San Jose, CA – On Sunday, August 10, around 100 people gathered at the Federal Building in San Jose to demand an end to the siege on Gaza. The cutoff of aid going into Gaza has led to a man-made stage 5 famine which will lead to more deaths and irreversible damage to the people of Gaza.

San José, CA – On Friday, August 1, the Department of Labor released its jobs report for the month of July. The report caused strong reactions, including disappointment, shock and anger.

San José, CA – The latest report on Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, confirmed the slower growth of the economy under the Trump administration. In the first half of 2025, from January through June, the economy only grew at a 1.25% annual rate. This a bit more than half the rate of the first half of 2024, where the economy as measured by GDP grew at a 2.3% annual rate, showing that Trump’s trade war is a drag on U.S. economic growth.

San Jose, CA – On Saturday, July 12, 50 people gathered to hear Nora Barrows-Friedman speak at an event hosted by San Jose Against War. Barrows-Friedman is an associate editor for Electronic Intifada and co-host for the live show with the same name. She has been a reporter and broadcaster focusing on Palestine for more than 20 years and is the author of In Our Power: US Students Organize for Justice in Palestine.

San José, CA – On Tuesday, July 15, the Department of Labor reported that prices for consumer goods and services rose at a faster rate for a second month in a row. The Consumer Price Index, or CPI, rose at a 0.3% rate in June, or a 3.7% annual rate. The year-over-year increase, as compared to June 2024, was 2.7%, up from the 2.4% year over year rate in May.

San Jose, CA – On Saturday, June 28, anti-war activists filled a classroom to learn about the U.S./Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people and the climate crisis. The presentations shed light on U.S. corporations that support Israeli genocide, including Alphabet, Caterpillar and Microsoft.

Activists are demanding the San Jose City Council pull its investments from corporations aiding Israel’s war machine or doing business there. In addition, activists are demanding Santa Clara County divest from oil company Chevron for its role in fueling the genocide in Palestine and the climate crisis.

San José, CA – On Friday, July 4, President Trump signed his “Big Beautiful Bill” of tax cuts for the wealthy, cuts to health insurance and food stamps for the poor, and more attacks on immigrants.

The tax cuts are so large that, despite historic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps), the federal government will be borrowing more than $300 billion more each year for the next ten years.

The new law cuts taxes about $450 billion a year over the next ten years, mainly benefiting higher income households. Using adjusted gross income, we can see the richer a household, the more money Trump and the Republicans’ new law gives to them.

San José, CA – At first glance, the June jobs report released on Thursday, July 3 looks pretty good. The total net new jobs are reported at 147,000, on par with the average of 146,000 for the previous 12 months. Further, the previous two months’ estimates were revised up by a total of 16,000, not lower as has been the pattern. The unemployment rate ticked down by one-tenth of one percent from 4.2% in May to 4.1% in June.

The small drop in the unemployment rate could be accounted for by the drop in the “Labor Force Participation Rate” by the same one-tenth of one percent from 62.4% in May to 63.2% in June. What this means is many people without jobs gave up looking in June, which lowers both the unemployment rate as people have to be out of work and looking for work to be counted as unemployed.

San Jose, CA – On Saturday, June 21, around 280 people rallied at Saint James Park in downtown for the Second Annual People's Pride, a march and celebration spearheaded by community organizers of San Jose to return LGBTQ Pride Month mobilizations to their radical and militant roots.

Romaine Charite, a San Jose transgender and nonbinary activist of the San Jose People's Pride organization, emceed. They started by leading chants such as “Donald Trump has got to go” and “Trans rights are here to stay.”

San José, CA – On June 15, San José residents came out to protests to what they say are attacks to First Amendment rights and political repression in Los Angeles. In the last couple of weeks, National Guard troops have been mobilized to assist ICE operations in Los Angeles with response from residents taking to the streets to protest.

San Jose, CA – On Sunday, June 22, the day after the U.S. bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran, about 150 people gathered at the Dr. MLK, Jr Library in downtown San Jose in protest.

Iranian flags, Palestinian flags and signs reading, “No war with Iran!” were held by protesters as they chanted, “Stop bombing Iran!” “U.S. out of the Middle East” and “U.S. out of Iran!” accompanied by many supportive car honks.

San Jose, CA – On Tuesday, June 17, around 200 people gathered at the steps of Dr. MLK, Jr Library to protest Israel’s “pre-emptive” strikes on Iran.

San José, CA – On June 6, around 100 people came out to Blossom Hill Road in San Jose to protest recent ICE arrests. According to the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network, ICE made many arrests during immigration check-ins, causing activists to make an emergency call to action.

San José, CA – On Friday, June 6, the Department of Labor released its monthly report on the jobs markets. While the headline numbers were solid, weaknesses are hidden in the report.

Wall Street, better known for a crowd mentality than deep analysis, responded positively, with major stock market price indices all up about 1%, while bond prices fell and interest rates rose as Federal Reserve interest rates cuts seemed less likely.

San Jose, CA – On May 17, the San Jose State University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine announced an end to their hunger strike, after ten days without food. San Jose State administration reached a working agreement with the hunger strikers, after ongoing pressure from students.

San Jose, CA – On May 22, the Sustainability Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the county divest from Chevron and all fossil fuels. Community organizers joined the commission meeting to give public comments, exposing Chevron’s environmental crimes and urging the county to divest.

San José, CA – On May 15, during Trump's attempt to revoke birthright citizenship at the U.S. Supreme Court level, up to 100 protesters came out in defense of Immigrant and Chicano rights and condemning ICE operations in San José.

The Silicon Valley Immigration Committee (SVIC) joined the Solidarity and Unity Network along with Amigos de Guadalupe, SIREN, City Council member Pamela Campos and the Legalization for All Network (L4A) national week of action against deportations of U.S. citizen children.

San Jose, CA – On Thursday, May 15, around 50 people gathered in downtown San Jose in front of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library to commemorate the 77th year of the ongoing Nakba.

Chants of “Free Palestine,” “BDS is our demand, no peace on stolen land” and “Stop bombing Gaza!” were heard throughout the streets of downtown.

San Jose, CA – On May 17, around 150 people gathered in James P. McEntee Plaza in San Jose to celebrate Palestinian Cultural Day. This was the 24th year that Santa Clara County has held the event, which is sponsored by the county supervisors and the Palestinian Heritage Committee. The celebration honors the local Palestinian community and its contributions to the county’s civic life, and the historical and cultural contributions of Palestinians.

San José, CA – After a weekend of negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng announced on Monday, May 12 that the United States would roll back its tariffs on Chinese imports by 115%, from 145% to 30%.

The Chinese agreed to match this tariff reduction, reducing China’s tariffs on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%. China did not agree to any of the U.S. trade demands and many U.S. news reports had to admit that China did well, with one headline from Bloomberg News reading, “Xi Defiance Pays Off as Trump Meets Most China Trade Demands.”