Palestine was Aarushi Sen from the Anti-War Committee. She shared that in 2023 to date, 17 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military and yet the “the U.S. continues to prop up Israeli apartheid.”

During his speech, Mike Madden of Veterans for Peace, in his enlivened style, threw his gloves down like a hockey player ready for a fight, a very Minnesotan demonstration of “We’ve had enough.” He then spoke about the proxy war between the U.S. and Russia and the real cost: “We supply the weapons and the Ukrainians do the dying.” His message emphasized the dire need to stop the dangerous proliferation of the U.S. war machine.

While some speakers addressed the blatant U.S. oppression of countries like Palestine, Venezuela and Iran and the proxy war with Russia, others tied the struggle at home to the actions of the U.S. military. Jae Yates of Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar spoke about the shared resources between local police forces and the U.S. military, sharing the goal of quelling uprisings and public discontent. “If the police are the first line of defense against real change in our country, then the military is the second; it not only backs the police when we challenge the state but trains and arms them.”

Monique Cullers-Doty of Black Lives Matter Minnesota and Black Lives Matter Twin Cities spoke of solidarity with the anti-war movement and the important role organizations play in supporting each other in the fight for liberation. She also called for the U.S. to change from focusing on getting involved in militarism abroad to address issues at home; “America needs to provide for everyone that is here.”

Throughout the protest people directly participated in chanting, “From inside the capitalist beast, we demand justice, we demand peace!”

Rounding out the protest, David Gilbert-Pederson, member from the Minnesota Workers United, systematically described how endless wars have a devastating impact on workers in the U.S., calling attention to the needs of the people here that are being ignored while military and police spending continues to increase. Issues like housing, hunger, education and healthcare suffer budget cuts and leave people without resources while the government justifies acts of war and violence through the vilification of people in other countries. He said, “We have more in common with the people of the countries that the U.S. attacks than we do with the capitalists waging the wars.”

The rally concluded with the emcees emphasizing the importance of “taking a great stand against endless U.S. wars and for being a visible and a loud anti-war movement.” They encouraged attendees to continue to fight in the streets for an end to U.S. militarism.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #MinnesotaPeaceActionCoalitionMPAC #AntiWarCommittee

Minneapolis, MN – More than 100 people took to the streets, October 15, to protest U.S. military interventions, from Ukraine to Syria, Palestine and Somalia. The marchers shut down streets in the Minneapolis Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, where they were cheered by passing cars and pedestrians who came out of their homes to chant “Money for human needs, not for war!” with the protesters.

The protest was initiated by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC), which spearheaded a national call for a week of militant anti-war street protests circulated by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) with a slogan of “Back to the streets! Say no to U.S. wars!” More than 70 cities, both in the U.S. and internationally, have registered protests for the week of October 15-22.

The march was preceded by a rally at which several speakers passionately denounced U.S. imperialism.

Autumn Lake of the Anti-War Committee (AWC) spoke on the decades-long effort led by the United States to isolate and undermine the People’s Republic of China. The U.S. has long spread anti-Chinese propaganda, accusing the People’s Republic of China of human rights violations, of suppressing right-wing “pro-democracy” protests, and even outright genocide. Lake spoke about how accusations of genocide of ethnic minority Uyghur Muslims in China, spread by the U.S. government and corporate media propaganda machine, are part of a long-term project of manufacturing consent for a “humanitarian intervention” in China.

Lake drew attention to the hypocrisy of “known racists Donald Trump and his imperialist-in-chief Mike Pompeo making claims of solidarity with Muslim people facing repression in China.” She went on to say, “This is the same U.S. government that has been conducting drone strikes in Somalia, the same U.S. government that rained hellfire on Syria, the same U.S. government whose federal police force regularly investigates and harasses Muslim community members in its own borders. People who know better than to trust the U.S.’s own record on the treatment of Muslims have found themselves siding with the U.S. against China after waves of propaganda.”

All of this U.S. interference has come to a head in its open attempts to start a war with China, using Taiwan as a vehicle for the conflict.

Mike Madden of Veterans for Peace and the Assange Defense Committee spoke about the history of NATO intervention in Ukraine and the rest of Eastern Europe, and about how critical it is for anti-imperialists to continue to fight back against the efforts of the U.S. to escalate the war in Ukraine and lead the world into another World War.

Madden commented on the language that U.S. corporate media has used to describe the war in Ukraine, saying, “Perhaps the most common adjective used to describe the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been ‘unprovoked.’ It is anything but. In fact, it was deliberately provoked.” He pointed out the fact that U.S. officials have themselves stated, for decades, that NATO’s expansion further and further east toward Russia has been a dangerous game of brinksmanship.

Brad Sigal of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) stated, “To be clear, MIRAC supports the right of people to migrate and fights for legalization and full equality for immigrants who come here. But we also support the right of people to not be forced to migrate. And it is U.S. imperialism that is forcing millions of people to migrate all over the world.”

Sigal detailed MIRAC’s current campaign to defend Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a U.S. immigration policy which protects the rights of immigrant youth. DACA is currently under attack by the reactionary court system that has already succeeded in repealing the hard-won right to abortion, and which is systematically reducing voting rights. If DACA is repealed, Sigal said, “This will throw nearly a million young immigrants into undocumented status, at risk of deportation. This is happening right now, under a Democratic president and Congress who could legalize people with DACA today — but so far they haven’t done it, and time is running out.”

MIRAC is responding to the attacks on DACA with an action at Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office at 1200 S Washington Avenue in Minneapolis, on Friday, October 21, at 4 p.m.

The protest was endorsed by the Antiwar Advocates of Minnesota CD2, the Anti-War Committee, Bikers Riding Against Police Brutality, the Climate Justice Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Mayday Books, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Minnesota War Tax Resistance, Minnesota Workers United, Movement for a People’s Democracy — Midwest, the Party for Socialism and Liberation — Minneapolis, Socialist Action, Socialist Party USA — Twin Cities Local, St. Paul Eastside Neighbors for Peace, Twin Cities Assange Defense, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar Clark, Twin Cities CPUSA (Communist Party), Twin Cities Nonviolent, Veterans for Peace Chapter 27, Welfare Rights Committee, and Women Against Military Madness.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #AntiWarCommittee #AntiIntervention

Minneapolis, MN – On June 28, over 60 people gathered alongside Washington Avenue outside of Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Minneapolis office in solidarity with international protests against the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain, where world leaders discussed the expansion of NATO, among other things. Rush-hour traffic honked in support as protesters chanted, “No war with Russia! Disband NATO now!”

“Yesterday the Spanish government prohibited protest against NATO in Madrid,” announced Michael Livingston of Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC). “Being the free people that they are, the anti-NATO activists immediately gathered at the Atocha Madrid train station, marched past the Prado Museum, down La Gran Via, the principal commercial road and gathered in the Plaza de España.”

Livingston, who had just returned from a trip to Spain himself, said, “Everyone I spoke with in my three weeks there said the same thing: the United States is throwing gasoline on a fire. NATO is playing a dangerous game.”

Meredith Aby-Keirstead of the Anti-War Committee spoke about NATO’s invasion and occupation of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021, which left some 180,000 Afghans killed, and half of the children under age five years old experiencing malnutrition.

Aby-Keirstead stated, “Nobody is safer in Afghanistan because of U.S. troops, because of NATO occupation. Nobody. We are told repeatedly that NATO is the solution, and there’s this mythology that NATO is a defensive organization. It is not a defensive organization. It is a tool of domination. It is used to force the enemies of the 1% into submission no matter what the consequences are. And from Yugoslavia to Afghanistan to Libya to now Ukraine, we have seen that all NATO leaves is death and destruction in its wake.”

Dr. Christine Harb from the Party for Socialism and Liberation summarized the disastrous history of the U.S./NATO intervention in Libya in 2011, where an estimated 25,000 civilians were killed by some 10,000 bombings of non-military infrastructure as part of a no-fly zone campaign. Before this, Libyans had universal healthcare, the lowest poverty rates in all of Africa, and generally high living standards.

Harb stated that after NATO intervention, “Chattel slavery was reintroduced to the country, anti-Black lynching sprees became a common occurrence. Migrants, particularly Black Libyans, tried to escape the country and faced a perilous journey to reach Italy where they were refused entry and forced to die at sea. None of this mattered to the U.S. and NATO as long as they maintained access to Libya’s oil wells. The United States and NATO allies have either waged, profited or funded from almost every single war across the world over the past century.”

Others spoke to the renewed threat of a nuclear winter, long thought to have been avoided after the end of the Cold War. Alan Dale from MPAC warned the crowd the U.S. and NATO, “are trying to fight a war to the last Ukrainian, but they are playing a game that could easily get out of control, and could lead to a war for the last living human being or the last vestiges of society – a nuclear war.”

The final speaker, Coleen Rowley from Women Against Military Madness, echoed this dire warning. She pointed the finger directly at Senator Klobuchar and current U.S. National Security Advisor to the President, Jake Sullivan, a former Klobuchar staffer, as potential architects of WWIII, stating, “If Klobuchar thinks that she is gonna hide in a bunker and she is gonna be saved, she’s wrong. If nothing changes, ten, fifteen minutes is all we’re gonna get.”

The Minneapolis protest was initiated by Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and endorsed by Antiwar Advocates of Minnesota Congressional District 2, Anti-War Committee, Climate Justice Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Mayday Books, Minnesota War Tax Resistance, Movement 4 People's Democracy, Party for Socialism and Liberation – Minneapolis, St. Joan of Arc WAMM/Peacemakers, Socialist Action, Socialist Party-USA Twin Cities Local, Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Welfare Rights Committee, Women Against Military Madness, Veterans for Peace and others.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #AntiWarCommittee #NATO

Minneapolis, MN – Around 150 protesters rallied and marched in Minneapolis on May 14 to mark the 74th anniversary of Al Nakba – Arabic for “the catastrophe.” To Israelis, it's a day to celebrate “declaring independence” in 1948. To Palestinians, it's a day of mourning for the ensuing war when at least 750,000 Palestinian men, women and children were ruthlessly attacked, massacred, and driven from their homes by Zionist terror groups, and have never been allowed to return – in violation of international law. The Minnesota Anti-War Committee and American Muslims for Palestine organized the annual Al Nakba march to pressure for an end to the U.S.-backed Israeli occupation and apartheid.

The crowd was filled with Palestinian flags. Signs drew attention to the recent killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by an Israeli sniper and also called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

Anti-War Committee member Autumn Lake spoke to the crowd at the opening rally, saying, “At least 47 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis since the start of 2022. This past week, Israeli Occupation Forces violently raided the Jenin refugee camp, killing 18-year-old Ahmad Fathi Masad and 20-year-old Ahmad Ibrahim Owaidat. However, the death that has caught the most news coverage this week is the deliberate murder of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by an Israeli sniper. Israeli Occupation Forces would go on to raid her home, confiscating Palestinian flags and preventing ‘the playing of nationalistic songs.’ Yesterday these same forces attacked her funeral procession, denying her dignity and rest even in death.”

Lake continued, “The United States gives the Israeli apartheid state around $4 billion in military aid every single year. Aid that is used to raid refugee camps. Aid that is used to hold Palestinian political prisoners. Aid that is used to seize homes and land. Aid that is used to kill journalists. Aid that props up apartheid and genocide. President Joe Biden is on record saying, ‘America’s support for Israel’s security is unshakable, period.’”

Other speakers included Abdul from Youth for Palestine MN, Sana Wazwaz from American Muslims for Palestine, Daniela Kunkel from the Climate Justice Committee, and Sarah Martin from Women Against Military Madness.

After the rally at Bryant Square Park, protesters marched through the Uptown neighborhood in Minneapolis. At the Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street intersection, protesters laid down on the ground adorned in red-stained sheets for a die-in as Wazwaz read the names of Palestinians killed during the first Nakba in 1948. After blocking the busy intersection for 10 minutes, the protesters resumed marching.

One block east, at Lake Street and Girard Avenue, DJ Hooker, a member of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, spoke where Winston Smith was murdered by U.S. Marshals on June 3, 2021, and where Deona Marie Knajdek was killed by a motorist ten days later during protests demanding justice for Smith. Hooker connected the Palestinian struggle for national liberation with the Black Liberation movement in the U.S.

The next local Palestine solidarity action will be on Wednesday, May 25 at the Minnesota State Capitol rotunda. Palestine supporters will gather at 8:45 a.m. to pressure the State Board of Investment to divest from Israeli companies complicit in the occupation of Palestine. The Minnesota State Board of Investment recently divested from Russian companies within days of war breaking out in Ukraine, despite years telling local peace groups that it is unable to divest from Israel. The press conference and rally is being organized by MN BDS Community.

#MinneapolisMN #Palestine #AntiWarCommittee #NakbaDay #MiddleEast

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Twin Cites based Anti-War Committee.

The Anti-War Committee Joins Groups Around the Globe to #StandWithThe6

We have worked with several of the Palestinian rights organizations newly deemed “terrorists” by Israel.

In October 2021, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz outlawed six leading Palestinian human rights groups, labeling them “terrorist organizations” and accusing them of serving as fronts for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Gantz’s executive order criminalized Al-Haq, Addameer, Bisan Center, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Union for Agricultural Work Committees, and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees. No trials were held, nor were these groups given the opportunity to respond to the accusations against them.

These six groups do essential advocacy work and provide critical assistance to Palestinian civil society. The Anti-War Committee has seen some of their work first-hand. In 2002, three AWC members traveled to Palestine on a human rights delegation and met with members and organizers from the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees to learn about how the Israeli occupation affects women (article on our trip here). In 2003, we hosted Maha Nassar, chair of the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees, to speak in Minneapolis about her work while on tour in the United States (article on her tour here).

When our members were in Palestine, they also met with activists from another of the six targeted groups, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a Palestinian NGO based in Ramallah that monitors the treatment of Palestinian prisoners arrested by Israel while providing legal assistance. In 2009, we hosted Ala Jaradat from Addameer (article on his tour here) to talk about the treatment of Palestinian political prisoners by Israel, and about how administrative detention is used as a form of collective punishment.

In the summer of 2010 three more members of the Anti-War Committee organized another trip to Palestine, again planning to meet with members of the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees. Upon arrival, every member of the delegation—AWC members as well as activists from other groups—was detained and interrogated by Israeli authorities; some were deported. We later learned that we had been singled out due to collaboration between Israeli authorities and an FBI spy who had embedded herself in the Anti-War Committee.

Shortly thereafter, in September 2o1o, the Anti-War Committee office and the homes of many of its members were raided by the FBI and subpoenaed to testify in a grand jury investigation of the anti-war and international solidarity movements in the U.S. Our subpoenas said they were looking for “evidence of material support for terrorism”. FBI agents seized materials related to our work in solidarity with Palestine, and the warrants said they were looking for information about our contacts in the U.S. and abroad. We defied their witch hunt, and because the peace movement defended us, our members were not imprisoned despite refusing to cooperate.

The Anti-War Committee was targeted by the FBI and accused of “supporting terrorism” because of our support for Palestine and for publicizing the voices of Palestinian organizers. Now Israel is targeting activist organizations who we know are doing valuable work to defend Palestinians, and is labeling them as “terrorists”. We know all too well how governments use this label to try to decrease space for dissent and resistance.

The Anti-War Committee joins with civil society organizations in the U.S. and across the globe to denounce the labeling of Palestinian human rights groups as “terrorist organizations”. We call on others to join us in denouncing this action. We commend Minnesota’s Rep. Betty McCullom for her stand against Gantz’ targeting of human rights organizations and her vocal support and partnership with Defense for Children International Palestine in particular. We call on other members of Congress to join her and for the U.S. to completely end all aid to Israel. The U.S. should NOT be sending almost $4 billion a year to a country with a human rights record as atrocious as Israel’s!

We support U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)’s social media campaign to demand that the U.S. State Department, specifically Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Hady Amr, force Israel to rescind its unjust designation of these six essential Palestinian organizations.

See bit.ly/DefendPaliOrgs for resources.

Free Palestine!

Organizing is not a crime! We say no to state repression!

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #AntiwarCommittee #Palestine #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #StandWithThe6

Minneapolis, MN – Around 30 people took to May Day Plaza, July 29, to hold signs and banners in a show of solidarity with the people of Cuba and Haiti after a new wave of U.S. intervention attempts. This event came after the Biden administration’s July 22 issuance of new sanctions on Cuba, as well as the July 7 assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse.

The financial and administrative origin of President Moïse's assassination by a group of Colombian and U.S. mercenaries has not yet been confirmed. However, investigations later revealed some of the mercenaries responsible had taken part in U.S. military training programs at the School of the Americas.

“The recent assassination of Haiti President Jovenal Moïse is no excuse for U.S. intervention. That includes the military, the FBI and Homeland Security,” said Sarah Martin, reading from a statement by Marcy Shapiro. She continued, “Every step Haiti has taken for true independence has been subverted.” Martin and Shapiro are members of the Solidarity Committee of the Americas, a subcommittee of WAMM (Women Against Military Madness).

For the past 60 years, the U.S. has subjected Cuba to an embargo that recently has specifically impacted Cuba’s ability to import necessary medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuba was forced to develop their own COVID-19 vaccine but have had limited access to syringes. Since June, U.S. media has explicitly used images of pro-Cuban government protests as examples of Cuban ‘anti-government’ actions in order to justify U.S. intervention.

Speaking on Cuba's reputation for international solidarity despite crushing sanctions, Tracy Molm of the Anti-War Committee explained, “The U.S. government is threatened by Cuba’s independence and support for other independent countries trying also to break free of U.S. interference.” Molm visited Venezuela in 2019 and saw firsthand the impact of Cuba's material solidarity with other countries resisting U.S. intervention.

“As we stand on stolen land, and as people rise up against police brutality and murders in our communities, we need to expose this hypocrisy – the U.S. government has no moral high ground to police other parts of the globe or try to impose its will on the people of the world,” Molm concluded.

Organizers of the event encouraged supporters to continue their international solidarity by attending the upcoming protest on August 5 organized by the Anti-War Committee and American Muslims for Palestine to call on Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar to take action for Palestine.

The June 29 event was organized by the Anti-War Committee and the WAMM Solidarity Committee of the Americas.

#MinneapolisMN #International #AntiwarMovement #Cuba #Haiti #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #AntiWarCommittee #WomenAgainstMilitaryMadness

St. Paul, MN – Around 30 people lined the busy Lake Street-Marshall Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, June 30, to protest the latest U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. The action was called by Women Against Military Madness and supported by the Anti-War Committee, the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and other local groups. Peace vigils have been held at the bridge every Wednesday for over 20 years, regardless of weather.

This latest vigil followed the Biden administration’s June 27 announcement that U.S. warplanes had dropped bombs on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border. Several people were reportedly killed in the attack. The targets were militias with Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), which formed in 2014 to stop the reactionary Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group’s rapid advances.

In 2018, the PMF was incorporated into the official security forces of the Iraqi state. The Biden administration said the airstrikes were in response to attacks on U.S. troops by the PMF, which it characterized as “Iran-backed.”

Militant resistance to the U.S. occupation of Iraq intensified after the January 2020 assassinations of top PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. The assassinations prompted Iraq’s parliament to call for an immediate U.S. withdrawal, which the U.S. rebuffed. After the June 27 airstrikes, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi condemned the airstrikes as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

At the bridge vigil in Minnesota, Iraqi-American activist Sami Rasouli agreed. “When the military of Iraq was dissolved, Iraq became a wide open arena,” he said. “When ISIS in 2014 invaded Iraq, the Iraqi army that was dissolved came back again, and now is still growing, to defend not only Iraq but Syria too, and Iran.”

Wyatt Miller of the Anti-War Committee added, “These kinds of airstrikes always run the risk of triggering a major regional war. We need to oppose the sanctions, too, and oppose the U.S. military occupation not only of Iraq but of the oilfields in eastern Syria, all of which are contributing to Syria’s inability to rebuild after the war.” In May, Miller travelled with a peace delegation to observe conditions in Syria firsthand.

Syria, which allows the Iraqi PMF to operate on its territory, also condemned the airstrikes, reporting that U.S. bombs had struck a residential building and killed a child while injuring several more civilians. Hours after the airstrikes, U.S. forces occupying Syria’s al-Omar oil field came under rocket attack by resistance forces in the area.

#Minnesota #AntiwarMovement #AntiWarCommittee #Iraq #Syria #Airstrikes

St. Paul, MN – Around 30 people lined the busy Lake Street-Marshall Avenue bridge over the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, June 30, to protest the latest U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. The action was called by Women Against Military Madness and supported by the Anti-War Committee, the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and other local groups. Peace vigils have been held at the bridge every Wednesday for over 20 years, regardless of weather.

This latest vigil followed the Biden administration’s June 27 announcement that U.S. warplanes had dropped bombs on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border. Several people were reportedly killed in the attack. The targets were militias with Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), which formed in 2014 to stop the reactionary Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group’s rapid advances.

In 2018, the PMF was incorporated into the official security forces of the Iraqi state. The Biden administration said the airstrikes were in response to attacks on U.S. troops by the PMF, which it characterized as “Iran-backed.”

Militant resistance to the U.S. occupation of Iraq intensified after the January 2020 assassinations of top PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. The assassinations prompted Iraq’s parliament to call for an immediate U.S. withdrawal, which the U.S. rebuffed. After the June 27 airstrikes, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi condemned the airstrikes as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

At the bridge vigil in Minnesota, Iraqi-American activist Sami Rasouli agreed. “When the military of Iraq was dissolved, Iraq became a wide open arena,” he said. “When ISIS in 2014 invaded Iraq, the Iraqi army that was dissolved came back again, and now is still growing, to defend not only Iraq but Syria too, and Iran.”

Wyatt Miller of the Anti-War Committee added, “These kinds of airstrikes always run the risk of triggering a major regional war. We need to oppose the sanctions, too, and oppose the U.S. military occupation not only of Iraq but of the oilfields in eastern Syria, all of which are contributing to Syria’s inability to rebuild after the war.” In May, Miller travelled with a peace delegation to observe conditions in Syria firsthand.

Syria, which allows the Iraqi PMF to operate on its territory, also condemned the airstrikes, reporting that U.S. bombs had struck a residential building and killed a child while injuring several more civilians. Hours after the airstrikes, U.S. forces occupying Syria’s al-Omar oil field came under rocket attack by resistance forces in the area.

#Minnesota #AntiwarMovement #AntiWarCommittee #Airstrikes #AbuMahdiAlMuhandis