Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, June 25, around 100 people gathered as the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition led a protest of the Honeywell Aerospace Building in Northeast Minneapolis. Cars honked in support and many people who were just passing by brought bulk packs of cold bottled water for the protesters unprompted, just to show their support on the sunny day.

The crowd chanted “Who profits? Honeywell! Who dies? Gazans!” and speakers made connections between Honeywell and other local weapons companies and the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza as part of a national week of actions against weapons companies called by the newly formed Anti-War Action Network.

“We’re back, Honeywell!” Sarah Martin from Women Against Military Madness began, “It’s been a minute, but here we are again because you’re not just about thermostats. You’re still a merchant of death and have the blood of Gaza on your hands. On June 6, among the rubble of the United Nations-run al-Sardi school in Central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp were the remnants of a weapon that had Honeywell’s name on it!”

Honeywell has supplied precision guidance components for the Israeli Air Force’s guided missiles since 2000.

Martin also detailed the half-century history of local struggle against Honeywell, led by the Honeywell Project. For decades the group organized tirelessly fighting against Honeywell’s headquarters in Minneapolis until it finally left in 1991. Activists led civil disobedience actions, were arrested, and fought Honeywell in court. When the FBI infiltrated the Honeywell Project on behalf of the weapons company, the Project partnered with the ACLU to sue them and win $70,000. Martin finished by shouting, “But Honeywell is still at it. And so are we! Honeywell you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide!”

Carrying that fight to today, Shahd Abouhekel from Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Minnesota spoke about UMN Divest Coalition’s work on campus: “The university contributes almost $700,000 in Israeli public stock for Honeywell. Shame. Shame. I don't know about you, but I don't wanna see weapon manufacturing companies coming to my campus to recruit students to work for them. Students have shown time and time again that we don't want our tuition dollars to fund genocide supporters.”

Nick Tolliver from the MN Anti-War Committee stated, “Honeywell also supplies the police and military in America. Honeywell is everywhere invested in repressive state violence to defend the interests of the powerful. They supply the technological material for the slaughter of the people that Western imperialists deem targets for subjugation, exploitation, and violent oppression. We demand that the state of Minnesota divest from Honeywell and the $4 billion it has invested in institutions and companies that are participating in and profiting from genocide.”

Abdullah Mohammed of American Muslims for Palestine MN ended with a hopeful message to the group, “I tell you guys, what we're doing here today really impacts the Palestinians. And justice will come. And we shall see a free Palestine in the near future.”

Protesters were encouraged to go to the AWC’s protest outside of the Olympic gymnastics trials on June 28, outside of the Target Center to demand that Israel be banned from the Olympics.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #StudentMovement #SJP #AWAN #UMNDivest #AMP #MNAWC #WAMM #MNPeaceAction

Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, May 2, 500 people gathered outside the University of Minnesota Humphrey School to celebrate the wins that the UMN Divest coalition had made the previous day.

On April 29, UMN Divest set up a permanent encampment on the mall of the UMN East Bank campus to call for divestment from Israel and all entities complicit in war crimes and human rights violations. By April 30, the administration had reached out to meet with the organizers to talk negotiations.

UMN Divest is made up of four groups, Students for Justice in Palestine, Students for a Democratic Society, Young Democratic Socialists of America, and Students for Climate Justice.

By the night of May 1, organizers had made some concrete gains towards divestment. The full list of demands included:

1. Allowing the encampment to stand until the public email is released and providing adequate time for the encampment to be taken down without police interference.
2. Fulfilling their commitments to disclosing all financial ties, including all weapons companies by May 7, 2024.
3. Fulfilling the promises made during our negotiations up until this point including : a. Email on May 2 to the general university community announcing all commitments. b. May 7 financial disclosure c. Biweekly meetings with SJP that include incoming President Rebecca Cunningham in our meetings. d. Publicly denounce all criminal charges against protesters e. Bi-weekly meetings with administrators till full divestment f. Discussion of upcoming commitments during the May 10 Board of Regents meeting g. Establish partnerships with Palestinian universities
4. Negotiating in good faith instead of continually making promises they never plan on fulfilling.

While these are steps towards divestment, divestment is not something won overnight. As it stands, this is the most any student group has won in a decade. UMN Divest understands that administrators like to go back on their promises, and the groups are not afraid to escalate further if any of the promises are broken.

As students, staff, faculty and community members marched onto the now-empty mall, the marks of the encampment remained on the grass. At the site of the former encampment, speakers talked about the continued work ahead to fully win divestment.

UMN Divest and all members of the UMN community will not stop until the University of Minnesota fully divests from the genocidal apartheid state of Israel.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #UMNDivest

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, April 23 at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, student activists set up a Gaza Solidarity encampment. This encampment was organized by the UMN Divest Coalition which is made up of Students for a Democratic Society, Students for Justice in Palestine, Young Democratic Socialists of America and Students for Climate Justice. The coalition is pushing for the University of Minnesota to cut ties financially with Israel. This means to divest from weapon manufacturers, stop study abroad trips to Israel and stop having defense companies doing recruitment on campus.

The coalition set up the encampment and pledged to be there until their demands were met or until they were forcibly removed. Other than divestment, specific demands of the encampment included for the administration to put out a statement about the genocide, to stop the attacks on student protesters, to have complete transparency about university budgets, and amnesty for all students and faculty disciplined in the movement for a free Palestine.

The encampment was shut down by police at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning after only being established for a couple hours. In a powerful act of protest, eight U of MN students and one faculty member refused to leave the encampment and were arrested by University of Minnesota police. UMPD then removed all of the tents and tore down the encampment. The students and faculty were arrested for trespassing on their own university and were given a one year ban from campus.

Unlike what we have seen on other college campuses across the country, the students were not given a notice of suspension before their arrest. Joined by other community activists and students, the arrestees were awaited by a small rally of protesters outside the Hennepin County jail when they were released several hours later.

Mira Altobell-Resendez, the UMN faculty member who was arrested, stated, “We stood our ground knowing the potential consequences and were all willing to take them on for the sake of making strides in winning our demands to get UMN to divest from Israel. We knew we’d have the power of the people behind us no matter what because we are all united to see a free Palestine within our lifetimes!”

Outraged by these bogus arrests and the destruction of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, the UMN divest coalition quickly got to work planning an emergency rally. Later that day at 2 p.m., a protest was held outside the Student Memorial Union. With an upward of 1000 attendees, the protest was well attended by students, faculty and activists from the community. Faculty members and students from the coalition spoke about the power of the student movement and led an excited and energized crowd through pro-Palestine chants such as “Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!”

After the rally, attendees helped the coalition re-establish the encampment. Other organizations brought yurts and tipis and other camping tents to occupy the university lawn. Jewish Voices for Peace led the crowd in an anti-Zionist seder to celebrate Passover on the lawn. Workshops were led by other community members and members of the movement. Minneapolis City Council member Robin Wonsely and U.S. House Representative Ilhan Omar spoke and shared their support for the student movement on the U of MN campus.

The day was long and busy with arrests at the morning encampment, a contingent at the jail, a large rally on campus and a night filled with pro-Palestine activities on a once again occupied lawn. What the student movement did through hard work and organizing was bring the community together and mobilized hundreds around a campaign that will bring us one step closer to a free Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #StudentMovement #International #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #SDS #UMNDivest #SJP #YDSA #SFCJ #Feature