Grand Rapids, MI – Hundreds gathered in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan on October 15 in the afternoon to support the Palestinian resistance against Israeli apartheid. They joined a worldwide solidarity movement in response to the Israeli government's retaliation against the Palestinian resistance launch of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
Minneapolis, MN – Dozens of activists, students and community members packed Mayday Books on February 2 for an informational panel on the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and how it relates to Minnesota’s State Board of Investments (SBI). BDS is an international movement started by a coalition of Palestinian civil societies to put pressure on Israel to end apartheid and the occupation of Palestine. The panel focused attention on the SBI’s involvement in the funding of atrocities against Palestine and its people and the ways in which the masses abroad can engage in meaningful boycotts.
Saint Paul, MN – On August 23, more than 40 protesters gathered outside the governor’s mansion, home to Governor Tim Walz, to demand Minnesota’s State Board of Investment (SBI) sell off its shares in Israeli corporations. The SBI is tasked with investing taxpayer money for public funds, largely state pensions.
St. Paul, MN – “In 2017, the Trump administration awarded Elbit a contract to work on the expansion of the Mexico border wall. Elbit System’s CEO has said that the company’s current growth can be attributed to increased U.S. border spending,” said Sarah Martin of Women Against Military Madness. “This last decade has seen the international community divesting from Elbit, including the Norwegian State Pension Fund, Danske Bank. Governor Walz, we Minnesotans refuse to continue to profit from pain, injustice and tragedy at the hands of Elbit. We want you to do what Norway and Denmark did. Divest now!”
Minneapolis, MN – Yisrael Katz, the Israeli politician who wants to name a future Jerusalem train station after President Trump, is well known for a past statement calling for the “civil targeted killings “of activists who advocate for boycotting, sanctions and divestment from the apartheid state of Israel.
Florida bill would punish companies boycotting Israeli occupation
Tallahassee, FL – On the morning of Feb. 4, a group of Florida State students and community activists attended the Florida House State Affairs Committee to speak out against proposed House Bill 527. The bill, sponsored by Florida Representative Ritch Workman of Melbourne, would penalize companies for participating in the growing movement to boycott, divest and sanction (BDS) the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Tampa, FL – The University of South Florida (USF) student government passed a resolution to divest from Israel Jan. 19. The vote was 32 to 12, with 5 abstentions. Palestine solidarity activists packed the chamber in the Marshall Student Center at USF to support the resolution, which includes divestment from corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid.
Fight Back! caught up with University of Florida Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organizer Farah Khan after a militant demo against Michael Oren former U.S. Ambassador to Israel.