Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, September 20, members of the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee gathered at the Mitchell Street Branch of the Milwaukee Public Library to watch a webinar featuring activists who took part in the Jaju Solidarity Brigade to South Korea, put on by the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN).

The webinar comes at a crucial time, as the United States continues to ramp up its aggression in the Asia Pacific, aimed at limiting the influence of China. The U.S. has at least 80 military bases in South Korea and has been partnering in military-joint exercise since the Korean War.

The Jaju Solidarity Brigade was made up of 21 anti-war and anti-imperialist organizations. The Jaju Solidarity Brigade formed after the 2025 People’s Summit for Korea hosted in New York City, where community members, artists and students from around the country gathered to discuss the Korean liberation movement and building international solidarity for a unified Korea.

Sonya Chung, a member of Nodutdol, an anti-imperialist organization fighting to end the division of Korea said, “It’s helpful to understand the Korean war as an attempt to unite the Korean people again, and the U.S. and R.O.K. governments put down the resistance brutally.” She reflected on visiting the Daejeon Massacre Site, the world’s largest grave where an estimated 7,000 political prisoners were executed by R.O.K. soldiers while the U.S. military stood by and watched.

Meredith Aby, a member of the steering committee of AWAN who took part in the Solidarity Brigade stated, “South Korea functions in the Asia-Pacific similarly to the role that Israel plays in the Middle East, in terms of being proxy governments, but also giving the U.S. a place to park all of its weapons.”

The webinar watch party was hosted by the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC), a local grassroots anti-war organization affiliated with the national network AWAN.

MAC member Sam Charnon reflected on the webinar, saying “Being an anti-imperialist organization means educating ourselves on the history of Korea and opposing the United States aggression in the Asia Pacific today. We are honored to be a member organization of AWAN that was represented in the Solidarity Brigade.”

Although much of the focus in the U.S. anti-war movement has been on other countries such as Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and Palestine, the U.S. continues to escalate their “pivot to Asia” strategy and continues to be aggressive against China.

Attendees of the webinar watch party left feeling a strong solidarity with Koreans fighting for reunification and against the U.S. war machine.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #AntiWarMovement #International #Korea #AWAN #MAC #Nodutdol

Tucson, AZ – Nearly 30 community members joined the Tucson Anti-War Committee (TAWC) on September 19 to protest 200 days of U.S. war on Iran outside of Howmet Aerospace, held as part of the Anti-War Action Network’s (AWAN) nationwide call to action.

TAWC connected the war to their local campaign to demand that Howmet Aerospace cut their contract providing parts for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jet program, which allows them to profit from genocide and war.

TAWC collaborated with local anti-war organizations for the event, including Common Defense, Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance, Nuclear Resister, Veterans for Peace, Tempest, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Communist Party USA, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

TAWC organizer Noel Todd led with chants exposing strife such as, “Howmet, Howmet, shame on you, the planes you make kill children, too!” “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more jets for Israel’s crimes!” and “Trump wants war, Trump wants oil, hands off of Iranian soil!” Passing cars honked in support of signs which read “Money for human needs, not war!” and “U.S. out of Iran, U.S. out of the Middle East, U.S. out of everywhere!”

Melissa Cordero from Common Defense shared her story as an Air Force combat veteran and how veterans have not yet received relief from previous U.S. wars, suffering abuse while deployed and suicide while at home. Cordero expressed how the U.S. military “brainwashes” soldiers and “made [her] believe everyone had a bomb strapped to them.”

Kaliana Venet of the Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance emphasized that 200 days of U.S. war is, “200 days of war crimes, committed by our government, in our name, with our tax dollars, with weapons being built right here on our streets.”

Venet continued, “This war has always been a war against resistance, a war against anyone who dares to challenge the genocidal status-quo of the U.S.-Israeli regime, but we also know that this war was started because they are terrified of resistance, and in that same way, they are terrified of us.”

Jack Cohen-Joppa from Nuclear Resister discussed the expansion of neighboring weapons manufacturer Raytheon as part of a land grant in Tucson, and their complicity in the U.S.– Israeli missile strike on an elementary school in Minab earlier this year.

“Our friends and neighbors are stuck with those kinds of jobs,” Cohen-Joppa said, “And that’s why we go out and vigil every month at Raytheon, just to remind the workers there that it’s the product – it’s not them – that we object to, and we want better for our community than this kind of job.”

Maria Sohn Hasman of the TAWC demanded an end to U.S. aid to Israel and asked that money go towards human needs instead of war, while TAWC organizers held a banner reading “Howmet Arms Genocide!”

“Trump immediately claimed this war would be over in weeks, he loves to lie,” said Sohn Hasman, “The reality is that Trump is not in control. Israel can still not claim victory. This week, the cost of this war hit $38 billion dollars and Trump approved another $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel. While we are struggling to afford rent and groceries and our bills, Trump and the U.S. are using our taxpayer dollars to fund war and genocide.”

TAWC organizer and emcee of the event, Duncan Sohn Hasman, thanked attendees and closed out the action by listing the organization’s upcoming events, including a letter-writing workshop for President Maduro and First Lady Flores on October 3, and a protest to commemorate three years of genocide in Palestine on October 7.

#TusconAZ #AZ #AntiWarMovement #Iran #Palestine #AWAN

Minneapolis, MN—On Sunday, September 20, dozens rallied at Chute Square in Northeast Minneapolis as part of the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN)’s National Day of Action Against the War on Iran.

Protesters held signs and banners that read, “No war on Iran,” “Iran is not the enemy” and “No blood for oil.” Chants such as “From the belly of the beast, U.S. out of the Middle East” conveyed the sentiments of the demonstrators.

The rally was jointly organized by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) and the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump (PACAT) to recognize 200 days of ongoing resistance to the U.S.-Israeli war of aggression against Iran and its people.

A banner outlining the event’s demands read “No bombs! No sanctions!”

Organizers also made connections from Donald Trump’s war on Iran to the upcoming 25th anniversary of former U.S. President George W. Bush signing the Patriot Act, which authorized mass surveillance and curtailed civil rights, into U.S. law.

Nadiyah Salawdeh from U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) spoke during the program, stating, “The U.S. ‘war on terror’ may have started in 2001, but U.S. wars of terror in West and Central Asia have been slaughtering entire populations for decades.”

Salawdeh continued, “Iran has established its control over the Strait of Hormuz and the world’s economy. Yemeni people are liberating their land from Saudi occupation while continuing their fight against the Zionist entity. The Lebanese resistance continues its fight against rabid Israeli expansion. The people of Palestine continue to resist the genocidal Israeli occupation.”

Alissa Washington, director of the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council (WIAOFC) also spoke, highlighting the everlasting effects of the Patriot Act, abroad and at home. “The Patriot Act dramatically expanded the government’s surveillance powers. Entire communities, especially Muslim, Arab, South Asian, African, and immigrant communities were treated as suspicious. The consequences of that era did not disappear when Bush left office,” stated Washington.

The U.S. has killed thousands of people, including hundreds of children, and committed war crimes in the roughly 200 days since it attacked Iran unprovoked on February 28 of this year. The human cost is amplified by U.S. economic warfare, like sanctions and a shipping blockade, against Iran.

Washington emphasized that “when economies are strangled, ordinary people struggle with the price and availability of food, medicine, fuel, transportation, and basic necessities.” She connected these attacks by the U.S. abroad to the domestic struggle.

“There is always money for war – for bombs, weapons, surveillance, the machinery of militarism. Yet, when our communities demand housing, healthcare, education, food, mental-health resources, environmental protections, and investments that actually keep people alive, suddenly we are told there isn’t enough money,” Washington affirmed.

In his speech, Yossi Aharoni from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) added, “We are told that Iran is our enemy. Iran’s only ‘crime’ was kicking the U.S. out from their energy markets, exercising their sovereignty over their own resources, and their refusal to let Palestine die alone in the dark.”

Organizers highlighted American crimes beyond the Middle East. Concurrently, the U.S. is blockading Cuba, coercing Venezuela after kidnapping its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores, supplying Israel with weapons for genocide against Palestinians, intensifying an air campaign on Somalia, kidnapping immigrants around the U.S., contracting with tech companies for mass surveillance, and more.

Other speakers at the event represented Families Against Military Madness, About Face: Veterans Against the War, Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Let Iran Live, and Educators for Justice in Palestine.

The same week, anti-war organizations in Tucson, Milwaukee, San Jose, Seattle, Washington D.C. and other cities across the country also participated in the AWAN’s call to action against U.S. war on Iran.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #MPAC #AWAN

On Sunday, September 20, the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) held a webinar to hear from activists who traveled to the Republic of Korea (RoK) to participate in demonstrations against the U.S. military occupation of the country.

Speakers on the webinar included Meredith Aby of the AWAN steering committee, Chrisley Carpio of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Sonya Chung of Nodutdol, the organization of Korean American activists who organized the trip. The event was moderated by Maria Sohn Hasman of the AWAN-aligned Tucson Anti-War Committee.

In mid-August, Nodutdol brought activists from over 20 different groups around the U.S. together to form the Jaju Solidarity Brigade, the first-ever international delegation to participate in the RoK’s long-standing August 15 protests. In addition to joining the 10,000-strong march on Seoul, members of this delegation spent a week traveling the country to visit occupation bases and learn from local activists about the history of Korea’s struggle for independence.

“It’s important to know the relationship between the U.S. and South Korea is one defined by imperialism,” said Carpio, commenting on the historical context which the present movement has emerged from. “The U.S. went ahead and carved up Korea in 1945 and divided the Korean people.” Carpio went on to characterize the 1950 war as an attempt to reunite Korea, which the U.S. violently put down with the help of the same corrupt politicians who had supported the Japanese occupation during World War II.

Chung spoke to the current memory of this history, saying, “Many people still have really raw wounds, and I think that that was something we really experienced going through all the site visits.” As Chung explained, it is estimated that the RoK hosts around 80 U.S. military bases, though the exact number is kept intentionally obscured. Chung further characterized the U.S.-RoK relationship by quoting a top U.S. commander, who called South Korea “a dagger in the heart of Asia aimed at China.”

One major issue relating to U.S. bases which the delegation heard about is that of land disputes. On their trip to Camp Humphreys, the largest overseas military base in the world, the delegation learned about the 2004-2006 struggle of Daechuri village, a community forcibly relocated to create space for the foreign base to expand. A similar struggle is being waged today in the vicinity of the Gunsan Air Base, where a proposed expansion would devastate the local ecology, disrupting both nearby communities as well as endangered species.

Later on in the webinar, Aby reflected on her 2002 trip to Palestine, noting how “a lot of the messages that I heard from people in South Korea really reminded me of the messages I heard from Palestinians. About how they’ve been pushed off their lands, that everything that Israel wanted they got to just take in terms of land. Similarly, everything that the U.S. military wanted [in South Korea] they got to just take in terms of land.”

Another major issue which Aby spoke about is the sexual violence which the U.S. occupation continues to perpetrate against Korean women. “Not only did the U.S. take military control of the peninsula, they also took control of women’s bodies,” said Aby, as she described how the U.S. and RoK governments collaborated to establish “camptowns,” where Korean women were coerced into prostitution for the pleasure of U.S. soldiers. Emphasizing the scale of this project, Aby remarked that at one point this prostitution “got to be 5% of the South Korean gross domestic product.”

While in the vicinity of Camp Casey, the delegation visited an abandoned STD management center, where the women who worked in these camp towns faced further medical abuse. Here women were forcibly tested, “and if they tested positive, they got a dose of penicillin that was ten times the amount of penicillin that people would normally get,” said Aby. This treatment often left women unable to stand, at which point they “were then imprisoned in that STD management center for a week.” The particular facility visited by the delegation remained in operation until 1993.

As regards the protests which the delegation participated in, Chung commented on how impressive it was to see so many organizations and demographics gathered to protest with the same core message: “There is truly a unity of messaging, and there’s clarity in the political message of wanting the U.S. out.”

Carpio likewise spoke about how inspired she was by the strength of Korean protest culture, which she described as achieving a high degree of organization, while balancing a celebratory tone alongside a militant focus. Carpio put it, the prevailing mood was “We’re not going to obey. We’re going to get done what we need to get done.”

#AntiWarMovement #Korea #AWAN #AntiWarActionNetwork #Nodutdol #International #JajuSolidarityBrigade

Salt Lake City, UT- On Friday, September 18, dozens of anti-war activists and community members gathered in front of the Wallace F. Bennett Federal building to protest 200 days of the U.S. war on Iran in response to a call to action from the Anti-War Action Network.

A broad coalition of anti-war and community groups organized the protest, which drew in a wide range of participants, ranging from organizers and students to anti-war military veterans and families with young children.

Demonstrators held large banners reading “Hands off Iran!” and “End all U.S. aid to Israel!” to the approving honks of passing motorists, and held signs reading “Money for jobs, not war!” and “Money for healthcare, not war!”

“We are out here today demanding U.S. hands off Iran, an end to all U.S. aid to Israel, and money for human needs, not war,” said Nova Morra of the Utah Anti-War Committee.

Protesters persisted in occupying the sidewalk in front of the federal building for two hours despite constant rain. Spirits were high as chants of “Hands off Iran now, turn those Navy ships around!” and “Not another nickel, not another dollar, no more money for Israel’s slaughter!”

“These wars are not fought on behalf of the American people or the Israeli people. They are fought on behalf of the one percent, corporations, multinationals, and the military-industrial complex,” said Mustafa Khader of the 71% Coalition, a Palestinian-led progressive group.

Sebastian Miscenich of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated, “This war and the high prices it’s causing are capitalism’s fault, imperialism’s fault. The monopoly capitalists value profit over Iranian and Palestinian lives, and over decent housing, education, healthcare, or a livable environment for Americans.”

“It is our tax dollars which go to war profiteers such as the Raytheon Applied Signals Technology Facility in West Valley City, which contribute to the missile system that killed over a hundred school children in Minab,” said Amber Grace, speaking for the Utah Anti-War Committee.

“It is our tax dollars which go to the countless Northrup Grumman facilities and Military Bases scattered around Utah!”

Kaile Akina of the Wasatch Assembly stressed, “I think that getting organized means that you have to be willing to take great transformative action.”

Stephen Otterstrom, a Democratic candidate running unopposed for Utah State House District 21, said “when we ourselves are the perpetrators of that violence, we sit back, we don't investigate.”

“And then, we do something even worse, and that is we try to profit from the continual killing of children,” continued Otterstrom.

Richard Whitney, an anti-war U.S. Marine Corps veteran spoke against Trump’s hypocrisy, saying, “Trump, you’re killing children in Gaza, you’re killing children in Iran, and you turn around and say you care about children here in America, or unborn children?”

Although this protest held special significance, as it marked 200 days since the start of the U.S. war on Iran, Salt Lake protesters hold a pro-Palestine picket in front of the federal building every Friday.

Bronwyn Cox, who organizes the Salt Lake pickets for Palestine, said, “Please come join Salt Lake City in front of the federal building every Friday for Palestine, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. It’s a really great community, and really good organization.”

The protest was organized by the Utah Anti-War Committee, Picket for Palestine SLC, the 71% Coalition, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and the Wasatch Assembly.

#SaltLakeCityUT #UT #AntiWarMovement #Iran #AWAN #Palestine

New York, NY – On September 18, members of the Students for a Democratic Society at NYU held a speakout as part of a national week of action to oppose the “Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act” (HR 4795), which was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. If the bill becomes law, it will strip federal funding from universities that divest from the state of Israel.

The speakout took place in front of Gould Plaza, the site of the 2024 NYU Palestine Solidarity Encampments. Hundreds of students, faculty and community members rallied during the encampments to demand NYU to divest from Israel and shut down the study-away site at Tel Aviv.

In response to the encampment, NYU called the NYPD who arrested 130 people and brutalized many. Afterwards, the university closed off the plaza to the public and constructed a wall to restrict protests on the plaza.

Students chanted, “We want justice, you say how? Disclose, divest right now!” And “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” People passing by expressed their support for the protesters by chanting along or pumping their fists in the air. Many stopped by to take photos and videos.

Patrick Reddy, member of SDS, spoke to the necessity to oppose the bill and highlighted the repression of protesters by NYU, stating, “We are the students. We pay tuition, we attend classes, we conduct research, and we make up this university community. Our tuition and our presence are part of what allows this institution to function.”

Reddy continued, “And we deserve to have a say in the decisions it makes. I know it can sometimes feel like we're up against something so much bigger than ourselves, between the federal government and NYU's own administration. But we are not powerless.”

Zaara Ahmed, of SDS stated, “We have to demand that our tuition and our university not be used to support institutions and systems that we believe contribute to Palestinian suffering. And we have to defend our right to organize for those demands, even when powerful institutions tell us that we should stop.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Israel #SDS

Brooklyn, NY- On September 19, a dozen activists joined Brooklyn Against War for a speakout against Trump's war in Iran. The event was part of a National Day of Action called by the Anti-War Action Network, marking over 200 days of war on Iran.

Protesters including members of Brooklyn Against War, Brooklyn for Peace, and community members in the square listened to speeches condemning the war and made anti-war signs.

“Let's not forget the Trump regime brazenly used our tax dollars to bomb a children's school in Iran close to 200 days ago. Shame!” said a member of Brooklyn Against War. “We all know the war in Iran isn't the first of Trump's imperialist escapades. In January, Trump kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, killing over a hundred civilians.”

Brooklyn Against War members will be holding a rally on October 3 outside the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where President Maduro and First Lady Flores are held. They also plan to be outside the courthouse on October 8 to demand the immediate release of Cilia Flores, who cannot recover from her cardiac condition within the harsh conditions of the MDC.

#BrooklynNY #NY #NYC #AntiWarMovement #Iran #AWAN #BrooklynAgainstWar

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, September 15, protesters gathered at Loring Park to mark the 44th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, when thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese were slaughtered by far-right Lebanese militias with the assistance and supervision of the Israeli military.

Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) and the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) organized the protest to mourn the thousands murdered that day, and to highlight the continuity to today as Israel continues its genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, and occupation of Lebanon — all sponsored by the United States.

The Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon were filled with Palestinian families, most of whom were driven out of Palestine in 1948 by Israeli militias during the Nakba. In 1982, after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) invaded Lebanon and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) agreed to withdraw from the country, Lebanese Phalangists descended on the camps, at the behest of and supplied by the IDF. From September 16 thru 18, while the Israelis penned in the refugees and illuminated the night skies with flares, the Phalangists killed 3500 Palestinians. Many victims were raped and mutilated.

Speaking for the AWC, Maeve Aickin quoted survivor testimony, including Siham Balqis’s description of the aftermath: “We were made to walk over the dead bodies, and among cluster bombs. At one point I passed a tank, where the body of a baby only a few days old was stuck to the wheel.”

The massacre has been commemorated by Palestinians and the global Palestinian solidarity movement ever since. The extreme carnage continues to shock today, but the event fits squarely in the pattern of Israeli operations.

“Israel doesn’t require legitimate pretext to invade, to pillage, and to massacre,” said Lina Jebara of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), noting that the massacre took place during a ceasefire. “In the last 44 years, it’s been clear that Israel’s approach to carrying out its terror campaigns throughout Palestine and Lebanon have not changed; martyr civilians, raze villages, and traumatize generations, all while calling on the resistance factions in the territories it’s attacking to lay down their arms and surrender to an Israeli notion of peace, to put their necks to the Israeli sword.”

Advocates explained that the connection between Israel’s massacres extends to the U.S., and to Minnesota specifically.

“Just two years ago, Palestinian journalists identified an inertial measurement unit that had been produced at the Minneapolis Honeywell plant in the rubble of the Al-Sardi School, which was located in Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp,” Aickin said. “Just as American families abetted Israel’s mass murder of Palestinian and Lebanese families in 1982 by staying silent and complying as their government-funded the U.S. military outpost, known as Israel, to the tune of 7.2 million taxpayer dollars a day, American families in 2026 are abetting Israel’s genocide in Gaza, its merciless settler violence in the West Bank, and its colonial annexation project in Southern Lebanon by allowing politicians like Tim Walz to invest our tax dollars in companies that provide the technological infrastructure for Israeli atrocities.”

“Israel and the United States would like nothing more than for us to forget this kind of history. The U.S. empire erases its crimes against the oppressed, and it whitewashes the history of the people who struggle against it,” said Sonja Tomasko of WAMM.

“We’ve witnessed, repeatedly, an incredibly lucid candor take shape across the Middle East from people who refuse to bow to their oppressors,” Jebara emphasized. “It’s the Iranians holding down the Strait of Hormuz, the Yemenis reclaiming Saudi-occupied land, the Palestinians and Lebanese who’ve continued to resist and rebuild to come back and to resist, who refuse to capitulate, who are making clear the only viable path to liberation, who are making clear that the U.S. and Israel must get out of the Middle East.”

What does this mean for Minnesotans? Aickin said, “It means showing up to the State Board of Investment [SBI] meeting on September 22 to demand that the SBI divest from Palantir, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, RTX, and all other corporations that use teachers’ pension funds to bomb teachers and students in their schools in Gaza, Iran, and Lebanon. It means showing up to our protest on October 4 to demand that Honeywell drop its exclusive contract with the Department of War to produce IMUs like the one found in Gaza.”

Aickin continued, “As the SBI pours money into murder and Honeywell produces critical missile components in our communities, we have both the opportunity and the moral responsibility to throw a wrench in the kill chain and refuse to stand down until we’ve torn the whole thing to the ground.”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Iran #WAMM #AWC #Palestine #Lebanon

Milwaukee, WI – On September 17, a small yet spirited group of community members gathered for a banner drop to mark 200 days of war on Iran.

Organized by the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC), this banner drop was in response to the National Week of Action by the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN), with more than 15 protests coordinated across the country. The AWAN demands include an end to the war on Iran, an end to U.S. aid to Israel, and an investment in human needs, not war.

The Milwaukee action was strategically held on the Locust Street overpass during peak rush hour with the banner reading, “U.S. & Israel: Hands off Iran!” Despite the gloomy weather, it did not stop the banner drop attendees from proudly raising the banner for all to see, and the message was well received. As cars, trucks, and motorcycles drove underneath the overpass, they offered honks of support.

In addition to the banner drop, MAC members were ready to chat with passersby to learn more about what issues they see in their neighborhoods and where they'd rather see their federal tax dollars be invested in instead of the war on Iran. These conversations tie into MAC's ongoing campaign to shut down the Wisconsin Defense Industry Council, which aims to increase Wisconsin's capacity for war manufacturing via Department of Defense contract awards.

Sam Charnon, of the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee, stated, “In the past 200 days, the U.S. has targeted civilian areas with multiple airstrikes, including a girls' primary school, a sports complex, and a residential area. The result is more than 178 civilian deaths, including women and children. We demand that our tax dollars do not contribute to the ongoing war, but rather invest in social services here in Milwaukee.”

Charnon added, “Here in Milwaukee, we're also feeling the effects of the war, with affordability being a huge issue. Gas prices have now soared to nearly $4.50 per gallon, along with grocery and rent increases, while we're also experiencing stagnating wages and service cuts to public transportation. We demand that our tax dollars are invested in social services, education and healthcare, not for occupation and war.”

This energetic banner drop sends a clear message to the Trump administration: the people of Milwaukee will continue to fight until the U.S. is out of Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and the entire Middle East.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #AntiWarMovement #Iran #Lebanon #Palestine #AWAN

San Jose, CA – On the evening of Thursday, September 17, over 40 people gathered in the streets of downtown San Jose to demand an end to the war of aggression against Iran.

Chants like, “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!” and “Trump wants war, Trump wants oil, hands of Iranian soil!” could be heard echoing through the streets of downtown and around city hall.

Emer Martin of Vigil for Gaza spoke to the crowd, “We support Iran, from the heart of the corporate tech military empire, because we know what it has in store for us too. They have shown us what they’ve done to Gaza they will do to anyone who gets in the way of a capitalist project.”

Martin went on to say, “All the workers of the world should get on board with Iran now and reject the years of propaganda!”

Panda Shim from Students for a Democratic Society at San Jose State University said, “We want an end to sending young Americans to die for absolutely nothing. And until the U.S. gets their hands off the Middle East, until there is justice, there shall be no peace in the streets!”

Akubundu Amazu of the All African People’s Revolutionary Party said, “Iran knows their friends and they know their enemy. This is why they stand with Palestine, Hezbollah and Yemen against the U.S. and Israel. We must all stand together on the right side of history because that is the only way we are going to win,” said Amazu.

Jack McCann, member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, addressed the crowd, “Gas and diesel prices are reaching record highs. It is estimated that this war has cost on average one billion dollars a day”

McCann continued, “Our government, in its conscious choice to prioritize bombs over babies, jails over jobs, has forfeited its right to exist. It is our job, the people of the United States, to unite all who can be united to overthrow the monopoly capitalist class. To bring an end to endless wars, we must bring an end to the system of capitalism.”

Philip Nguyen of San Jose Against War highlighted the organization’s divestment campaign targeting the city of San Jose, saying, “We are calling out the four city council members that voted to keep money invested in companies complicit in Israel’s genocide and ICE terror.”

Nguyen continued, “We will be continuing to escalate and will keep fighting until we win divestment – and we deal a material blow to the U.S. war machine and Israel!”

The crowd took to the streets and marched along a populated pedestrian path to supportive bystanders and car honks.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #Iran #Palestine

Brooklyn, NY – On September 14, Brooklyn Against War hosted a documentary screening and letter-writing event in support of its campaign to free Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

At a local Brooklyn bar and community space, the activist group showed Oliver Stone’s 2009 documentary South of the Border. The film centers around interviews with then-Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, alongside many other progressive and left-wing contemporary Latin American leaders, such as Evo Morales. The film challenges the mainstream American media narratives, which vilified these leaders for standing up for their people’s interests against American imperialist exploitation.

Attendees at the screening reflected on how the United States propaganda of the 2000s mirrors the propaganda deployed against kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, who are imprisoned at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), just a few miles from where the screening took place.

Briony Smith of Brooklyn Against War spoke about Cilia Flores’s health, saying “This is a woman who has spent her career fighting for the social and economic rights of her people, and now she is having heart attacks in a Brooklyn jail. It’s crucial we fight to show people the truth about Cilia, Maduro and Venezuela.”

The night finished with participants writing to Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to demand an end to the sanctions on Venezuela and freedom for Maduro and Flores.

BAW further called on all attendees to join the organization in protesting at the MDC on October 3, as part of the Anti-War Action Network National Day of Action to free Maduro and Flores and say no to U.S. intervention in Venezuela.

#NYC NewYorkCity #Antiwar #Southoftheborder #Maduro #Brooklyn #Antiwarmovement #Venezuela

Seattle, WA – September 16 marked the U.S. government’s 200th day of war on Iran. Hundreds rallied at Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle for the Anti-War Action Network National Day of Action to protest the U.S.-Zionist aggression against Iran.

Over the past 200 days of this illegal war, the United States and Israel have murdered thousands of Iranian men, women and children, while destroying key civilian infrastructure like power plants, bridges, schools, desalination plants, ports and hospitals. People in the U.S. are feeling the economic impacts of this war with high gas prices and the gutting of social services.

The protest was organized by anti-war and advocacy groups, including Seattle Against War, Seattle Families for Palestine, the Hands Off Iran Coalition, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Veterans for Peace, and was endorsed by the National Iranian American Council and About Face Veterans.

Julia Leyla Khorsand, with Seattle Families for Palestine, told the crowd, “Even Iranian-Americans like myself, who have been socialized to criticize and call the Islamic government ‘a regime’, see clearly now. I saw the images of Minab elementary. I saw the bombed-out medicine factory and the universities destroyed. I saw the blocks near my family’s neighborhood in Tehran, and in Tajrish, reduced to rubble.”

Khorsand continued, “I also watched brave Iranians, linking hands, and placing their bodies in front of power stations and life-sustaining infrastructure in hopes that U.S.-imperial forces might show some mercy. And watching them fight for something has radicalized me forever.”

Speaking on behalf of Seattle Against War, Zainab Obaid stated, “The people of Iran are saying that no foreign power gets to decide their future for them. No foreign power gets to plan a coup in their country, assassinate their scientists and leaders, and take over their resources. No foreign power gets to change their system of governance.”

Obaid continued, “The people of Iran are proudly asserting their sovereignty and fighting for their freedom. We should understand that message, because the principle is universal: A country’s future should belong to its people. We demand a stop to the war with Iran.”

Protesters chanted “U.S. hands off foreign soil! No more trading blood for oil!” and held signs stating “Stop Trump’s war on Iran!” and “Money for human needs, not for war.”

#SeattleWA #WA #AntiWarMovement #Iran #SAW #AWAN

Fort Collins, CO – On Wednesday, September 16, two dozen Fort Collins community members gathered at Oak Street Plaza for the first public rally organized by Fort Collins Against War, a new affiliate of the Anti-War Action Network. The demonstration was held as part of a nationwide day of action calling for an end to the U.S. war on Iran. September 16 marked 200 days since the beginning of the current attacks on Iran.

The protesters held signs, chanted, chalked sidewalks and spoke with passersby about the consequences of U.S. military intervention. Several people passing through the plaza expressed their support, with one individual ultimately joining the demonstration midway through the action.

The rally brought together both longtime Fort Collins organizers and people participating in anti-war organizing for the first time. Among those in attendance was a retired Iranian professor and activist who drove more than an hour to participate in the demonstration. The gathering comes amid a war that has resulted in thousands of deaths and widespread destruction in Iran.

A member of Denver Anti-War Action (DAWA), Hatem Teirelbar, told the crowd, “We the working people of the U.S. are not one degree safer because of these wars. U.S. aggression and imperialism puts us all in danger. It endangers the lives of the people being attacked, and it endangers our livelihoods.”

Teirelbar continued, saying, “Our enemies are well-funded and well-equipped. The only way we win is by out-organizing them. We must fight the war machine on every front!”

Woodward, Inc., with global corporate headquarters locatedj in Fort Collins, manufactures components used in military operations and has multiple contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense. Teirelbar addressed Woodward Inc. in his closing demands, saying, “Shut down the Lockheed and Woodward plants! Divest our pensions from the war machine! Confront our elected representatives at their offices, town halls, at every opportunity.”

Fort Collins Against War members expressed excitement at the turnout of the action, and members were eager to make plans for future activity.

#FortCollinsCO #CO #AntiWarMovement #AWAN #FCAW #DAWA #Iran

Salt Lake City, UT – On Saturday, August 29, Salt Lake City community members gathered at the Day-Riverside Branch library for a teach-in and letter-writing campaign for Venezuela. Organized by the Utah Anti-War Committee, attendees wrote letters to their senators demanding an end to U.S. sanctions of Venezuela, the unfreezing of Venezuelan assets in Western hands, and the release of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

“Engaging in sanctions is a form of economic warfare, a crime against humanity,” said Amber Grace, a UAWC leader.

The need to drop the sanctions and return Venezuela’s leadership was made all the more pressing by the devastating June earthquakes, which killed over 6000 people. American sanctions hinder the normal conduct of business and government operations during the relief effort.

“Ending the U.S. sanctions, unfreezing Venezuela’s assets, frees up billions in funds to recover from the damage and recover on their own terms,” continued Grace.

The national Anti-War Action Network, of which the UAWC is the Salt Lake City member, called for the letter writing campaign. Attendees wrote letters to Utah Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis demanding true earthquake relief in the form of an end to U.S. intervention in the country.

The event was successful, with over 15 physical letters written and those who could not attend instructed on how to submit electronic correspondence to Lee and Curtis’s offices. Additionally, activists raised over $200 in grassroots earthquake relief.

Nevertheless, the organizers stated that there would be adequate Venezuelan financial and political capacity to address the disaster if the U.S. ceased its interventions

“These senators hold power, they probably hold the most power in our legislature to enact change for Venezuela,” said Grace. “Lift every sanction and every coercive measure imposed on Venezuela!”

Utah constituents can join the UAWC’s letter writing campaign for Venezuela by addressing letters demanding an end to U.S. intervention to these addresses:

Senator John Curtis, SH-502 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

Senator Mike Lee, 363 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510

#SaltLakeCityUT #UT #AntiWarMovement #International #Venezuela #UAWC #AWAN

New York, NY—On September 9, a motion was filed for Venezuela’s First Lady Cilia Flores, petitioning for her release from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), and for her to be instead placed under house arrest in New York City, due to the severity of her heart condition.

After she and President Nicolás Maduro were illegally kidnapped by the U.S. in January of this year, her health has rapidly deteriorated throughout her imprisonment.

First Lady Flores is the 69-year-old wife of Venezuelan President Maduro and a sitting deputy of the Venezuelan National Assembly. She was lead attorney for Hugo Chávez’s defense, securing his release from prison in 1994, and emerged throughout the 1990s and 2000s as a key figure in the victory of the Bolivarian Revolution. She was the first woman to serve as president of the National Assembly, from 2006 to 2011, before becoming attorney general of Venezuela from 2012 to 2013. In 2017, she was once again elected to the National Assembly. Throughout her career, she has remained a staunch defender of human rights and the achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution.

According to court documents, she was in good health before the illegal U.S. invasion of Venezuela, in which the U.S. abducted her and Maduro from their home in Caracas and killed over 100 people. Now, after eight months imprisoned at the MDC, she suffers recurring chest pains, has lost two molars, has lost more than 25 pounds, and likely suffered a minor heart attack on July 29.

The MDC is notorious for horrific conditions. Detainees go weeks without seeing the sky or breathing fresh air. Power and water cut out, sometimes for up to a week at a time. And there is a well-documented pattern of medical neglect. In one case, cited by Federal Judge Jesse Furman in a January 2024 decision on conditions at the MDC, the jail refused to transport an inmate for surgery to repair his broken cheekbone; when he finally received surgery, his cheek had to be rebroken. In another case in 2024, a man named Terrence Wise died in custody after months of medical neglect let his lung cancer proliferate unchecked. This context makes Flores’s fragile health all the more alarming.

In the last eight months while imprisoned, Flores has experienced palpitations, elevated heart-rate, chest tightness, chest pain and fatigue. On July 29, her lawyers believe she had a minor heart attack when she reported intense pressure on her chest and a shortness of breath. She is able to sleep only three or four hours a night and suffers asthma attacks when the MDC guards use pepper spray against other prisoners.

The MDC medical staff has recommended that she undergo cardiac surgery. But under the conditions at the MDC, recovery from such a surgery is unthinkable.

The medical neglect Flores faces is not accidental. Rather, it must be understood as part of the U.S. government’s strategy to punish Maduro, Flores and Venezuela for withstanding U.S. imperialism.

The U.S. government’s total disregard for Flores’ health has been apparent since it first abducted her. At her first hearing on January 5, it was reported that Flores appeared with wounds on her forehead – the new motion reveals further detail. The U.S. government was almost certainly aware that, at the time of the invasion and abduction on January 3, Flores was still in recovery from a recent total hysterectomy and had been ordered by her doctors to limit movement for three months. Despite this, when the U.S. military invaded her home, she was thrown against a wall or a dresser, causing the injuries to her forehead, which required some 20 stitches and left her with permanent scarring.

This violence, like the medical neglect she now faces, is violence against a woman who has dedicated her life to fighting for her people and standing against imperialism and intervention. It should be met with outrage from all progressive and imperialist forces. It is not enough for Flores to be merely released under house arrest; the charges against her must be dismissed, and she must be freed once and for all.

Across the country, member organizations of the Anti-War Action Network are mobilizing on October 3 to say no to U.S. intervention in Venezuela and to free Maduro and free Flores! Visit www.antiwaractionnetwork.org/ to find an organization near you and get involved.

#NewYorkNY #NY #AntiWarMovement #International #Venezuela #CiliaFlores #Maduro #AWAN

Portland, OR – On September 9, ICE beat a Portland area Palestinian who was resisting deportation to the genocide in Palestine. ICE attempted to place Tareq Zakarneh on a deportation flight. When he resisted, ICE put him in a WRAP restraint device and beat him so badly his tooth was broken.

ICE arrested Zakarneh in May 2024 in Vancouver, Washington. He’s been in ICE detention for over two years and resisted deportation numerous times.

On September 8, ICE moved him from the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington to a facility in Mesa, Arizona for a final removal flight. He filed two emergency motions, for a habeas appeal and an emergency temporary restraining order.

Despite these motions, ICE attempted to put him on a plane and assaulted him when he resisted. If Zakarneh is deported, he will be sent to Israel and possibly the West Bank.

“The United States is attempting to deport Tareq to an active genocide that they are funding,” said Cole Dunahugh, “If he is deported, he risks ending up in a Israeli prison subject to torture, or becoming a victim of settler and military violence in the West Bank. Both the deportation and U.S. funding of Israel must end.”

Dunahugh is a member of Portland for Palestine (P4P), a grassroots group advocating for Zakarneh’s release.

In response to the escalated attempts at deportation, P4P visited the office of Zakarneh’s congressional representative, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, last week to ask her to act. They were turned away. P4P is currently calling on the public to call and email the judge overseeing Zakarneh’s case to demand his release. Judge Krissa Lanham can be contacted at 602-322-7590 and lanham_chambers@azd.uscourts.gov.

“Those who are supposed to serve the public have failed Tareq every step of the way,” said P4P member Kacey Desantis, “It calls into question who these government officials really work for – the people, or ICE and warmongers?”

Over the last year, ICE used private jets owned by Florida property tycoon Gil Dezer to deport Palestinians to Tel Aviv and then the West Bank. Detainees report being dropped off at a West Bank checkpoint in prison uniforms, with nowhere to go and no way to contact anyone. The flights are estimated to have cost $500,000 of U.S. taxpayer money per flight.

Zakarneh is still under immediate threat of deportation. P4P was able to hire a lawyer with donations from supporters and will continue to fight the case.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #ICE #Palestine #P4P #AntiWarMovement

North Charleston, SC – On Tuesday, September 8, over 20 community members joined the Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition’s picket of a Charleston County Council meeting to demand a cancellation of the tax breaks given to Elbit Systems.

Outside of the public services building, participants filled the plaza with signs linking Council Chair Joe Boykin to the body’s failure to end the tax breaks and chanted “Boykin, Boykin your hands are red, over five hundred thousand Palestinians dead!” and “County council you will see, we’ll kick Elbit out of SC!”

The picket was seen as an escalation of anti-war activists' efforts to compel the council to end the Fee in Lieu of Tax (FILOT) agreement with the Israeli weapons manufacturer, through meetings with councilmembers and public comment speakouts.

Two EOSC organizers also used the public comment period of the meeting to again demand an end to the FILOT, call attention to the picket happening outside, and read messages written by Boykin’s constituents who signed EOSC’s petition demanding an end to the tax breaks.

“In the almost five years since the FILOT was signed, our public schools have lost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars as a direct result of your action,” stated Zach Hall, EOSC organizer and member of Charleston Democratic Socialists of America. “At the same time, Elbit has made bomb bodies and howitzer cannons in Ladson that it sells to commit war crimes and genocide. This is a losing deal for working-class people in Charleston and working-class people around the world.”

The combined picket and public comment drew the attention of many council members who remarked on the anti-war activists' presence. Most notably, Boykin, who had previously missed an EOSC community meeting in his district because of a lobbying trip to Israel, noted there are two-sides to every story and that “it’s not a role for county council to involve itself in. We are here to serve the citizens of Charleston County and govern accordingly.”

Attendees of the picket listening in through the council’s live stream laughed at Boykin’s closing remarks.

“It’s amazing that after two years of organizing at county council that councilmembers can still peddle the lie that the FILOT is serving Charleston County,” remarked Nate Hubler, an EOSC organizer and member of the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC). “It's obvious that defunding Charleston’s public school system of millions of dollars doesn’t serve the citizens of Charleston County.”

The picket continued for another hour after the council meeting ended. “We wanted to make sure every single council member had to walk by the picket and make the choice to either ignore us or engage with their constituents,” said Matt Colburn, a member of LAC.

Boykin, almost an hour after the meeting concluded, was the final councilmember to leave the public services building. He was escorted to his car by multiple police officers and refused to make eye contact as the crowd chanted, “Boykin, Boykin you can’t hide! You’re supporting genocide!”

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #BDS #ElbitSystems

Jacksonville, FL – On Tuesday, August 8, community members of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) mobilized to Jacksonville City Council to demand the Police and Fire Pension Fund Board of Trustees not reinvest into TEVA Pharmaceuticals and divest its investment portfolios from Israel and Israeli companies.

TEVA Pharmaceuticals is a predatory company that helped fuel the fentanyl crisis, and it functions as an economic and societal pillar of the genocidal, war-mongering state of Israel. Despite the Jacksonville’s Police and Fire Pension Fund (PFPF) being in a 45% underfunded state of crisis, it currently has $200 million invested in Israeli bonds with $2 million invested into TEVA Pharmaceutical junk bonds specifically, one of which is up for renewal on October 1, less than a month away.

The press conference at the start of the mobilization served as the official launch of the new campaign, detailing reasons for the community and the PFPF board to act with urgency on the matter of divestment.

JPSN’s press representative stated, “While everyday Jacksonville residents are struggling to afford basic medical care, in just the past decade, Teva has been found guilty in multiple lawsuits, settling for billions of dollars for fraudulence and drug price fixing.”

Public comment from community members echoed shared sentiments of struggling to afford basic needs and advocated for better funding for social programs. One speaker stated, “The $2 million invested into TEVA could provide 20 million meals, according to Feeding America, for Jacksonville families that have recently experienced a lapse in SNAP benefits.”

Speakers presented the case that investments in companies like TEVA are a root cause of skyrocketing city debt that diverts funds from the community.

Immediately after the mobilization, members of JPSN conversed with Jacksonville residents and found unity on the demands that our tax dollars should benefit the people of Jacksonville, not an Israeli foreign corporate entity, that repeatedly breaks U.S. laws, actively chooses to harm our communities, drains local resources, and perpetuates the genocide of the Palestinian people.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #BDS #Palestine #TevaPharmaceuticals

New York, NY – 50 activists gathered outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, on Thursday, September 3, to protest the ongoing detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. Attendees represented a broad coalition of New York organizations fighting against U.S. Intervention in Venezuela, including Brooklyn Against War, Workers World Party, Black Alliance for Peace, Venceremos Brigade, and the Venezuela Solidarity Network.

Attendees held signs demanding freedom for the kidnapped Venezuelan president and first lady and joined in chants like “Free the prisoners, free them all! Free Maduro from these walls!” and “We will say it every time! U.S. sanctions are a crime!”

The protest occurred the day after motions were filed to dismiss the charges against Maduro and Flores. In the motions, the lawyers for Maduro and Flores maintain their innocence of the charges against them and further argue that the couple are immune from prosecution since they are the president and first lady of Venezuela. At the rally, speakers from multiple organizations pointed out that should the charges not be dismissed, this opens the door for the U.S. to pursue similar strategies of illegal imprisonment and prosecution against the leaders of other sovereign nations.

Speaking on behalf of Brooklyn Against War, Briony Smith said, “We know that this prosecution is baseless. We know it’s fabricated. And we know it’s illegal. But we also know that we are up against an administration rank with dangerous absurdity and hypocrisy. So, we’re going to keep fighting, and we’re going to be loud enough that the people of Venezuela can hear us, so that they know that we have not forgotten them, that we have not turned our backs on them, and that we will keep fighting until President Maduro and First Lady Flores are free!”

Protesters will return to the MDC on October 3, at 2 p.m. as part of the Anti-War Action Network’s National Day of Action against U.S. Intervention in Venezuela. The activists also vowed to rally outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan in support of Maduro and Flores on November 17, when the court will hear oral arguments to dismiss the charges.

#NewYorkNY #NY #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #Maduro #CiliaFlores

Jacksonville, FL – On September 3, over 20 supporters from around Jacksonville, Florida attended a pro-Venezuela film screening hosted by the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN). Attendees watched The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. The documentary is a firsthand account of the failed 2002 CIA coup attempt against elected Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. It was produced by Irish filmmakers Kim Bartley and Donnacha Ó Briain.

After the film, JPSN’s Hands Off Latin America work team chair and recently released political prisoner Conor Cauley led a film discussion and comparison of the 2002 coup to the current situation in Venezuela. One common theme in that discussion was that corporate media continues to be a favorite weapon of Wall Street and the U.S. government.

In 2002, much of the failed coup attempt was done in direct collaboration with the reactionary news outlets inside of Venezuela. They employed false claims of Chavez supporters shooting at protestors. Some of the privately owned news outlets directly collaborated with CIA-aligned traitors inside the Venezuelan military to organize and execute the coup strategy.

Today, some of those same channels, which represent the wealthy right-wing political minority in Venezuela, work with the U.S. to sell the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and Celia Flores to the American people. In tandem, we see U.S. corporate media excluding from their coverage massive pro-Maduro demonstrations in Venezuela. They also give little attention to the growing number of people here in the U.S. who insist President Maduro and First Lady Flores be released. There is little coverage of American opposition calling for Trump to end his so-called “Donroe Doctrine” attacks on Venezuela, or to lift the U.S. sanctions, or to return control of Venezuelan oil.

After the discussion, participants worked together to write letters to Florida Senators Rick Scott and Ashley Moody. The group is writing to reinforce demands being circulated by the Anti-War Action Network (AWAN) to end all U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, unfreeze all Venezuelan assets, and free Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Flores.

“Some people might be wondering why we organized this event for Venezuela if we’re a Palestine organization,” said AWAN steering committee member Ryan Delaney, as they recruited attendees at JPSN’s outreach table.

Delaney answered the question, “But JPSN’s analysis is that we aren’t free until everyone is free. That means if we want to fight for Palestine, especially from here in the U.S., that’s a fight against the whole U.S. war machine that makes genocide and Zionist occupation possible. If we want to fight for Palestine, we need to fight for Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen; we have to fight for everyone else that’s been bound up in the fight against U.S. wars and interventions. So, when a longstanding ally to the Palestinian cause like President Nicolas Maduro gets kidnapped by the U.S., after winning an election where the main opposition party was openly campaigning on Zionism, we as a Palestine solidarity organization need to respond.”

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #JPSN #AWAN #Maduro