Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

AntiwarMovement

By Mathieu Chabaud

A crowd of people sits in chairs. People hold large banners in the front and back rows.

Seattle, WA – On March 12, around 50 students and workers gathered to confront the University of Washington Board of Regents and demand no ICE on campus, divestment from Israel, and the protection of transgender students. The board had cancelled its original full meeting but kept a scheduled committee meeting at the same time, which included a vote on divestment from Israel.

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The Popular Front condemns the brutal American aggression against Yemen and emphasizes that Yemen will remain a thorn in the eye of the aggressors.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine strongly condemns the extensive American aggression against Yemen and stresses that this crime is an extension of the war crimes and genocide that imperialism and Zionism have committed against the Arab people.

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By staff

Two people sitting at a table, with one speaking into a microphone.

Minneapolis, MN – On March 15 the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) hosted a panel at the New City Center about U.S.-China relations and where President Donald Trump likely intends to take them. The event featured speakers from MPAC, Asians 4 Palestine, Nodutdal and Minnesota Workers United.

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By Chrisley Carpio

Minneapolis, MN – A second Palestinian student protester at Columbia University, Leqaa Kordia, has been detained by Department of Homeland Security agents. She is an international student on a student visa and comes from the Palestinian West Bank.

Similar to Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian student detained last week despite having a permanent legal status, she played a role in the pro-Palestine student protests at Columbia, including the Hind's Hall building occupation.

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By staff

Tampa students demand freedom for Mahmoud Khalil.

Tampa, FL – On March 12, Tampa Bay’s Students for a Democratic Society led a protest to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, who is under the threat of deportation as the U.S. pushes to revoke his green card.

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Texas protest against weapon maker Lockheed Martin.

Grand Prairie, TX – Members of the DFW Anti-War Committee on did a banner drop March 1 in front of the local Lockheed Martin Fire and Missile Control Center to protest against Lockheed’s annual coding competition, Code Quest.

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By Tony O'Hegarty

A group of protesters hold signs outside of Corewell Health calling for divestment from Israel

Grand Rapids, MI – On March 5, outside of Corewell Health, the largest employer in Grand Rapids, 30 people rallied outside of the healthcare giant demanding their immediate divestment from Israeli companies and bonds.

Early this month, Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids launched its “Corewell Health Divest!” campaign in response to the horrific destruction of Palestine’s healthcare system and the company’s connection to the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator – a nonprofit which proudly states itself to be “the only landing zone in the U.S. dedicated to supporting the growth of Israeli companies” and having “hosted 100+ Israeli companies in Michigan.”

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By staff

A group of people, some standing and some kneeling, in front of a building. They are holding signs that read, 'DIVEST'. One person holds a Palestinean flag.

San Jose, CA – During this week’s city council meeting, March 11, dozens of community members made public comments to demand that the city divest over $50 million from corporations with direct ties to Israel's genocide against Palestine.

Drusie Kazanova, a member of San Jose Against War, stated, “It is clear that the diverse and multicultural community of San Jose refuses to be complicit in genocide,” citing a divestment petition with over 1500 signatures, and endorsements from over 50 local businesses and community organizations. “I call on you to exercise your leadership and stand with your constituents by divesting all city funds from Israel's genocide against Palestine,” said Kazanova.

Philip Nguyen, a SEIU 521 steward, stated, “Divestment was effective in helping stop apartheid in South Africa, and it will be effective now.” San Jose adopted its “South Africa-free investment policy” in 1985 after a protracted struggle for divestment from apartheid, setting a clear precedent for today's divestment demand.

Uriel Magdaleno, a community organizer with Silicon Valley Immigration Committee, asked, “What is preventing the city council from divesting from genocide? We should focus more on prioritizing what benefits our entire community. I want to commend the city council for recently passing a resolution to reaffirm the city’s status as a sanctuary city. We also further funded the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network,” referring to a local network that mobilizes when ICE activity is reported in the region.

“We need to prioritize expanding capacity of free legal services here for our immigrant community,” continued Magdaleno.

Public comment sparked further discussion from the city council. Councilmember Peter Ortiz, representing San Jose’s District 5, called on Maria Öberg, the city’s finance director, to speak on the city's current policy on social responsibility as it relates to investment and contracting. Öberg noted that the current investment policy has a social responsibility clause, meaning “if [the city] evaluates two investments that have the same generic terms and interest rates, we would favor buying a green bond for example.” Ortiz then asked Öberg to investigate any concerns in regards to entities that the city is invested in.

Councilmember Ortiz finished by thanking the community members for speaking, saying, “Thank you people for coming, I think it’s timely to have this conversation – not just on this issue, there's a lot of things corporations are doing right now that are impacting our community. For example, a lot of these companies are investing in measures to come after our immigrant population, in the east side – a conversation is warranted. Thank you so much.”

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement

By staff

NYC students demand freedom for Mahmoud Khalil.

New York, NY – On March 11, over 1000 students from universities throughout the city rallied at Washington Square Park to protest the detention by ICE of Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate and Palestinian student activist.

On March 8, Columbia University allowed ICE agents to come onto campus to detain Mahmoud Khalil. Despite being a permanent lawful resident of the country due to his green card, he is being threatened with deportation from the country in response to his activism against Israel’s genocide of his own people.

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By Jacob Muldoon

International Women's Day marked in Orlando, Florida.

Orlando, FL – On March 8, the Orlando district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) held a spoken word and trivia fundraiser to commemorate International Women’s Day and gather the Orlando community in the face of recent attacks on women. The slogans raised at the event were “Defend Women’s and Reproductive Rights,” “Stand with the Women of Palestine” and “Stop the Deportations! Keep Families Together.”

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By Meredith Aby

A group of protesters holding Palestinian flags and signs.

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

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

On Saturday, March 8, Department of Homeland Security and ICE agents seized and detained a prominent Palestinian student leader at Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil, despite his immigration status as a legal permanent resident. There are no grounds for the arrest, except that Khalil stood up for Palestine during the spring 2024 Columbia encampment for Gaza. Khalil is being illegally detained in the 2nd District in Louisiana.

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By staff

Minnesotans demand divestment from apartheid Israel.

Minneapolis, MN — On Saturday, March 1, more than 60 Twin Cities community members gathered to attend a “State Board of Divestment” speak-out event hosted by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee in a Minneapolis community center.

Minnesota’s State Board of Investment (SBI), a large public fund managed by state officials Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, State Auditor Julie Blaha, and Secretary of State Steve Simon. It currently invests approximately $5.4 billion in apartheid Israel, Israeli companies, weapons manufacturers that sell to Israel’s military, and other companies that prop up Israel’s apartheid system.

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from by UMN SDS.

On the second day of the Halimy Hall suspension hearings there were three big takeaways.

Witnesses inside Halimy hall state they would like to see Halimy hall arrestees participate in restorative justice. When asked about restorative justice for the students, witnesses from inside Halimy Hall said they would be interested in seeing the students have a restorative justice option as opposed to further punitive punishment. This contrasts the university's multiple denials of a restorative justice proposal by the legal team, in which they claim restorative justice is exclusively used for academic cases, refusing to consider the social and historical context behind this case and firmly placing it among cases of sexual misconduct in how it can be handled.

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By staff

New York, NY – About 200 people gathered in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza on the beautiful Saturday afternoon, March 1, to protest the U.S./Republic of Korea (ROK) Freedom Shield exercises in Korea. Nodutdol organized the action, and it was part of a day of action where protests took place in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle to demand an end to U.S. militarization and escalation towards war.

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By Douglas Lawson

Seattle protest slams Trump's Gaza claims.

Seattle, WA – On Monday, February 17, members of Seattle Against War, University of Washington Students for a Democratic Society, and Resist US-Led War, with support from Raging Grannies, held a rally at Othello Light Rail Station to protest Trump's plan to occupy Gaza. The protest was called by Seattle Against War as an emergency action. After Trump's comments claiming the U.S. has authority to occupy Gaza, local organizations rallied to show Seattle that they will not sit by and watch Trump's plan unfold.

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By Yossi Aharoni

Speakers on the panel titled “The Growing Divestment from Genocide Movement.”

St. Paul, MN – On February 15, Anti War Action Network (AWAN) held its founding conference at the Wilder Foundation building in the heart of Saint Paul, Minnesota. AWAN is a nationwide, grassroots, volunteer-based organization comprised of anti-war, student and Palestine solidarity groups and activists from across the U.S. – many of whom participated in national days of action during the upsurge in Palestine solidarity to stop the U.S./Israel genocide in Gaza.

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By Cole Dunahugh

Portland, Oregon rally against Trump Palestine policies.

Portland, OR – On Sunday afternoon, February 16, pro-Palestine group Portland for Palestine held a rally outside the Pioneer Courthouse in downtown Portland. The rally’s goal was to “Tell Trump that Gaza is not for sale,” referencing his threats since February 4 to have the United States buy Gaza, occupy it, then ethnically cleanse it of all Palestinians.

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By staff

Carson Cruse.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Liberate and Unite New Orleans Students for a Democratic Society.

On February 17th, Loyola student and SDS member Carson Cruse was informed by the university that his suspension appeal was denied and he has been suspended from the university effective immediately until May 10, 2025. Carson initially received his suspension on December 13th, 2024, for enacting his right to free speech by calling out Sharonda Williams, the General Counsel of Loyola and Port of New Orleans board member for her being complicit in genocide, supporting genocide, and punishing anti-genocide protestors.

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By staff

Hakm Murad, an organizer with Palestinian Youth Movement, speaks to protestors in front of the Hale Boggs Federal Building.

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, February 15, dozens of community members held an emergency rally in front of the Federal Building downtown to protest against Trump’s plans to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip.

After Trump’s demands that Palestinians relocate to the neighboring countries of Egypt and Jordan, organizations joined together demanding that the U.S. respect Palestinian sovereignty.

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