Partners for Palestine set up a poster gallery around the church’s main hall for attendees to browse as they entered, depicting Palestinian artwork and daily life, as well as statistics regarding life under occupation. Attendees shared food potluck-style which included catering from Oasis Cafe, a local Palestinian restaurant, paid for by the uncle of Mohammed Ibrahim. Last year, 16-year-old Ibrahim was kidnapped and illegally detained in an Israeli prison under torturous conditions. He has since been released.

Community activist Luann Roseberry gave a presentation on the history and significance of the Nakba. Caroline Abidin, member of the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance, followed with a lesson on the Palestinian cultural traditions of tatreez and dabke.

Many in attendance had come to know the history of the Nakba after the great Palestinian uprising on October 7, 2023.

When asked what the Nakba and Palestine meant to her, Abidin said, “Palestine became deeply personal to me because the genocide didn't just inform my views, it broke my old world apart and rebuilt me from the inside out. Watching it happen in real time, with undeniable proof, shifted something fundamental. I could no longer believe that justice would come from institutions I once trusted, or that silence was neutral. That realization was world-shifting.”

Abidin added, “I stopped waiting for others to act. That shift pushed me to organize, to use whatever platform or energy I had to bring attention to Palestine because looking away was no longer an option.”

Throughout the event, several calls to action were shared, including a number to call to demand justice for Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old Palestinian from Tampa killed by settlers in the occupied West Bank in July of 2025.

#SpaceCoastFL #RockledgeFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grand Rapids, MI – The Grand Rapids district of The Freedom Road Socialist Organization assembled for a May 17 reportback from Jessica Plichta on their recent humanitarian aid trip to Cuba. The event took place at Fountain Street Church

The presentations began with an introduction by Sam Tunningley, member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, who stated, “This country has a long history of militant labor organizing, much of which is intentionally buried, forgotten and written out of history. That's why it's important to commemorate the Haymarket Affair and own the righteous achievements made by the working class as a foundational part of this country.”

Jessica Plichta, the community activist and FRSO member, spoke on her humanitarian aid trip to Cuba. She underlined the importance of standing in solidarity with Cuba and what life is like under increasing sanctions.

Plichta stated, “In Havana, Cuba alone, over 500,000 Cubans participated in May Day that day without any oil.”

“That means every person walked on foot to get there, 500,000 people, walked to May Day in Havana,” said Plichta, adding the Cuban people love their country so much they were willing to walk in the early morning darkness to reach Havana and participate in May Day.

To close out the event, community members asked questions about Plichta’s experiences in Cuba and lessons that can be applied here at home. The organizers also had cultural art and books on display for community members to interact with.

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #Cuba #International #MayDay #AntiWarMovement

San Jose, CA – On May 16, around 150 people gathered at the Santa Clara County Government Center to celebrate the county’s 25th annual Palestinian Cultural Day. The event, sponsored by the county supervisors and the Palestinian Heritage Committee, celebrates the 30,000 Palestinian-Americans living in Santa Clara County and their contributions to the South Bay community.

The event began with the raising of the Palestinian and American flags in front of the County Building, as each country’s national anthem played.

The opening speaker was Samir Laymoun, longtime Palestinian community leader and lead organizer of Palestinian Cultural Day since its inception. “A trauma passed down through every single generation. Today our hearts break because the violence has reached a terrifying depth. Israel is not just taking Palestinian lives. It is trying to kill the very soul of Palestine.”

Laymoun continued, “The deliberate destruction of schools and universities aims to silence our children's dreams. This is a cruel attempt to make us forget and erase our history. Here in California, Palestinian students' stories and history of Palestine are censored in K-12 under vague controversial issue policies and laws such as AB 715.”

16-year-old Mariam Al-Tamimi spoke about her personal experiences with this censorship at her

high school. Al-Tamimi wrote an article for her school newspaper about underrepresented students, including Palestinian students. “The moment that I mentioned Palestine in the article, the Zionists in my class immediately pushed back, ready to silence me, as if my article wasn't already advocating for those who are silenced. They complained endlessly to the principal until the principal finally decided to take out the article, which I had worked on for weeks, in mere seconds.”

“However, this didn't silence me. Instead, I was determined to publish my article. “I was able to publish my article in the Silicon Valley Voice, a professional newspaper,” Al-Tamimi continued. “That moment made me realize that they wouldn't work so hard to silence us if we didn't matter.”

Palestinian-American human rights lawyer Jennifer Zacharia stated, “Civil rights laws created to protect the most vulnerable and marginalized among us are being distorted and wielded as well. These attacks on our schools, wrapped in a misrepresentation of antisemitism, are naked efforts to silence both Palestinians and advocates for our liberation. These measures aim to criminalize teaching our history, impugn and make suspect our identity and culture, and quell dissent about the occupation, apartheid, and genocide that define how Zionism has been enacted on the lives and bodies of Palestinians.”

Zacharia continued, “We are dehumanized and told that our existence can only take muted, quiet, hollow shapes that don't offend those who work tirelessly to negate us. But we are still here. We are building institutions and solidarity, and we are cultivating hope and imagination.”

The event concluded with a performance by Al-Juthoor Dabke, with attendees joining in at the end to dance together.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

“May 15 marks the day when Zionist militias destroyed hundreds of villages, massacred thousands, and violently forced 750,000 Palestinians out of their homes and off of their historic land in order to create the state of Israel. Since 2023, the U.S. has sent over $25 billion in aid to Israel and has outfitted the Israeli military with its advanced weaponry. It is a fact that Israel wouldn’t be able to carry out these crimes of massive scale without the backing of the U.S. empire,” said Tucson Anti-War Committee member Nick Winsten when speaking to the crowd.

“That’s our tax dollars, that’s mine and yours, used for the depraved war crimes of the U.S. and Israel. That’s our hard earned money used for the razing of homes, the bombing of schools and hospitals, and the killing of countless families. That’s money not going to health care, education, housing, or any real human need but that has gone to murdering over 70,000 Palestinians,” Winsten added.

Organizers from Arizona-Palestine Solidarity Alliance and Jewish Voice for Peace also spoke to the crowd. Other co-sponsoring organizations of the event were Coalicion de Derechos Humanos, Veterans for Peace, Common Defense, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization-Tucson.

#TusconAZ #AZ #AntiWarMovement #Nakba #Palestine

Bellevue, WA – On Tuesday evening, May 2, the Bellevue City Council voted to adopt an ordinance making protests at U.S. Congressman Adam Smith’s house illegal. The ordinance changes the city’s definition of criminal conduct to include targeted residential protests.

The ordinance states that any gathering of people “with four or more persons” in a protest that is “targeted, directed or focused at a particular occupant of the residence” would be a gross misdemeanor. “Protest means any protest, demonstration or picketing activity including but not limited to marching, congregating, standing, posting, parading, demonstrating, picketing, with our without signs, with or without making audible or amplified noise.” A gross misdemeanor of this kind can carry a year-long jail sentence and a $5000 fine.

This ordinance comes after a sustained campaign against Adam Smith, House representative for Washington’s 9th congressional district. In protest of Smith’s failure to halt the flow of U.S. military aid to Israel or to withhold U.S. taxpayer dollars from being spent on Trump’s war on Iran, members of Seattle Against War, Troublemakers, and BDS Seattle, with support from other community members, have repeatedly shown up at Smith’s house in Bellevue to present their demands.

The protests in the rich Bellevue suburb were protected under First Amendment rights to protest, occurred during daylight hours, and abided by the noise ordinances against the use of amplified sound. Protesters held up banners that read, “Your rep funds genocide!” and signs that call out Adam Smith as a warmonger and a war profiteer.

Speaking against the ordinance at the city council meeting, Joseph Ostheller, a member of Seattle Against War, said, “We have been to his office, which he is never in. We have been to his town halls, which he censors. We have been to his speaking events, which he releases without adequate time to attend. He has systematically closed off all avenues for us to speak to him directly and to have our concerns heard. The escalation to be at his house is because he leaves us no other options.”

Zionists packed the city council meeting to support the ordinance. One speaker for the ordinance, who called himself David E., said he was a proud Zionist. The president of the HOA in Adam Smith’s neighborhood, claimed falsely that protesters “were like a mob, using blow horns at 2 a.m.” The composition of the meeting, Zionists and rich neighbors of Adam Smith, showed this ordinance was dreamt up by a small group of people in power using their connections to weaponize the legal processes. The ordinance is in direct response to the targeted protests against Adam Smith, and he has called in his Zionist friends and the city council to construct another barrier between the people in power and those impacted by their decisions.

The city attorney spoke to the council and explained to them how the ordinance was drafted and the legal rationale for its implementation. The city manager and the city attorney were asked to come up with this ordinance to criminalize free speech on behalf of “those affected.”

After the comment period, the Zionists and their allies left the meeting, not staying the extra two hours until the study session and the subsequent vote on the issue. Activists against the ordinance stayed until the very end, when the council read out the reasons why they were voting to shut down people’s democratic right to protest.

One council member, Lynne Robinson, said, without providing detail, “I have been the target of harassment and know how scary it can be.” It goes without saying that even before this ordinance passed, targeted harassment, stalking, and death threats were all already illegal. Another council member, Claire Sumadiwirya, said, “This is such a hard decision, but I have to protect my family,” even though they had not been the target of any such protests. Both voted in favor of the ordinance.

The ordinance will go into effect in one month.

Activists were not surprised by the result, as city council meetings are notoriously opaque. The real decisions are often made behind closed doors, with public comment being performative at best. Nevertheless, activists left in high spirits, because these attacks only show how weak and afraid those in power really are in the face of the power of the people.

Protests at Smith’s home will continue, bigger and louder than before, until the ordinance takes effect in June. Seattle Against War will also be exploring every avenue to challenge this new roadblock.

#BellevueWA #WA #SeattleAgainstWar #PeoplesStruggles #AntiWarMovement

San Jose, CA – On May 15, over 50 people in downtown San Jose to commemorate the 78th year since Al Nakba, “The Catastrophe,” where 750,000 Palestinians were violently displaced by Zionist forces for the establishment of the apartheid state of Israel.

Chants included, “Free, free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” Protesters held signs reading, “We will not be complicit, San Jose divest from genocide” and “Silicon Valley has blood on their hands.”

Haddy Barghouti of Students for Justice in Palestine at San Jose State University spoke to the crowd about the fearful existence that he and his family endured in Palestine. He implored the crowd, “We cannot stay silent. We have to continue using our voices, telling our stories and speaking for the [Palestinian] people who are living in fear every day.”

Dyon Capote of Silicon Valley Democratic Socialists of America addressed the crowd, “Nakba Day should not just be a commemoration but also an acknowledgment of the tribulations the Palestinians have endured but they have never given up their dreams of a free Palestine and neither should we!”

Dina Saba, president of Democrats for Palestinian Rights, highlighted the billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars sent to uphold Israel, saying, “78 years of our hard-earned money funding Israel’s atrocities!”

Jack McCann from San Jose Against War commended the brave Palestinian resistance and emphasized that the struggle is local as well, saying, “It is our duty here, in the belly of the beast, to honor their sacrifice, to join in the BDS movement and to fight for a free Palestine!”

McCann continued, “This is why San Jose Against War is waging a struggle at city council, demanding an end to complicity in the crimes of the genocidal Zionist entity. Until we succeed, there is blood on our hands, especially council members who recently voted not to divest from Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon: George Casey, Michael Mulcahey, David Cohen, and Anthony Tordillos. Shame!”

Drusie Kazanova of FRSO San Jose said, “The people of Palestine and their allies have not given up in their fight for national liberation, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization stands with them!”

Kazanova continued drawing the connection between the working and oppressed people in the U.S. and the oppressed people of Palestine, saying, “[We] share the same enemy: the U.S. imperialists. The FRSO is committed to the call for an independent Palestine. We are marching today and we will march every Nakba Day until Palestine is finally free!”

Salem Ajlouni, board member of Human Agenda, stated, “A free Palestine is part of the struggle for a just U.S.”

Fadi Saba, a Palestinian-American teacher, stated, “Gaza and Palestine is the moral compass of the world. It is ‘Free Palestine’ until Palestine is free.”

The protest began at the Dr. MLK Jr. library and marched through the streets of downtown to a busy pedestrian corridor, San Pedro Square, to chant loudly and continue the program before marching back to the library.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #SJAW #Palestine

Salt Lake City, UT- On May 16, 50 people gathered across from the North Guadalupe Trax station in Salt Lake City to commemorate Nakba Day in solidarity with the Palestinian people, along with other cities in the National Anti-War Action Network.

The protest brought many different groups together, including the 71% Coalition, Armed Queers SLC, the Utah Anti-War Committee, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Carson Bybee, a member of the UAWC condemned the Stratos Project, a planned military data center, and the Raytheon facility in Salt Lake County, saying, “We refuse to let our communities become yet another fist for imperialist genocide.”

Mustafa Khader, a veteran Palestinian activist and member of the 71% Coalition said, “The answer for humanity is to stop these activities while they are happening,” and “The insistence of the Palestinians in keeping their cause alive is the most powerful statement to humanity.”

Throughout the protest, the crowd chanted, “We don’t want two states, we want 1948!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” Cars of the many commuters traveling to the popular Kilby Bloc Party music festival honked in support of the protest.

Adrian Romero, a member of the UAWC told the crowd, “Utah Anti-War Committee stands in absolute solidarity with fellow anti-war activist, Rick Toledo, who was targeted for doing exactly what we are doing right now: taking a stand against U.S.-backed terrorism.”

Sebastian Miscenich, a member of the FRSO, said, “We are not afraid to support the Palestinian fight against genocide, their fight against racism. Zionists have no right to oppress Palestinians. The Palestinians have every right to rebel. FRSO is an organization that stands unapologetically with every action the Palestinians take as they fight for national liberation.”

#SaltLakeCityUT #UT #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nakba #UAWC #AWAN

New York, NY – Community members joined together at Washington Square Park on Friday, May 16, in remembrance of the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were murdered, maimed and permanently displaced from their homes, by Israel.

The rally kicked off under the Washington Square Arch with chants of “Zionism has got to go” and “Israel bombs, USA pays.” Shortly after the afternoon Asr prayer, the roughly 500 attendees began a march through Manhattan, uniting around slogans like “From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!”

The rally and march were organized by New York-based Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, with contingents led by groups like the Muslim American Society and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Also in attendance were members from Brooklyn Against War, Al-Awda, and the New York Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, as well as a contingent of Orthodox Jewish protesters led by Rabbi Dovid Feldman.

Together, attendees helped unfurl a massive Palestinian flag, which they carried through the streets of Manhattan for several hours until the Maghrib sunset prayer at Times Square, where the march ended.

Before the march, Within Our Lifetime cofounder Nerdeen Kiswani told the crowd that “the state of Israel and Zionism must be abolished.”

“I do not and will never recognize Israel's so-called right to exist,” Kiswani continued. “It has no right to exist.”

Shivani Ishwar, member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, concurred. “We acknowledge the 78 years the Palestinians have been oppressed, and unable to return to their homes,” Ishwar said. “We support a full right to return, we support the cause of a liberated Palestine free from Israeli settlers, free from genocide, and free from repression.”

#NewYorkNY #NY #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nakba

St. Paul, MN – On Tuesday, May 12, protesters once again attended the St. Paul Board of Water Commissioners meeting to demand an end to the city’s contract with Israeli cybersecurity company Waterfall Security Solutions.

This action was organized by Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).

After months of the board attempting to limit public access, activists were able to make their presence felt at this meeting. Holding signs reading, “Waterfall: No blood in our water” and “Palestinians need water too,” they disrupted the meeting by intermittently shouting chants such as “No more money for genocide!” and “Free, free Palestine!”

Eventually, amid echoes of “Waterfall has got to go,” the board cut the meeting short and exited the room.

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #WAMM

Dallas, TX – Outside Dallas College’s Board of Trustees monthly meeting, May 12, DFW Anti-War Committee activists and supporters gathered to demand an end to Dallas College’s partnership with Paligen, the bomb factory located in Garland, Texas. DAWC’s petition demanding an end to this partnership is now over 450 signatories.

In the hour before the protest, Dallas College police surrounded the front of Dallas College administrative office with nine squad cars. They put up “Do not cross” tape in the area and barricaded the streets on either side of the building.

Jo Hargis of DFW Anti-War Committee observed, “It seems like a waste of money for Dallas College to pay all these police to close the street down to one lane instead of answering our emails, but it sure is making people slow down and look at our signs about Dallas College’s partnership with the war machine.”

During the protest, several people pulled over to ask about the protest and how to get involved.

Through the FAME program, Dallas College sends its students into the Paligen factory. This factory is the sole manufacturer of the shells for the MK-80 series bombs, which are the majority of bombs used by Israel to commit genocide in Palestine and to bomb Iran. In March, the U.S. State Department approved a sale of over $400 million more of these bomb bodies to Israel, naming the factory in Garland as the sole supplier of these weapons.

“The factory that builds the bombs used by the U.S. and its allies is right here in North Texas, and our educational system is normalizing their operations and endangering our students. Shame on Paul Mayer, and on Dallas College!” said Kai Leslie of DFW Anti-War Committee. Paul Mayer is the president of the Board of Trustees for Dallas College.

After a coordinated call and email campaign, or “phone zap”, organizers from DFW Anti-War Committee were able to meet with one of the school districts involved in the FAME program. At the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Angel Rivera confirmed that students from Mesquite ISD would not work in this factory.

Dallas College leadership has not responded to any of DAWC’s requests to discuss their partnership with FAME. DAWC organizers plan to return to the next Dallas College board meeting and to continue their pressure campaign until Paligen is dropped from all educational partnerships.

The next board meeting protest will be June 2, at 4 p.m. across the street from 1601 Botham Jean Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75215.

#DallasTX #TX #AntiWarMovement

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the FRSO Salt Lake City District.

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization has been reestablished in Utah, emerging stronger with two vibrant new districts.

The rebirth of our district in Salt Lake City was catalyzed by a renewed engagement in the anti-imperialist struggle. The spark came after we participated in the Utah Anti-War Committee's letter-writing campaign in support of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is currently unlawfully being held as a hostage in U.S. prison. This act of solidarity reinvigorated our revolutionary organization in Utah and coincided with the commencement of Freedom Road organizing in Orem, 40 miles south of Salt Lake.

Today, our districts now strive to be beacons of progress and revolutionary drive in Utah, having summed up the many successes of the past and made concrete plans to address challenges. New cadres recruited from the mass movements are fighting to win a deeper fusion with Utah’s working and oppressed people.

Our renewed district in Salt Lake City collaborates with a variety of progressive forces, including Armed Queers of Salt Lake City, the Utah Workers Center, Healthcare Workers for Palestine, and Utahns for Peace and Justice in the Holy Land. In Orem, our new comrades support powerful partnerships with Students for a Democratic Society at Utah Valley University, alongside the Whistle Committee and the Civil Disobedience Club, bringing Freedom Road to the heart of Utah County for the first time.

Since January 2026, our district membership has quadrupled in size, a surge that speaks to the hunger for genuine revolutionary struggle in Utah. Our recent activities have focused on the anti-war movement, providing support to the UAWC’s actions against U.S. aggression in Iran, Cuba, Lebanon, Venezuela, and Palestine. Our district celebrated International Women's Day with a massive rally at the state Capitol alongside MMIR Utah and UAWC, which we followed by a well-attended May Day panel that drew dozens of Utahns eager for change and for an end to ICE terror in their community.

Our district welcomes all revolutionaries in the Salt Lake area looking for a community of organizers where they can serve the people's movements, rebuild the communist party and study Marxism-Leninism. A new generation of cadres has taken up the call to land blows on the monopoly capitalist class.

The message from Utah is clear: opposing forces failed to break us. Instead, these experiences only served to forge a harder, more disciplined, and more dedicated organization. In Utah, FRSO is quickly evolving into a force to be reckoned with, dedicated to the long-term goals of the labor movement, student activism, immigrant rights, LGBTQ liberation, and gender justice, all while building the anti-war movement and laying the groundwork for a socialist society.

The fight carries on.

#SaltLakeCityUT #OremUT #UT #PeoplesStruggles #AntiWarMovement #FRSO

Brooklyn, NY – On the afternoon of May 3, a dozen protesters gathered outside of the Metropolitan Denton Center, to mark the fourth month that President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores have been detained in the federal walls.

Every month, anti-war and international solidarity activists gather in front of the detention center to demand the freedom of Maduro and Flores.

Barbara Fagundes of Brooklyn Against War asked, “President Maduro, can you hear us?” as reports say that the imprisoned Venezuelan dignitaries have heard the chants in the past months. Fagundes continued, “The operation cost American taxpayers billions of dollars, involving airstrikes and extraction, shocking the world, raising questions about sovereignty, justice and power.”

This month, two important figures spoke, Charles and Inez Barron, two former New York governmental figures and longtime civil rights activists. Each of their speeches highlighted the injustice of imprisoning Maduro and Flores, and they echoed the demands to see them free.

Protest organizers are awaiting news about the next hearing, which will be held in the next 60 days. They are committed to showing up and demanding freedom for Maduro and Flores!

#BrooklynNY #NY #AntiWarMovement #International #Venezuela #BAW

Brooklyn Center, MN – On April 29, a career fair organized by Hennepin County at the quiet Brookdale Library became the scene of a successful action against the presence of U.S. military recruiters in communities. Roughly a dozen activists from the MN Anti-War Committee and the anti-war veterans’ organization About Face disrupted the fair with the demand that recruiters for both the U.S Army and the Minnesota Army National Guard leave immediately. 

Protesters began by inconspicuously entering the fair before unfurling a banner reading “Recruiters out – stop the war” and taking the floor to speak and chant against the military personnel present, refusing to leave until the recruiters did.

“We’re protesting the presence of U.S military recruiters at this career fair,” said AWC member Wyatt Miller. “These people are preying on our communities. They are preying on people’s basic needs like employment and healthcare and education.”

Miller continued, “U.S. massacres in Iran are launched from the same bases where the U.S. military staged its many wars and occupations in neighboring Iraq that killed hundreds of thousands. Most people want the U.S. military presence in the Middle East to end once and for all.”

The recruiters simply packed up and left within minutes of the protest beginning. With further chants of “Recruiters out! Stop the war!” “No justice, no peace!” and “U.S. out of the Middle East,” protesters followed them to the parking lot to ensure they had actually left before dispersing. No arrests were made.

In a time of economic hardship, tens of thousands of Americans are looking for work, and the military-industrial complex is happy to prey on those people. Recruiters for the armed forces are a common sight at job fairs across the country. Making sales pitches about travel, education, healthcare and career opportunities, recruiters seek to entice people into a career with the military.

Contrary to the popular view that the National Guard doesn’t deploy outside U.S. borders, at least 250 Minnesota National Guard soldiers, from 58 communities across the state, are currently deployed in the Middle East. Such deployments are not new. The U.S. military’s newspaper Stars and Stripes reported in February 2024 that 550 Minnesota National Guard soldiers were being deployed to the Middle East. That same division, nicknamed the “Red Bulls”, was also deployed in Kuwait in 2018-19, and Iraq in 2009-10. 

As the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran have continued, and a combination of American threats and Israeli aggression in Lebanon have damaged the prospects of a negotiated end to the war, concern has grown about the possibility of U.S. “boots on the ground” in Iran.

 A statement from the MN Anti-War Committee says, “American soldiers have murdered thousands of Iranian civilians, including the hundreds of children killed at the Minab girls’ school on February 28, potentially the largest massacre committed by U.S. forces since the 1968 My Lai massacre during the Vietnam war. U.S. troops have bombed other Iranian civilian infrastructure like hospitals, power plants, bridges and water treatment facilities. These are all war crimes under international law.”

The statement continued, “U.S. military recruiters prey on our communities to make these crimes possible.”

This successful action highlighted the opportunities that are available for activists to target the areas in which the U.S military-industrial complex intrudes upon communities.

#BrooklynCenterMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #MNAWC

North Charleston, SC – Members of the Elbit Out of South Carolina Coalition met with Major Michael Aiken of the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD)’s Office of Professional Standards on April 29, to discuss the disturbing patterns of behavior by off-duty NCPD officers working as paid security at Elbit Systems America’s facility in Ladson, South Carolina. That location is a subsidiary of Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.

For the past year and a half, organizers from the coalition have picketed outside of Elbit’s Ladson facility weekly to bring awareness to its role in manufacturing Howitzer cannons for the Israeli use in the Palestinian genocide.

“Over the course of the past year, we’ve seen Elbit employees act aggressively towards picketers, all while NCPD officers have stood by in their uniforms and cars, fraternizing with Elbit security and doing absolutely nothing to protect community,” said Miranda Xiong, one of the coalition members who attended the meeting. “Elbit employees have hit us with their cars, swerved onto the grass and pavement where we’re standing, and threatened us verbally.”

Throughout the meeting, Mayor Aiken claimed that off-duty NCPD officers have an obligation to protect private citizens, collect reports when crimes occur on scene, and act in an unbiased manner. However, members of the coalition brought up the fact that Elbit pays NCPD officers $60 per hour, a number Aiken himself confirmed during the meeting.

“North Charleston Police Department leadership is lying when they claim there is no conflict of interest between Elbit and NCPD officers,” said Matt Colburn of the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). “It just shows that even when cops are off duty they exist to protect profits of companies like Elbit and not Lowcountry residents.” Colburn was arrested at a picket in front of Elbit in August 2025, but won a not guilty verdict.

During the meeting, coalition member Collin Holloway discussed his experience of being verbally threatened by an Elbit employee and forced to call NCPD’s non-emergency line because the off-duty NCPD officer present refused to file a report.

“The officers that work for Elbit are openly corrupt by pretending not to notice Elbit workers committing crimes, while treating us as criminals,” said Holloway.

Throughout the meeting, Major Aiken repeatedly resorted to explaining the perspectives of NCPD officers and the “potential” security threats that picketers posed. When pressed for more information on what exactly he meant, Aiken cited instances of vandalism and fears that the Elbit facility in Ladson would be “hijacked.”

Coalition member Christopher Newhard expressed his concern that such language is frequently weaponized to demonize organizers and activists within the pro-Palestinian movement.

Xiong added, “It’s clear that NCPD doesn’t see us as equal because if they did, they wouldn’t be trying to gaslight us into thinking that we are somehow the threat here, when Elbit is a multimillion-dollar corporation profiting directly off the Palestinian genocide.”

Another area of conversation surrounded the failure of existing NCPD channels for community feedback, such as CRIMEWATCH. In December 2025, LAC led a conversation with NCPD Chief Ron Camacho and North Charleston Mayor (former Police Chief) Reggie Burgess to discuss community control of the police.

Denise Scott, the sister-in-law of Walter Scott, the unarmed 50-year-old African American man shot and killed by an NCPD officer in 2015, was also present at the December meeting. When LAC representatives raised similar concerns related to NCPD officers’ behavior, whether on or off duty, Chief Camacho and other NCPD officers present explicitly urged community members to file complaints about misconduct through the CRIMEWATCH website.

The CRIMEWATCH website was launched haphazardly in response to the recommendations from a 2021 Racial Bias Audit, which determined “community members have not filed complaints even after negative experiences with NCPD personnel, and the complaint process is confusing to most.”

At a NCPD town hall meeting officers the day before the LAC’s December meeting with the mayor and chief, officers prided themselves at having fulfilled 89% of the audit’s recommendations. Yet, since the December meeting, coalition members have submitted at least five complaints concerning officers’ behavior at Elbit, four through CRIMEWATCH and one over the phone.

Major Aiken admitted that he had not seen anything regarding these complaints and that they must have “fallen through the cracks” via technical difficulties because CRIMEWATCH was supposedly a “new” system.

The Racial Bias Audit recommended NCPD revise the complaint process to make it more accessible and ensure residents are updated on the status of their complaints and involve community members in the complaint review process, among other suggestions made back in 2021, but NCPD only launched the new process days before the December 2025 meeting. “The inability of NCPD to acknowledge the concerns of their community is yet another unfulfilled and false promise to the community by NCPD,” said Xiong.

Erica Veal of LAC and FRSO said these inconsistencies are precisely why they advocate for community control of the police, “Law enforcement has proven they are unwilling or incapable of adhering to protocols and recommendations to keep communities safe and are not committed to transparency and accountability,” Veal said. “We have presented ample evidence of their officers’ unequal enforcement of the law at pickets, we used the channels they insisted we use to document the misconduct and we have been met with excuse after excuse.” She went on to say, “The Racial Bias Audit was not enough. We demand community control of police now!”

#NorthCharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #Elbit #EOSC

Minneapolis, MN – On April 25 Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) and the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) hosted a panel on the environmental consequences of U.S. imperialism.

The panel, held on the plaza right outside of May Day Books, took place a week after the People’s Earth Day March, and was an effort to deepen community understanding on the role of U.S. militarism in exacerbating climate change. April 25 was also Independent Bookstore Day so, in addition to the 30 people who attended, there was a steady stream of people who stopped by on their way in and out of the bookstore.

Liz McLister, representing WAMM’s Families Against Military Madness committee, opened the panel, “The United States boasts the largest military in human history, which is also the world’s largest polluter, gobbling up more petroleum than any institution on earth and emitting more greenhouse gases than some countries.”

McLister continued, “According to Brown University's Costs of War, the U.S. military drives the climate crisis in at least four ways. First by burning enormous amounts of fossil fuels. Second, through emissions-intensive military operations and installations. Third, through the destruction of soil, wetlands, forests and other natural areas that would otherwise absorb carbon. And fourth, by decimating civilian infrastructure and thereby leading to carbon-heavy reconstruction.”

Trish Knous, a member of WAMM’s Palestine Solidarity Committee and the CJC, spoke next about how U.S. imperialism has destroyed the environment in Palestine. “Today it [Gaza] is an area of flat, hard packed land and crushed cement. It is one of many villages, towns, and cities that no longer can support people's lives. When buildings are destroyed, wiring, insulation and asbestos release toxins into the air, land and water. Some of the bombs used penetrate the ground before exploding and release heavy metals such as uranium, lead and arsenic. Some of these metals decay slowly and will affect the composition of the soil and water for decades.”

The panel was closed out by Rebecca Scott from the CJC, who spoke about the environmental devastation from the current U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, “There were 14 million tons of carbon dioxide released in just the first 14 days alone.” She addressed “black rain,” the 14,000 buildings that have been demolished, and the impact of the U.S. bombing Iran’s oil infrastructure.

Panelists encouraged the attendees to protest against U.S. wars and to get involved.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Environment #WAMM #CJC

New Students for a Democratic Society at UIC decided to hold this film screening as this April marks 24 years since this U.S.-backed attempted coup and the current U.S. attacks on Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro.

The film showed how Hugo Chávez rose to power by fighting and providing an alternative to neoliberalism, making him popular among the poor and hated by the rich. One of Chávez’s most important issues was using the profits from Venezuela’s abundant oil for social programs to benefit all Venezuelans, instead of simply lining the pockets of the wealthiest.

One key aspect of the film was showing how corporate media in Venezuela slandered and spread lies about Hugo Chávez and the movement he led. This happened throughout the entirety of his political life but culminated during the attempted coup when opposition TV media accused Chavistas of firing on crowds of opposition protesters. However, Barley and O’Briain exposed the holes in this narrative by showing that the channels spreading this narrative purposefully didn’t show the full picture in their video clips and showed how opposition leaders admitted to orchestrating a media plan to overthrow the democratically elected President Hugo Chávez.

In the discussion led by New SDS members Dani Espinoza and Victor Silva, students talked about the events of the film in relation to the current day and issues of corporate media bias against popular movements, the history of U.S. foreign involvement, struggles against neoliberalism around the world and more.

In the discussion, Sathvika Gowda from New SDS explained, “Venezuela is one of the most oil-rich countries in the world and Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian movement have used this money to benefit the common good, which is why they are so hated by the U.S. oil corporations and U.S. government.”

This sentiment was echoed by others who discussed other instances of U.S. involvement in Latin America motivated by extreme corporate greed and disregard for the people of the continent.

Before ending the event, students expressed the importance of standing against U.S. attacks and involvement in foreign countries today, and the need for students to stand against the current U.S. intervention in Venezuela and kidnapping of current President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #International #Venezuela #StudentMovement #SDS

“In pursuit of its oft-lapsed deadline to end the armed revolution, the US-Marcos regime has escalated bombings, forced evacuations, torture, and extrajudicial killings targeting peasants, workers, indigenous peoples, youth activists and entire rural communities,” said the NDFP in a statement.

According to the NDFP, many civilians were killed in the Toboso massacre. The group also condemned the Armed Forces of the Philippines for its “utter disregard for international humanitarian law and human rights.”

“The killing of civilians and the conduct of military operations with complete disregard for the principles of distinction, proportionality, and humane treatment reveal the criminal character of the reactionary state’s counterinsurgency campaign,” the statement added.

The NDFP further reiterated that “even in the midst of war, there are rules that must be respected” pointing to how the AFP committed violations of the Geneva Conventions in the said massacre in Negros.

The NDFP also blasted the AFP for “dehumanizing the victims and denying them dignity in death.” According to the NDFP, “by reducing the slain to labels and repeating claims that the armed revolutionary movement has been defeated, the regime seeks to justify its war crimes and conceal the political roots of the armed conflict.”

“No matter how the AFP lies to slander the slain martyrs of Toboso, the masses know the truth. They know that those who offered their lives in the struggle to liberate the people from oppression and exploitation are among the best sons and daughters of the motherland,” the NDFP added.

#International #Philippines #AntiWarmovement #NDFP #AFP

The Anti-War Action Network strongly condemns the brutal massacre of 19 individuals by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Toboso, Negros Occidental on April 19th. We extend our deepest solidarity with the communities impacted by these killings and land displacements, including the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines – US for the tragic loss of a beloved organizer, Lyle Prijoles. 

The timing of this massacre – around the annual Balikatan “war games” – is no coincidence. Every year the U.S. and its imperialist proxies, including the Israeli Occupation Forces, descend on the Philippines to practice an invasion of China. During these drills, they unleash the weight of the U.S. military-industrial complex on the lands and waters of farmers, fishers, and Indigenous communities in the Philippines. These “war games” frequently coincide with increased state attacks on the people of the Philippines. 

During this brutal massacre, over 650 residents of surrounding communities were removed from their lands in an ongoing process of land seizures. This attack is a part of a larger pattern of state violence, including years of massacres and displacements, that allows for multinational mining and agriculture corporations to extract the rich natural resources of the Philippines to the detriment of the people. 

The Anti-War Action Network continues to stand alongside the Filipino people, in the Philippines and in diaspora, in the struggle for a just and lasting peace in the Philippines. Justice for the victims of the Toboso Massacre! Defend Negros!

#AntiWarMovement #AWAN #International #Philippines

Chicago, IL – On Tax Day, April 15, a crowd of protesters gathered in Chicago to oppose Google’s complicity in Israel’s genocide and occupation of Palestinians and ICE’s attacks on immigrant communities. Protesters demanded no taxes for war or for ICE, legalization for all, U.S. out of the Middle East, no war with Iran, and the end to U.S. aid to Israel.

Protesters stood in front of Google’s building in the West Loop holding signs and banners reading “Michael Frerichs, stop buying Israel Bonds,” “Like Zionism, apartheid cannot last,” “We need a regime change in DC, not Iran or Venezuela” and “End CPD and ICE collaboration.” While speakers rallied the crowd, others gathered petition signatures from the passersby to demand Illinois divest its public funds from Israel.

“Google has been complicit in genocide in the Gaza Strip and in Palestine. Google’s Nimbus project provides the Israeli military with AI technology and cloud computing services to help the Israeli military choose targets and bomb them in the genocide that has killed over 70,000 people directly and thousands more indirectly,” said Husam Marajda with USPCN.

“We demand that Google immediately stop all business with the Israeli military and the federal government that is committing mass violence here in the U.S. through ICE, but is also committing war crimes in Iran.”

Maya Sánchez with IRWC described Google’s role in the kidnapping of our immigrant neighbors, stating, “Google is not some neutral tech company, it is an active participant in systems of oppression. Google holds contracts with the U.S. government including DHS [Department of Homeland Security] and ICE.”

She continued, drawing the connection between U.S. and Israeli aggression towards Palestine and attacks on immigrant communities in the U.S.: “What happens in Palestine and Iran is not separate from our struggles with ICE here at home. The same systems of surveillance and control abroad are used here in the states. Spyware and other technologies developed for the military are used for policing and immigration enforcement. The IOF uses Palestine and other parts of the Middle East as a testing ground for surveillance and violent technology in America.”

Caeli Kean with AWC called for ongoing mass protests in response to these injustices, shouting, “We are not helpless, because we have the numbers, and we can unite and fight back. The observable truth is that millions of people across the country are standing with immigrant communities against ICE and across the world, billions of people are standing with Palestine, with Venezuela, with Cuba, and other oppressed nations and people!”

The action ended with protesters chanting, “Money for jobs and education! Not for war and occupation! Google, Google, it is time! We charge you with genocide!”

The rally was organized by Anti-War Committee – Chicago (AWC), US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), and the Immigrants Rights Working Committee (IRWC) – a committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

To hear about future actions opposing imperialist wars and attacks on immigrant communities follow @antiwarchicago, @uspcn, @caarprnow on social media.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #AWCChicago #USPCN #CAARPR