Tampa, FL – On March 10, a small group of dedicated activists came together to stand against the recent firebombing of a local mosque. The Islamic Society of New Tampa was the victim of an Islamophobic arson on Feb. 24, the sixth since last year.

The link between the election of Donald Trump and the sharp rise in Islamophobic attacks is very clear. As the Trump administration continues to push hate-filled rhetoric and policies which attack Muslim-Americans, racists and fascists are emboldened.

The Tampa Anti-War Committee will continue to organize around this and make sure justice is served.

#TampaFL #AntiwarMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #TampaAntiWarCommittee #DonaldTrump

Tampa, FL – Around 40 people gathered outside of Sam M. Gibbons Federal Courthouse, Jan. 20, to say no to Trump and his agenda. The call to action was put out by Tampa Anti-War Committee in order to get organized and fight Trump’s presidency from day one.

Speakers at the event denounced Trump and the movement behind him, beginning with Heather Henry of the Tampa Anti-War Committee, who spoke about Trump’s billionaire cabinet. “My goal was to shine a light on the people Trump is bringing with him into his presidency and how they're going to affect the next four years,” said Henry.

Danya Zituni of Tampa Bay SDS touched on the student movement and its relation to Donald Trump “SDS encourages students, workers and all oppressed communities to build organized people power opposed to the political establishment controlled by and built for the rich.”

Jessica Schwartz of the Tampa Anti-War Committee talked about Donald Trump’s administration in relation to the anti-war movement, stating, “No matter who is president, we must fight back against our own government’s brutal foreign policy. The media wants us to fear Russia, but we should be scared of Donald Trump and his racist, anti-immigrant, anti-refugee rhetoric.”

Tampa Anti-War Committee will be hosting a general body meeting on Jan. 25 to discuss the Trump presidency and how to organize against it. The event will be held at the First United Church of Tampa. For more information, visit the Facebook event page at http://bit.ly/2jQjwBd.

#TampaFL #AntiwarMovement #TampaAntiWarCommittee

For the walkout, Tampa Bay SDS demands: “National SDS demands #EducationForAll: free tuition and equal access to education for Black, Chicano, Latino and specifically undocumented students. We demand sanctuary campuses everywhere, the preservation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and an end to deportations.”

The second protest is being organized by Tampa Anti-War Committee at the Sam Gibbons Federal Courthouse in Downtown Tampa, at 6 p.m. The protest is to “Fight Trump’s Agenda” and the racist, sexist, anti-LGBTQIA and anti-worker movement that he represents; to stop the attacks on immigrants and refugees; and to demand President-elect Trump end U.S. wars abroad.

The Tampa Anti-War Committee will hold a General Body Meeting on Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. to discuss how to move forward organizing under a Trump presidency.

Tampa Bay SDS and Tampa Anti-War Committee can both be found on Facebook. For more information, please message their Facebook pages.

#TampaFL #AntiwarMovement #StudentMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #Elections #2016Elections #TampaAntiWarCommittee

Tampa, FL – The Tampa Anti-War Committee (TAWC) held a sign-waving for Rasmea Odeh on the day of her scheduled hearing, Nov. 29. The Daubert hearing, which would have been to discuss the use of expert testimony regarding the torture of Odeh during her time in an Israeli prison, was canceled the day before , but TAWC followed through with the action to demand #Justice4Rasmea on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Community and student activists held signs and chanted in solidarity with Odeh. Chants included “Hey, hey, let’s be clear: Rasmea is welcome here!” “FBI, off our backs! We have had enough attacks!” and “When Rasmea is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

Sam Alex of TAWC spoke about Odeh’s case and why anti-war activists should support and defend her. “Rasmea is on trial for ridiculous, trumped-up charges due to her work as a Palestinian civil rights leader and activist,” said Alex. “We must always fight for Rasmea Odeh and the Palestinian people, especially on today. TAWC supports all of this because we always support the oppressed, not the oppressor.”

TAWC will also be holding a General Body Meeting Wednesday, Nov. 30 to discuss Odeh’s case, as well as other cases of political repression. For more information regarding upcoming events, you can find TAWC on Facebook, or e-mail tampaantiwar@gmail.com.

#TampaFl #Palestine #Florida #PoliticalRepression #RasmeaOdeh #TampaAntiWarCommittee

Tampa, FL – 20 community and student activists protested here, Aug. 26, to stand with Palestine and demand, “No bombs on Gaza!”

The Tampa Anti-War Committee (TAWC) organized the action in response to the 50 airstrikes Israel launched against Gaza on Aug. 21. The airstrikes were some of the harshest attacks on Gaza since Operation Protective Edge in 2014, in which Israel murdered over 2000 Palestinians. They demanded “No more airstrikes,” “Free Palestine,” “End U.S. aid to Israel,” and “Free Palestinian political prisoners.”

Rahma Elmohd of Students for Justice in Palestine spoke out against the media’s use of the ‘terrorist tunnel’ myth as a reason for the airstrikes. “As Western media scramble to justify Israel’s military actions, we have come together to demand that Israel stop its current and future military attacks against Gaza,” Elmohd said.

Protesters demanded an end to U.S. aid to Israel. Bill Aiman from TAWC emceed the rally, and talked about Tampa’s connections to Israel. Aiman said, “The Tampa Bay area is home to 13 defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, which supplies the Israeli Air Force with fighter jets, the same fighter jets that are being used to bomb Gaza.”

Tori Stratis of Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society said, “Students across the U.S. struggle to pay for education, and owe thousands of dollars in loans, but the U.S. government has no problem investing one third of its military budget in aid to Israel.”

Elizabeth Kramer of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke about Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayed, who recently ended his 71-day hunger strike, and Chicago-based activist Rasmea Odeh, who goes back to court in September in an ongoing case of political repression with trumped-up immigration violation charges. Kramer said, “The Israeli government seeks to capture and isolate strong leaders from the toiling Palestinian masses, in an attempt to stunt the Palestinian liberation movement and maintain their control over the Palestinian people, their land and resources.”

The Tampa Anti-War Committee will continue to hold actions against U.S. and U.S.-backed wars around the world, as well as demanding justice for Rasmea Odeh and other targets of political repression.

#TampaFL #AntiwarMovement #Gaza #Palestine #TampaAntiWarCommittee