Minneapolis, MN – Over 70 people joined an anti-war protest on May 7 to say no to U.S. wars. The action had a particular focus on calling for the U.S. to stop sending weapons and military aid to Ukraine and to stop escalating the conflict.

Wyatt Miller, an organizer with the MN Anti-War Committee, started off the program: “The list of escalatory actions the U.S. and NATO have taken toward Russia is too long to list in its entirety. Biden wants $33 billion more for Ukraine. U.S. and other Western mercenaries are showing up in Ukraine. Weapons are pouring into Ukraine. NATO has doubled its troop presence in Eastern Europe. They’re even talking about deploying NATO troops to non-NATO countries like Sweden to ‘protect’ them. The U.S. is pressuring and sanctioning countries all over the world merely for their non-alignment with either side in the Ukraine conflict. Censorship of independent media is taking place under the auspices of ‘fighting disinformation.’ Nearly everything that the anti-war movement has warned of is coming to pass. Powerful political forces are lobbying for direct NATO involvement in the war in Ukraine.”

Other speakers included Kristin Dooley, the director of Women Against Military Madness, Brad Griffith, a representative of Saint Paul Neighbors for Peace, and Anne Supplee with the MN War Tax Resistance.

The Minneapolis protest was initiated by Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and endorsed by Anti-War Committee, Climate Justice Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Mayday Books, Minnesota War Tax Resistance, Movement for People’s Democracy, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Socialist Action, St. Paul Eastside Neighbors for Peace, Veterans for Peace Chapter 27, Welfare Rights Committee, Women Against Military Madness and more.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Ukraine #MNAntiWarCommittee

Minneapolis, MN – On April 25, over 130 people came to an emergency protest to show outrage over the recent Israeli military attacks on worshipers at Al Aqsa mosque and missile attacks on Gaza during Ramadan. This protest and others in Chicago and DC this week have been organized to show solidarity with Palestine. The rush hour protest started outside of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office, was followed by a march on Washington Avenue, and concluded with prayers.

Mariam El-Khatib, a board member of American Muslims for Palestine Minnesota, was the first speaker. The crowd, which was overwhelmingly Palestinian, Muslim and Arab, was motivated by her words, “Every day is a day closer to this beautiful future in Palestine where we can all go home to our villages that were ethnically cleansed in 1948. Where we invite you to all and will show you the beauty of Palestine. Israel is in a losing battle. And we are one day closer to a free Palestine. Brothers and sisters, everything that you do goes a long way for the cause.”

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee, spoke before the march, “Israel wouldn’t be able to launch this offensive if the U.S. didn’t keep footing the bill. The U.S. funds these ongoing attacks on Palestinians in order to use Israel as the 51st state so that their military can use Israel to control the whole Middle East. By demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel we are taking a stand against the U.S. domination of the region and the world.”

The protest was organized by the MN Anti-War Committee, American Muslims for Palestine-MN, Council on American Islamic Relations-MN and Youth for Palestine. Protesters were encouraged to come out on May 14 for the Anti-War Committee and American Muslims for Palestine’s annual Al Nakba march through the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Gaza #Palestine #MNAntiWarCommittee #alAqsaMosque #MiddleEast

Minneapolis, MN – 40 people marked the anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre on April 9 at 29th and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. April marks the 74th anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre, in the Palestinian village where in 1948 100 men, women and children were systematically murdered by Israeli commandos. Every year Palestinians across the world mark Deir Yassin and demand the right to return to their homeland. The rally featured speakers from Veterans for Peace, Northfielders for Palestine/Israel, Middle East Peace Now, American Muslims for Palestine, and the MN Anti-War Committee.

After the rally protesters marched to the local Deir Yassin memorial on the Midtown Greenway bike and walking trail where activists with Veterans for Peace Chapter 27 did a bell ringing ceremony.

Autumn Lake, a member of the Anti-War Committee, gave a rousing speech to end the protest, “The legacy of the Deir Yassin massacre is one of continued repression and violence against the people of Palestine, backed and funded by the most powerful country in the world. However, there is another legacy that I want to draw attention to. It is a legacy of resistance. The villagers of Deir Yassin put up a valiant resistance to the militias terrorizing their home, and Palestinians to this day mount valiant resistance both in and outside of Palestine.”

Lake concluded, “Likewise, we in the Anti-War Committee and the anti-war movement more broadly, are proud to share in that legacy of resistance. We are going to keep taking the streets. We’re going to keep taking a stand against the U.S.’s continued political and economic support of a devastatingly brutal apartheid state. We’re going to keep resisting and continue to fight for an end to U.S. aid to Israel. The movement will not stop until all of Palestine is free, from the river to the sea!”

The protest was co-sponsored by Veterans for Peace and the MN Anti-War Committee.

#MinneapolisMN #Palestine #VeteransForPeace #deirYassin #MNAntiWarCommittee #AmericanMuslimsForPalestineMinnesotaAMPMN #MiddleEast

Minneapolis, MN – On February 5, 100 protesters gathered at Mayday plaza on the West Bank in Minneapolis to oppose U.S. war with Russia and further intervention in the Ukraine. Protesters held signs that read “No war with Russia,” “Fight COVID not Russia” and “Money for housing, not for war.”

The protest’s program began with a speech from Susan Banaszewski, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee, who focused on the role of U.S. intervention and the role of the media in beating the drums for war, “So U.S. meddling has made everyday life worse for Ukrainians by making sure they have less money in their pockets and fewer social supports, armed the fascist elements in their country, created panic and destabilized the economy with this warmongering. The U.S. has escalated conflict with their neighbors and essentially caused a civil war, in which arms from the U.S. are used against fellow Ukrainians. All this fuels our war machine profits. and the U.S. wants the world's thanks for making the world safer?”

Sarah Martin, a longtime member of Women Against Military Madness, spoke and compared the situation to previous actions of U.S. intervention, “We have been down this all too familiar road of build up as the administration and compliant corporate media beat the drums of war with all the lies, demonization of the leader of the country in the crosshairs and false justifications like ‘honoring treaty obligations, our national interest, and security, human rights, women’s rights,’ and of course ‘democracy’. A prototype for these U.S. wars of the last 30 years is the U.S./NATO war on Yugoslavia which broke up that country. It also began the Western move of the U.S. and NATO toward Russia, and manufactured NATO’s continued existence.”

Martin, like Banaszewski, argued this conflict is being manufactured by the U.S., “But despite the incessant and relentless propaganda of the state and mainstream media, fewer than one in eight U.S. citizens want this war or want the U.S. anywhere near the Ukraine. People are war weary and life is hard for most especially in this time of COVID. People are struggling and need help.”

Other anti-war speakers included Dave Logsdon from Veterans for Peace and Mike Madden from the newly founded Twin Cities Julian Assange Defense Committee. Closing out the speakers was Tracy Molm, a founder of the Climate Justice Committee, who connected U.S. imperialism to the struggle against Line 3 in Minnesota, “As we stand here to oppose the current saber rattling around Russia – and China – all of this assumed need for military might obscures that the U.S. military is the number one institutional polluter in the world. The U.S. military has consistently been left out of pollution goals put into climate agreements. Real and lasting fixes to climate change need to start with ending U.S. military aggression and posturing – but also end fossil fuel infrastructure that helps enable and continue U.S. military endeavors. The Climate Justice Committee is focused on fighting Line 3 oil pipeline and will continue to stand with our friend in the anti-war movement making connections between the constant drumbeat of wars abroad that necessitate fossil fuel infrastructure.”

A repeated theme of the protest was to denounce in chants and speeches both U.S. intervention in Ukraine and the recent murder of Amir Locke by Minneapolis police. Originally the protest was scheduled to march to U.S. Senator Klobuchar’s office but after over an hour of protesting participants were encouraged to warm up and go to the Hennepin County Government Center to protest Amir Locke’s execution by police, and to demand the resignations of both Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey and the interim police chief.

The protest was initiated by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and endorsed by the Anti-War Committee, Veterans for Peace, Welfare Rights Committee, Women Against Military Madness, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and others.

The protest was organized as a part of the United National Antiwar Coalition’s national day of action. Protests took place across the country including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Portland OR, Asheville NC, New Orleans, and many more cities.

#Minneapolis #AntiwarMovement #NATO #Ukraine #MNAntiWarCommittee #FightCOVIDNotRussia

Minneapolis, MN – On February 5, 100 protesters gathered at Mayday plaza on the West Bank in Minneapolis to oppose U.S. war with Russia and further intervention in the Ukraine. Protesters held signs that read “No war with Russia,” “Fight COVID not Russia” and “Money for housing, not for war.”

The protest’s program began with a speech from Susan Banaszewski, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee, who focused on the role of U.S. intervention and the role of the media in beating the drums for war, “So U.S. meddling has made everyday life worse for Ukrainians by making sure they have less money in their pockets and fewer social supports, armed the fascist elements in their country, created panic and destabilized the economy with this warmongering. The U.S. has escalated conflict with their neighbors and essentially caused a civil war, in which arms from the U.S. are used against fellow Ukrainians. All this fuels our war machine profits. and the U.S. wants the world's thanks for making the world safer?”

Sarah Martin, a longtime member of Women Against Military Madness, spoke and compared the situation to previous actions of U.S. intervention, “We have been down this all too familiar road of build up as the administration and compliant corporate media beat the drums of war with all the lies, demonization of the leader of the country in the crosshairs and false justifications like ‘honoring treaty obligations, our national interest, and security, human rights, women’s rights,’ and of course ‘democracy’. A prototype for these U.S. wars of the last 30 years is the U.S./NATO war on Yugoslavia which broke up that country. It also began the Western move of the U.S. and NATO toward Russia, and manufactured NATO’s continued existence.”

Martin, like Banaszewski, argued this conflict is being manufactured by the U.S., “But despite the incessant and relentless propaganda of the state and mainstream media, fewer than one in eight U.S. citizens want this war or want the U.S. anywhere near the Ukraine. People are war weary and life is hard for most especially in this time of COVID. People are struggling and need help.”

Other anti-war speakers included Dave Logsdon from Veterans for Peace and Mike Madden from the newly founded Twin Cities Julian Assange Defense Committee. Closing out the speakers was Tracy Molm, a founder of the Climate Justice Committee, who connected U.S. imperialism to the struggle against Line 3 in Minnesota, “As we stand here to oppose the current saber rattling around Russia – and China – all of this assumed need for military might obscures that the U.S. military is the number one institutional polluter in the world. The U.S. military has consistently been left out of pollution goals put into climate agreements. Real and lasting fixes to climate change need to start with ending U.S. military aggression and posturing – but also end fossil fuel infrastructure that helps enable and continue U.S. military endeavors. The Climate Justice Committee is focused on fighting Line 3 oil pipeline and will continue to stand with our friend in the anti-war movement making connections between the constant drumbeat of wars abroad that necessitate fossil fuel infrastructure.”

A repeated theme of the protest was to denounce in chants and speeches both U.S. intervention in Ukraine and the recent murder of Amir Locke by Minneapolis police. Originally the protest was scheduled to march to U.S. Senator Klobuchar’s office but after over an hour of protesting participants were encouraged to warm up and go to the Hennepin County Government Center to protest Amir Locke’s execution by police, and to demand the resignations of both Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey and the interim police chief.

The protest was initiated by the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and endorsed by the Anti-War Committee, Veterans for Peace, Welfare Rights Committee, Women Against Military Madness, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and others.

The protest was organized as a part of the United National Antiwar Coalition’s national day of action. Protests took place across the country including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Portland OR, Asheville NC, New Orleans, and many more cities.

#Minneapolis #AntiwarMovement #NATO #Ukraine #MNAntiWarCommittee #FightCOVIDNotRussia

Minneapolis, MN – On August 5, 60 people gathered alongside Washington Avenue near Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Minneapolis office to demand an end of U.S. aid to apartheid Israel. The protesters stretched down the block with signs and Palestinian flags, greeting the rush hour drivers, who were overwhelmingly supportive and honking wildly.

The protest was called after Klobuchar, a ‘centrist’ Democrat, failed to respond to a petition signed by over 1000 of her constituents supporting the Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act (HR 2590) which would prevent U.S. funds from being used by Israel for violence and oppression of the Palestinian people. Minnesota Representatives Betty McCullom and Ilhan Omar have supported the bill already in the House, and the petition calls on senators like Klobuchar to put forward similar bills in the Senate.

The first speaker, Autumn Lake from the MN Anti-War Committee, explained, “This year the movement in the U.S. for solidarity with the people of Palestine has reached incredible heights. Thousands of us took to the streets of Minneapolis and in dozens of other cities across the country in the wake of continued violence against Palestinians on their own land. This topic has actually started to become mainstream in U.S. politics. Politicians whose voting bases are even remotely progressive are going to be finding it unsustainable not to stand with Palestine as time goes on.”

The recent sea change in public opinion follows massive protests that erupted worldwide in response to the evictions of Palestinians from the East Jerusalem neighborhoods Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, as well as a brutal Israeli attack on Gaza that killed 260 people, including 66 children. The overwhelming support of passersby during the protest was evident, but speakers urged cautious optimism and stressed the importance of resilience, staying vigilant and keeping up the pressure.

Naomi Hornstein of IfNotNow Minnesota shared a concept from her time in Palestine, “There’s a term that a lot of the Palestinian organizers I worked with used which is sumud, which is steadfastness. The everyday resistance of Palestinians is this steadfastness that cannot be taken away and I think we’ve really seen that over the summer and over the years: the steadfastness of Palestinian organizers.”

“I know that Palestine only makes national news when it’s being bombed,” said Sam Sanchez from American Muslims for Palestine, “but there have also been children who have recently been murdered. One of them is named Mohammed Abu Sara, he’s eleven years old. He was sitting in his father’s car when Israelis pulled them over for no reason. They were grocery shopping and trying to make it home. The Israeli army unloaded 13 bullets, one or multiple hit Mohammed Abu Sara, he was rushed to the hospital and then later died. This just goes to show you that they don’t care about Palestinian life, even if they’re children, even if they’re babies, they will continue to kill them.”

Many speakers acknowledged the fact that the protest took place on stolen indigenous land and drew connections between the ongoing fight for indigenous rights in the Stop Line 3 movement.

Loretta VanPelt of Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar (TCC4J) likened the Palestinian liberation fight to the current eviction crisis in the U.S., which disproportionately impacts BIPOC Americans, to the Palestinian struggle for land and rights: “I see my liberation as a Black woman is tied to the liberation of the people of Palestine, it’s tied to the liberation of the people in Venezuela, it’s tied to the liberation of the people in Colombia, it’s tied to the liberation of the people of all oppressed nationalities across this world.”

The protest was organized by the MN Anti-War Committee and American Muslims for Palestine MN, and was cosponsored by Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) and IfNotNow Twin Cities.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #MiddleEast #PeoplesStruggles #MNAntiWarCommittee #AmyKlobuchar

Minneapolis, MN – On August 20, activists held banners from five bridges along Interstate 35W to highlight the role the U.S. plays in endorsing and funding the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The protest took place during the Democratic National Convention to draw attention to the need for the Democratic Party to break with the apartheid state of Israel.

Drivers saw banners on the 35th, 36th, 38th and 40th Street bridges on I-35W in South Minneapolis and on a bridge in Lakeville over I-35. The protest was initiated by the MN Anti-War Committee. Many groups signed on and helped make banners and organized their members to protest on bridges, including American Muslims for Palestine (AMP-MN), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN), Northfielders for Justice in Palestine/Israel, and Women Against Military Madness.

During the DNC, Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for president, has gone out of his way to pledge his support for Israel, denouncing the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and attack leaders in the BDS movement like Linda Sarsour.

The news website Mondoweiss reported this week that Daniel Shapiro, President Obama’s former ambassador to Israel, is a member of the platform committee and blocked language about cutting or even conditioning aid to Israel over human rights violations, and about the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Every night during the DNC proceedings, Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza, the world’s largest open air prison, and the Biden campaign was silent on these atrocities.

Andrew Josefchak, a new member of the Anti-War Committee, explained the significance of the action during the DNC, saying, “Right now we’re seeing a sea change in the opinions of the Democratic party’s base when it comes to Palestine. Here in Minnesota, Representative Ilhan Omar recently defeated a very well-financed opponent despite the political establishment, and much of the media, attempting to portray her as an anti-Semite for having said that U.S. support for Israel has to end. Additionally, Representative Betty McCollum just introduced the Israeli Annexation Non-Recognition Act, saying, ‘I reject Israeli annexation. And I will work to ensure the U.S. does not...legitimize any plan to annex Palestinian lands.’ We’re holding this event to show the growing momentum in the movement to end U.S. aid to Israel. Now more than ever people are demanding money for human needs, not for war.”

Activists were cheered on by honks, raised fists and waves while they waved Palestinian flags and held banners that read “Free Palestine,” “End aid to Israel” and “Free, free Palestine. This wall will fall.”

The MN Anti-War Committee’s next Palestine solidarity action will be to mark the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila Massacre and also to draw attention to the situation in Lebanon. It will be another banner drop, from the Loring Park footbridge over I-94 at 5 p.m. on September 17.

On September 16-18, 1982, pro-Israel militiamen associated with the Lebanese Phalanges (Kataeb Party) murdered over 1000 Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. The massacre was carried out at the orders of the invading Israeli Defense Forces, which had besieged the neighborhood before the attacks.

This past August 4, a massive explosion in Beirut, reportedly caused by ignition of an impounded shipment of ammonium nitrate, killed at least 180 and destroyed important Lebanese national infrastructure. Lebanon’s economy and pandemic response already had been struggling under U.S. sanctions, imposed in June as punishment for the growing effectiveness of the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah against Israeli intrusions. On August 12, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration was preparing even more sanctions on Lebanon.

#MinneapolisMN #Palestine #Protest #DemocraticNationalConventionDNC #MNAntiWarCommittee #IsraeliOccupationOfPalestine #MiddleEast

Fight Back News Service is circulating the statement from the MN Anti-War Committee.

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest global crisis since World War 2. Millions may die in the coming weeks as the coronavirus spreads exponentially on every continent, irrespective of national borders. Hospital systems will be overwhelmed, supply chains will be stretched, shortages will be widespread, and impacts will be universal. Humanity will be united like never before, in struggle against an unprecedented public health threat.

Unfortunately, the Trump administration seems hellbent on using this crisis to further divide us. Trump’s insistence on calling coronavirus “the Chinese virus” has fueled right-wing calls for so-called “consequences” against China, the country where the virus was first identified. This rhetoric of blame has led to stigma and racist attacks against Asian-Americans, and recently caused a diplomatic row that saw the expulsion of journalists from both countries.

Blaming China is also wildly unproductive for the U.S.’s fight against the disease itself. As the first country to experience a COVID-19 outbreak, China’s doctors have invaluable experience in treating and containing the disease. The World Health Organization has praised China for its efforts, and China’s public health response has been among the most successful in the world. Italy has invited and greeted planeloads of Chinese doctors with applause. Trump has only antagonized and mocked China’s hard-won expertise. Likewise, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has insisted on calling the disease “the Wuhan virus”, and laughably claimed that “the Chinese Communist Party poses a substantial threat to our health”.

This all comes on top of Trump’s long running trade war with China. The Office of the US Trade Representative has admitted that “the imposition of tariffs on certain Chinese imports has resulted in an overall decline in the availability of needed medical equipment and supplies.” US companies rely on China, “the world’s factory,” not only for medical supplies but basic machine parts and raw materials. The reality is that a decisive portion of the world’s productive capacity lies within China’s borders. Worsening political relations is a recipe for disaster.

Republicans are not the first to ratchet up tension with China. President Obama’s “pivot to Asia” policy saw further militarization of the Pacific region with increased US troop presence in places like the Philippines, Japan and Guam. This strategy, which largely continues under Trump, is a clear perpetuation of the anti-communist “containment” strategy pursued by the US during the Cold War, now aimed at China.

The Anti-War Committee says, “No New Cold War!” The world should be working together to build a better society for all, not dividing itself and preparing for mass destruction. A global pandemic calls for a global response. We want our leaders to work together with other nations to address this crisis.

We call on leaders at the state and local levels to urgently develop independent relations with China, and to stand with Asian-American communities against Trump’s racism. When it comes to COVID-19, poor and oppressed communities inside the US have the most to lose from the Trump administration’s warmongering and refusal to back down. Governors, county administrators, mayors and city council members should immediately seek out advice from Chinese experts and explore possibilities for material assistance. Lives depend on it!

Money for human needs, not war!

#UnitedStates #International #AntiwarMovement #CapitalismAndEconomy #OppressedNationalities #US #Asia #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #China #Socialism #DonaldTrump #MNAntiWarCommittee #COVID19

Minneapolis, MN – The MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) wanted to be a part of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network’s global week of action for Palestinian Land Day but they couldn’t do it as a protest the way they had originally planned. Instead on March 24 the MN AWC reorganized their protest as a call-in day, and then did a five-person social distancing bannering protest.

In 1976, Land Day marked a turning point as the first mass mobilization by Palestinians within Israel against colonialism and land theft. Israeli police shot and killed six Palestinian citizens of Israel for protesting the Israeli government's expropriation of Palestinian land. Land Day’s significance in the Palestinian political calendar was compounded in 2018, when hundreds were killed and thousands injured by Israeli sniper fire as Palestinians demanded their Right of Return to their stolen land with mass protests in Gaza, called the Great March of Return.

The MN AWC asked all their supporters to call Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar at 202-224-3244 or 612-727-5220 to demand she change her position on U.S. aid to Israel.

In addition to the call-in day, the MN Anti-War Committee still sent five of their healthy committee members to hold signs, Palestinian flags and a banner on the bridge which runs from Loring Park to the Walker Sculpture Garden over Interstate 94.

Misty Rowan, an activist with the MN Anti-War Committee was on the bridge and explained, “This action was planned to coincided with Land Day, an important Palestinian date on the calendar. Our action was part of an international call for actions on the anniversary of the Great March of Return, something Palestinians have been struggling for since the beginning of the occupation. We decided not to ask the public to come, because social distancing is important to keep everyone in our community safe. But it's also important to keep Palestine on people's minds. Especially when you consider the fact that the blockade and occupation of Palestine is going to spell disaster for efforts there to defeat this virus.”

Rowan continued, “We need to be thinking about Palestine because the occupation has already devastated their healthcare system. And the U.S. plays a huge role in Israel's treatment of Palestinians in their own land. People are starting to point out the ways the virus is shedding light on the inequalities of our society. We want people who are staying home and dealing with the stress of that to remember what our country is doing to everyday people in Palestine and other parts of the world. There's also the economic piece of it, which is that the U.S. sends over $3 million every single day to Israel to help them maintain the illegal occupation. That is money we don't have; being spent on something we don't want. People should know that instead of ventilators and protective gear, this is what our tax dollars are being spent on. I don't know about you, but I want U.S. tax dollars spent here at home. And I want Palestinians to be able to help themselves to get the care they will need as this virus continues to gain traction in the region.”

The MN AWC encourages all their supporters to call their senators this week to speak out in support of Palestine and against U.S. aid to Israel and against the Israeli blockade of Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #OppressedNationalities #Palestine #MiddleEast #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #PalestinianLandDay #MNAntiWarCommittee #COVID19

Minneapolis, MN – About 40 protesters held signs reading “No war for the holidays” and “Stop endless wars” to engage with holiday shoppers at the busy intersection of Hennepin and Lagoon Avenues in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis, December 21.

A statement issued by organizers says in part, “Endless U.S. wars drag on around the world. From Afghanistan, to Iraq, to Syria, to Yemen, to Somalia, the endless wars continue. There is a danger of new U.S. wars, especially against Iran and north Korea.”

The statement points out, “Recently the Washington Post published The Afghanistan Papers, thousands of pages of government documents which showed that the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations misled the people of the U.S. about the war in Afghanistan. That war continues.”

“The Trump administration has sometimes given lip service to ending the endless wars, yet the wars go on. In Syria, the U.S. government said it would withdraw, but days later had relocated U.S. troops to seize the Syrian oil fields. These wars will only end when the people demand an end to the wars.”

Emma Fiala, a member of Women Against Military Madness, opened the protest, “As the U.S. military budget is increased to fund these endless wars, important social services are being threatened. Our tax dollars should be spent on health care, housing, education and other social programs. Not on war. The people are facing more cuts in social programs, like Food Stamps — cutting off tens of thousands from food.” She concluded, “We must continue to say no to more wars, bring all of the troops home, and fund human needs now!”

Other speakers included Kristin Dooley, the director of Women Against Military Madness and Mike Madden, a member of Veterans for Peace. The crowd sang anti-war songs to the tune of Christmas carols in between speakers.

Meredith Aby-Keirstead, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee, was the last speaker. She concluded with, “We need to insist that there be real change in U.S. foreign policy! We need to not settle for just better than Trump. We don’t want bombs dropped by a president who has a vocabulary above the fourth grade but who happens to be a woman or gay. We want the bombs to stop being dropped!”

The protest was initiated by Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and endorsed by the MN Anti-War Committee, Every Church A Peace Church, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Mayday Books, Minnesota War Tax Resistance, Party for Socialism and Liberation, St. Joan of Arc Peacemakers, Socialist Action, Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Veterans for Peace, Welfare Rights Committee, and Women Against Military Madness.

#Minneapolis #MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #MiddleEast #warOnTerror #TrumpAdministration #TheAfghanistanPapers #MNAntiWarCommittee