New Orleans, LA — About 50 students and community members rallied on Wednesday, April 15, in protest outside an event hosting two Israeli Defense Forces reservists. The event was called “Triggered: From Combat to Campus,” and was hosted on Tulane University’s main campus by Students Supporting Israel.

“I still remember that when Students for a Democratic Society demanded that Tulane end its overwhelming support for Israel, Tulane threw the book at those students,” said Silas Gillett of Student for a Democratic Society (SDS).

Gillett continued, “They suspended them, they kicked them out of their housing. Now they have the gall to bring these evil IDF war criminals on campus instead of their own students!”

The protest was organized by Together United Louisiana (TUL) SDS with support from over a dozen other student and community organizations to demand an end to Tulane’s support for Israel. At the event inside, IDF reservists Yossi Hertz and Lior Biran tried to defend Israel, but they could not speak without hearing the chants of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “Lock them up” from the rally outside.

While organizers decried the genocide of Palestinians and the IDF’s attacks on Iran and Lebanon, a small group of students waved an Israeli flag at the protest. Sruly Heller, speaking for New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports, addressed them, saying, “You absolutely desecrate the memories of our ancestors when you hold up your Zionist flags like that. My Bubbe has no cousins, and they didn’t die for your Zionist bullshit. Shame on you!”

Addressing the crowd on behalf of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Leila Abu-Orf said, “I’ve watched my family home, my birthright, the one that we built after we were kicked out of our ancestral village of Isdud, now Ashdod, be burnt to rubble.” Abu-Orf continued to address the soldiers directly, firing up the crowd, “You are a band of cowards who use an AI-powered program to track your targets for drones while you shit yourself from the comfort of your armored tank out of fear of the flip-flopped freedom fighter approaching you!”

#NewOrleansLA #LA #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement #IDF #NOSHIP #Tulane #SDS

New Orleans, LA – On the night of Monday, November 3, 60 Tulane students and community members gathered for a noise demonstration to protest the first stop of a national “Combat on Campus Tour” of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. The IDF event was hosted by Tulane Students Supporting Israel (SSI) at the Chabad Center of Louisiana near Tulane University’s campus.

Protesters, called together by Together United Louisiana Students for a Democratic Society (TUL SDS), banged pots, pans and drums to disrupt the two IDF soldiers who came to share “their firsthand stories from October 7 and the war that followed.”

The event was originally scheduled to take place on Tulane’s campus, but the university cancelled it. SSI opted to host the event just off campus at Chabad of Louisiana on Freret Street. Tulane SSI required patrons of the event to RSVP and only allowed entry to “approved” registrants. Two people remained at the door for the event, locking it between each guest who entered the building.

Protesters raised their voices and their drums to call for “IDF off campus now!” and “No justice! No Peace! No IDF on NOLA’s streets!”

Passersby honked and shouted in support of the demonstration as students attending SSI’s event carried Israeli flags and shouted at the crowd.

About 30 minutes after the event began, Tulane University Police Department (TUPD) arrived at the scene. Officers attempted to arrest SDS member Rory Macdonald and called for them by name in the crowd. At least 15 officers geared up and attempted to break up the crowd while protesters chanted, “TUPD, KKK, IDF, they’re all the same!”

Community members fought back against the shameless attempts to break up the protest, forming a line to separate people from police. Officers responded by shoving crowd members and shouting about arrests. Many protesters were injured, punched and hurt by officers with no clear orders or charges announced against them.

“I was punched in the face three times by TUPD officers, just for asking why Rory was being targeted,” said Blu Dimarco of the Queer Trans Community Action Project.

Navya Prakash, an SDS member, was shocked by the police escalation, stating, “It was completely out of the blue. They didn’t even give the crowd time to disperse or have any charges to name before they started attempting to arrest protesters. A lot of us were injured because the cops were punching us.”

Officers moved back as protesters shouted, “Shame on you!” Organizers insisted the action was completely legal, on a public sidewalk, and the officers had no grounds for arrest.

After fighting off police attacks, the crowd slowly began to disperse. Police followed them to nearby cross streets and blocked access to Freret Street for over 30 minutes. However, the action succeeded in resisting unlawful arrests and getting everyone safely home.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #IDF #StudentMovement #SDS #Feature

Los Angeles, CA – On Tuesday, July 2, protesters congregated outside and within the Los Angeles City Hall to disrupt the city council’s motion to provide $1 million to Zionist security forces.

Introduced by Council Members Katy Yaroslavsky (Council District 5) and Bob Blumenfield (CD-3), the proposed funding follows attacks by Zionists on Palestine solidarity activists. However, the successful mobilization of anti-Zionist forces led the city council to delay their vote on the motion.

The city council motion came up as a response to the Palestinian Youth Movement’s protest of a “real estate event” held on June 24 by My Home in Israel. That company markets Israeli settlements to American Jews. Like their attack on the UCLA Gaza solidarity encampments, Zionist counter-protesters came to the protest in West LA and initiated clashes with pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

National and local politicians willfully ignored this context, focusing on the location of the real estate event – the Adas Torah synagogue – in order to smear Palestine solidarity activists as “antisemitic.”

President Biden’s X account published, “Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American. Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship – and engaging in violence – is never acceptable.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called upon LAPD to further patrol the neighborhood, vowed to secure funding for security, and described the protest as “Antisemitism in the heart of one of our Jewish communities.”

On June 26, Council Members Yaroslavsky and Blumenfields’ response to the clashes was the introduction of a motion to allocate $1 million to support the Jewish Federation, Magen Am, the Jewish Community Foundation, and/or additional organizations in order to increase “community security services, training, and grants” for the “Jewish communities of Los Angeles.” The proposed recipients of this funding have known links to both the Israel Defense Forces and LAPD as well as a track record of attacking demonstrators at Palestine solidarity actions.

During the press conference outside the city hall and the public comments at the July 2 city council meeting, activists spoke about their experiences of Zionist intimidation and violence at pro-Palestine protests throughout Los Angeles. Speakers also linked the IDF to LAPD through their common training and tactics. They recommended that the city council allocate these funds for affordable housing, green spaces, and other social needs in LA.

Luis Sifuentes of Freedom Road Socialist Organization led his speech with the chant, “Viva, viva Palestina.” He said, “Fascists can attack us for demonstrating our solidarity with Palestine with complete impunity. And now they’re trying to get millions, more money, for supposedly security. But it’s not going to stop here. They’re going to keep asking for more.”

While activists’ efforts led to the delay of the city council’s vote, a new proposal will likely expand the recipients to communities of various religious denominations but also increase the funding to $2 million. When the amended motion is up for a vote, the people of Los Angeles will mobilize once again to demonstrate their rejection of Zionism.

#LosAngelesCA #PalestinianYouthMovement #LAPD #IDF

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) strongly condemns the Duterte regime’s having the notorious Israel Defense Forces (IDF) give a specialized training by the Nahal Brigade of the IDF to 175 elite troops of the Philippine Army. This is despicable collaboration with Israeli Zionism, longtime partner of US imperialism, in horrendous acts of aggression against the Palestinian and Arab peoples.

Col. Dan Goldfus, commander of the Nahal Brigade, led a 10-man training team for two weeks at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City. The IDF team gave a two-week training on so-called “anti-terrorism”. The special units included the Special Forces, First Scout Rangers and Light Reaction regiments and troops from the 2nd, 5th, 7th and 9th Infantry Divisions of the Philippine Army.

Philippine Army Chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Macairog honored Nahal Commander Col. Dan Goldfus with a plaque of appreciation.

The IDF’s Nahal Brigade, composed of 4 infantry battalions, has been involved in major wars launched by Israel against the Palestinian people, Lebanon, Syria. and others opposed to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, the Golan Heights, and other areas.

The Nahal Brigade has been part of Israel’s wars over the last 60 years: the Suez War of 1956, The Six-Day War of 1967; the First Lebanon War, 1982-1985; the First Intifada, 8 December 1987 – 13 September 1993; the Second Lebanon War, 34 days in 2006; the Gaza War, 27 December 2008 for 3 weeks; the Gaza War, “Operation Cast Lead”, 27 December 2008 for three weeks; and Operation Protective Edge, July 2014. Numerous casualties among civilians and tremendous damage to homes, health centers, etc. resulted from the Israeli wars.

With such a horrible record of crimes against humanity, the IDF and its Nahal Brigade must be condemned. Especially, the Duterte regime, which is both nationally and internationally denounced for its widespread human rights violations, must also be condemned for taking in the IDF and its Nahal Brigade to play a role in its anti-people, anti-national policies and programs.

Luis G. Jalandoni Chief International Representative

#Philippines #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Asia #PeoplesStruggles #NationalDemocraticFrontOfThePhilippines #RodrigoDuterte #IDF

Minneapolis, MN – Dozens of protesters gathered in front of Folwell Hall at the University of Minnesota, October, 18, to protest Student Supporting Israel’s event that hosted former Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers. The MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) organized the protest

A statement from the AWC explained, “The event titled ‘My Truth: Battlefield Ethics’ is an attempt to glorify and justify war crimes committed against Palestinians. We are protesting today to call attention to the IDF’s policy of targeting Palestinian civilians at the border with snipers, their use of collective punishment, and their arresting and imprisonment of children.”

The speakers, Naftali Gross and Aviad Yisraeli, are both American-born Jews who became Israeli citizens and who served in the IDF. The Facebook event advertised that they would discuss the moral dilemmas of their service of protecting Israel, and that Gross served in Protective Edge and that Yisraeli was involved in military operations in Gaza.

Attendees of the event had to walk through the protest which was at Folwell Hall’s main entrance and next to a busy U of M bus stop. The protesters confronted the speakers about the role of the IDF in Palestine. The former IDF soldiers accused the protesters of being paid to protest the IDF and tried to divide them from the Muslim community by claiming that all Muslims are homophobic.

Kent Mori, a member of the AWC, confronted the speakers as they tried to antagonize the crowd, “We have seen these tactics by Zionists before. They claim that there isn’t a true grassroots movement of support for Palestine and there is. They claim that queers are seen as the enemy by Palestinians and by Muslims in particular. We know that Arab and Muslim people see the IDF as the real enemy.”

Only 20 people attended the IDF event; the protest against the event was seen by hundreds. The protesters left feeling good about challenging Israeli apartheid and the U.S. support of the IDF at the University of Minnesota.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #Palestine #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #AntiWarCommittee #IDF