Minneapolis, MN – On December 20, about 50 people protested in Peavey Plaza outside of Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis to show solidarity with Palestine, despite the 13-degree temperature outside.

The central focus of the protest was to call attention to the fact that there can be no real peace on earth during the holidays while Bethlehem, a Palestinian city in the West Bank and the birthplace of Jesus, along with the rest of Palestine continues to be under attack by Israel. MN Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) holds an annual holiday-themed protest and this year’s protest was organized to be at the plaza in conjunction with the ending of the Minnesota Orchestra’s performance of The Nutcracker.

Andrew Josefchak, an organizer with the MN Anti-War Committee explained, “We’re all out here today because after two years of ongoing genocide in Gaza, Israel has not stopped its massacres. Despite a ceasefire agreement, the bombs keep falling. 379 Palestinians have been killed and almost a thousand injured since that ceasefire went into effect, according to the UN. The same UN that just approved a deal that effectively aims to turn Gaza into a U.S. colony presided over by Donald Trump. Israeli settlers are becoming more and more brazen and violent in the West Bank, destroying homes and farms, while Israeli police raid Bethlehem.”

Josefchak’s speech reflected on the movement’s victories for this year, “The fact is that Israel’s situation, and the fight for Palestinian liberation, have fundamentally been transformed. Never again will Israel be seen by anyone with a brain as the so-called ‘only democracy in the Middle East.’ It will never again even be seen as a normal country. People around the world now are aware of what Israel really is, which is an apartheid state, a Jim Crow state, a state that lives off of the blood of Palestinians who are massacred for their land or exploited for their labor.”

Many families leaving the performance thanked the protesters for being there and gave peace signs as they left Orchestra Hall to go to their cars. The protest also had singing throughout the program led by members of the Ceasefire Choir, which called for Palestinian liberation to the tunes of traditional Christmas carols.

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Milwaukee, WI – On September 25, roughly 100 people gathered to demand an end to the U.S.-funded attacks on Lebanon and Palestine and an arms embargo on Israel. Protesters gathered at City Hall Square as a rally began at around 5 p.m. The rally, led by the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee and cosponsored by ten other local, national, and international organizations, had ten speakers, who connected the resistance in the Middle East to U.S. imperialism and the way it impacts us all.

After the initial gathering and speeches, the group marched and chanted down Kilbourne Avenue to Juneau Park. The target of the protest was the Raytheon board member George Oliver, who lives in a condominium tower across from the park. The march was met with enthusiasm, honks and shouts of “Free Palestine!” by onlookers. The entire event was recorded by WISN 12 News and followed by reporter Erika Finke.

At Juneau Park, the protesters called out George Oliver for his part in the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the terrorist attacks in Lebanon.

“Israel is not targeting military bases or combatants. They are bombing apartments, homes and schools,” said Hayley Thomson, outreach chair for the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee.

Brian Verdin, of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, spoke about the similarities between propaganda against Vietnam and how the media covers the genocide and terrorist attacks by Israel today. The link between state violence at home and U.S. imperialism abroad was further highlighted with a reading of Marcellus Williams’ poem The Perplexing Smiles of the Children of Palestine, only days after his state-ordered death penalty for a crime he did not commit.

Protesters marched back to City Hall while chanting “Free, free Palestine!” and “Hands off Lebanon!” The event wrapped up with a speech by Kayla Patterson, of Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she said: “We will only double down in standing with the Palestinian resistance, the Lebanese resistance, and the Yemeni resistance. Hands off Lebanon!”

The Milwaukee Anti-war Committee will be marching as a member of the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine on October 5, 2 p.m. at Zeidler Union Square, to answer the national call from the Anti-War Action Network to mark one year of genocide, and one year of resistance.

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