Rochester, MN – On May 29, activists from across Minnesota converged outside the Mayo Civic Center to protest the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party’s annual state convention.

Delegates lining up to enter the convention were confronted by several dozen protesters with banners, Palestinian flags, petitions and informational leaflets about the DFL’s ties to Israel and the movement to cut them. The action was organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) and Rochester Solidarity with Palestine.

Using slogans like “DFL, grow a spine! Stop funding war crimes!” protesters demanded complete divestment of Minnesota money from apartheid Israel, an end to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Lebanon, the release of the unredacted 2024 election autopsy, and that DFL politicians refuse to accept campaign funds from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). DFL Representative Angie Craig and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith have received hundreds of thousands in AIPAC funding.

Organizers highlighted DFL members’ condemnation of President Trump’s agenda while investing state funds in corporations that are instrumental to executing that agenda.

For example, the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) invests $57 million in Palantir, the secretive surveillance company contracted by ICE, the DHS, the U.S. military and the Israeli Ministry of Defense. ICE describes Immigration Case Management, Palantir’s deportation support system, as “mission-critical,” and it relies on Palantir’s large language models and custom FALCON targeting system to optimize ICE activity and orchestrate violent raids.

Meanwhile, the U.S. uses the Palantir product Maven to select strike targets in its war on Iran. DFL leader and current governor, Tim Walz, has condemned the Iran war as a product of fascism and likened the experiences of immigrant children under ICE occupation to those of Anne Frank – all while actively funding companies whose products enable the Iran war and ICE operation.

“We’re gathered outside the DFL convention 965 days into the U.S. and Israel’s live-streamed genocide of the Palestinian people,’ explained Maeve Aickin, an organizer with the AWC. “This is a genocide that many DFL politicians are helping fund and benefiting from ignoring. The State Board of Investment, which DFL members Tim Walz, Keith Ellison, Julie Blaha, and Steve Simon sit on, invests $5.5 billion in companies that have a financial interest in perpetuating Israeli apartheid and genocide.”

“I am a public worker whose pension is invested in genocide against my will, and many of the speakers who you’ll be hearing from today are also public workers with SBI-managed pensions,” Aickin continued. “We wanted to share our horror over the use of funds we earn to plan our futures to extinguish hundreds of thousands of futures in Palestine, Iran and Lebanon, but the SBI canceled a quarterly public meeting for the third time in the past year and a half.”

The SBI canceled two of its quarterly public meetings in 2025, and on Wednesday, May 13, it deleted the details of its previously announced meeting scheduled for June 3. SBI representatives have yet to communicate a reason for continuing to delay and cancel opportunities to engage with public workers. As of press time, no rescheduled date has been posted.

Another public employee with a state-managed pension, Maddy Schwartz, pointed out the DFL’s hypocrisy. “When they claim to be the moral opposition to the Republican Party, and claim to oppose Trump's wars, that isn’t enough! They need to take substantive action to earn people's trust and votes.”

Schwartz continued, “What do the DFL elected leaders on the SBI do instead? Cancel public meetings. What do elected officials do instead? Avoid their constituents and refuse to take accountability for their ties to Israel.”

In 2025, the SBI divested the majority of its holdings in Israel Bonds, which are direct loans to the Israeli apartheid state, after facing immense pressure from a coalition of local grassroots organizations and unions. However, board members refused to acknowledge the removal of almost all Israel Bonds from their investment portfolio as a political divestment act, despite Israel’s historic unpopularity with their constituency, with eight in ten Democrats holding an unpopular view of Israel as of March 2026.

Deah Kinion of Rochester Solidarity with Palestine also spoke outside the convention. “It’s our right and duty and our moral obligation to speak out and do what we can to stop this racist, sadistic war on Palestinian children and others. [The DFL] refused to acknowledge the war crimes Israel and the U.S. are perpetrating on Palestine, Lebanon and Iran.”

“They want us to believe that this is not a Democratic problem, that this is not a state problem,” said Kinion. “It is everyone’s problem.”

Many of the convention attendees expressed support for protesters’ demands. Inside the convention, divestment emerged as a key issue for the state auditor’s race in particular.

The AWC announced it would similarly protest the DFL’s annual Humphrey-Mondale fundraising dinner, to be held one week later on Friday, June 5, at the Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Avenue S, Minneapolis.

#RochesterMN #MN #Divestment #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #AntiWarCommittee

Minneapolis, MN- Al-Nakba, meaning “The Catastrophe,” is a day of remembrance when communities grieve the over 15,000 Palestinians the Israeli occupation murdered in 1948 and the over 750,000 Palestinians displaced from their homeland. After the Anti-War Action Network called for their third annual day of action commemorating Al-Nakba, the Twin Cities hosted two protests to mark the importance of resisting U.S. funding for Israel.

On Friday, May 15, Women Against Military Madness held their weekly protest at the Summit and Snelling intersection in Saint Paul with a specific focus on the Nakba. Speaker Wyatt Miller from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) said, “I’ve given plenty of speeches like this on past Nakba Days. I usually say something about how Palestinians are the bravest people on Earth. I still believe that, but let’s have this year’s Nakba Day be the one where we say, the Palestinians have been brave enough. They have made enough sacrifices. The world can no longer deny the injustice of the occupation. It’s time for the rest of us to learn to find that bravery in ourselves. The Palestinians have taught the world that dignity doesn’t mean mere politeness or etiquette; true dignity means standing up for what is just and refusing to tolerate anything less than justice.”

On Sunday, May 17, over 30 cyclists gathered at Minnehaha Falls for the Gaza Sunbirds solidarity ride in commemoration of Al-Nakba. The Great Ride of Return global bike rides are organized in support of the Gaza Sunbirds, a Palestinian para-cycling team bringing awareness to the ongoing Israeli siege on Gaza and its production of disability under occupation. The cyclists biked through Minneapolis with Palestinian flags attached to their bikes, chanting “Free, free Palestine” over their bullhorns.

The bikers joined hundreds of activists and community members gathered at Chute Square to march along the Mississippi River in protest of 78 years of Israeli occupation in Palestine. The Nakba Day march was organized by the Minnesota chapter of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and the AWC.

Nadiyah Salawdeh, co-chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network’s Minnesota chapter stated, “Palestinians had been rebelling against British and Zionist forces for decades,” they said. “Every time a fascist settler murders a Palestinian, it’s a catastrophe. Every time a Palestinian is illegally detained, it is a catastrophe. Every time a child starves to death, it is a catastrophe. Home demolition, poisoned water, burning olive trees—these are all catastrophes. Just as the Nakba was not confined to 1948, it is not confined to the borders of historic Palestine. The Lebanese people and the Lebanese resistance have been on the front lines defending their land from Israeli settler expansion. Since the U.S.-Israeli war was launched on Iran and Lebanon, thousands have been murdered, and over a million have been displaced. That is a catastrophe.”

Joe Yamine of the AWC told the crowd, “Today, the Zionist entity is more callous, more destructive, more depraved, and more afraid than it has ever been.”

Yamine continued, “The Western regimes [that] back it have revealed their utter contempt for their people, who turn out in the streets demanding justice and liberation for Palestine now. In Minnesota, we're confronting our municipal governments as they try to sign contracts with Israeli tech companies like Zencity and Waterfall. We are fighting for an end to our state's complicity in Israeli apartheid and the ongoing Nakba by pressuring the State Board of Investment to divest.”

Alissa Washington of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice and the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-sentenced Families Council expanded on the theme of state detention as she discussed the Palestinian right of return.

“The right to resist oppression, occupation and dehumanization is rooted in the struggle of oppressed people across the world,” Washington affirmed. “That is why we also demand freedom for Salah Sarsour and all people targeted, criminalized, or punished for standing with Palestine and speaking out against injustice.” Sarsour, the Islamic Society of Milwaukee’s president and an AMP board member, has been held in ICE detention since March 30.

Washington contined, “Today, let us remember: They want us divided because united people are dangerous to systems built on oppression. From Minneapolis to Palestine, our struggles are connected. From the prison walls to the refugee camps, our people are connected. From the streets demanding accountability to the marches demanding liberation, our resistance is connected. And as long as oppressed people continue to rise together, there will always be hope for freedom.”

Before the protesters flooded the streets to express their grief, hope and rage, Taher Herzallah of AMP articulated Israel’s commitment to dehumanization, breaching international law and fostering a culture of settler violence, concluding, “Israel has absolved itself of its right to exist.” In this spirit, the crowd marched down to the Mississippi River and disrupted business as usual to demand an end to the ongoing Nakba, Sarsour’s release, and a free Palestine.

After two and a half years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its continued annexation of the West Bank and southern Lebanon, people of conscience know that the Nakba is an ongoing ethnic cleansing project that the U.S. government has funded for over three-quarters of a century. Indeed, Minnesota state pensions are currently funding Israel’s crimes to the tune of $5.5 billion in SBI investments. The SBI canceled two of its quarterly public meetings in 2025, and on Wednesday, May 13, it deleted the details of its previously announced meeting scheduled for June 3 from its website.

The MN Anti-War Committee will demand answers at the 2026 DFL State Convention, taking place in Rochester, Minnesota on May 29.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Nakba #AntiWarCommittee #USPCN #AMP #SalahSarsour

St. Paul, MN – On Thursday, March 26, 20 members of the MN Anti-War Committee (AWC)turned out to a midday rally outside Minnesota’s Retirement Systems Building, where Minnesota’s State Board of Investment (SBI) was holding its quarterly meeting.

Members of the AWC gave public testimony at the meeting. AWC members demanded divestment from apartheid Israel and weapons companies, but focused particularly on Palantir, a company whose AI surveillance software has directly facilitated human rights violations in Palestine, Iran, and Minnesota itself. As of June 2025, the book value of the SBI’s investments in Palantir was $55 million.

This marked the board’s first open quarterly meeting in nearly a year, and the first attendance of the AWC since 11 of its members were arrested during a sit-in at the Retirement Systems Building last fall — a sit-in prompted by the board declining to hold in-person, public hearings over many months. Public admittance to the meeting room was limited to just eight members of the community, not including speakers.

As of the 2025 fiscal year, Minnesota SBI managed a total of $161 billion in assets. It is funded by Minnesota public employees’ salary contributions and taxpayer dollars, and serves workers in the Teachers’ Retirement Association, Minnesota State Retirement Association, and many of the union members of AFSCME, SEIU, Education Minnesota, and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), among others.

The board emphasizes their fiduciary responsibility to pension holders and evaluates what is an “acceptable risk” investment. Governor Tim Walz serves as the board’s chair, along with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, State Auditor Julie Blaha, and the Secretary of State Steve Simon. The SBI currently invests over $586 million in weapons companies, including Elbit Systems, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

“This board has defended its continued investment in death-dealing companies like Palantir with the claim that it is a wholly apolitical body that merely does its financial duty to the state. But I have to ask, in what sense is funding the Trump administration’s agenda an apolitical act?” questioned Andrew Josefchak, union member and organizer with the Anti-War Committee. During the meeting Josefchak submitted into the record thousands of physical signatures collected from constituents who agree that Minnesota must divest from Israel and companies that facilitate war and genocide.

Public employee and MAPE member Kevin Snyder testified during the meeting and asked how the board could claim to be taking into account the interests of Minnesotans while ICE actively weaponizes Palantir tech against residents of the state.

While the AWC’s DivestMN campaign specifically demands that the SBI divest from entities and companies complicit in Israel’s crimes of genocide and apartheid in Palestine, its researchers have found that many of the same companies are complicit in ICE violence in Minnesota and across the country. Palantir is contracted by Israel’s Ministry of Defense, ICE and the U.S. military. Palantir’s products track populations on a massive scale and maintain large databases of intrusive personal information. Its software can be integrated into surveillance and weapons systems, including drones, and company executives have told concerned staff that Palantir places no restrictions on client use of its tools.

Even before October 7, the AWC’s DivestMN campaign demanded that the SBI divest from Israel (in the form of Israeli stocks and bonds) and weapons manufacturers that directly enable Israel’s destruction and genocide in Palestine. The same corporations are now profiting off of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which commenced with the bombing and murder of at least 175 school children in Minab.

AWC member Naveen Borojerdi, who testified before the SBI, is an Iranian American public employee and a member of MAPE. Borojerdi urged the board “to do better,” adding, “My people have a right to self-defense against joint American/Israeli terrorism, and I have the right to not have my own money facilitating that same terrorism against my own people.”

Jill Schurtz, the executive director of the SBI and its chief investment officer, admitted during the March 26 meeting that the “conflict in the Middle East” is “eroding gains” in their portfolio. “War destroys the working class,” Andrew Josefchak said as he took the mic outside the building and shared this information with demonstrators who had not been allowed into the meeting.

Throughout the meeting, members who were refused entry were heard and seen chanting from outside the first-floor windows. The silence and order in the room, maintained by the presence of no less than a half dozen police and state patrol officers, was broken by continuous calls directed at the SBI from outside: “Money for murder? No! Money for workers? Yes! Money for schools? Yes! Money for Palantir? No!”

The AWC will maintain their presence at SBI meetings until total divestment is reached.

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #AWC #AntiWarCommittee #SBI #DivestMN #Palestine #Palantir

Minneapolis – On the evening of Saturday February 28, 200 protesters answered an emergency call from the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) to gather at Chicago Avenue and Lake Street in Minneapolis to oppose U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Overnight the news broke that the U.S. and Israel had begun carrying out coordinated strikes by land and sea which struck the Iranian cities of Tehran, Qom, Tabriz, and Khorrashahr. Dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” by the Pentagon, the attack took place in the midst of negotiation talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Saturday’s protest featured speakers from many anti-war groups in the Twin Cities, many of which are member organizations of the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition.

In their speech, Lina Jebara of the U.S. Palestinian Community told the crowd, “We should be clear with ourselves and with our peers, that the U.S. bombing Iran is not evidence that Israel controls the U.S. Trump is not being blackmailed to drag us into this war, and this is not something that could only ever happen under the Trump administration.”

Jebara pointed out, “Taking down Iran has long been an aim of this country because this country prioritizes lining the pockets of billionaire oil execs and friends rather than its own working-class people.”

Yossi Aharoni of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke to the crowd about the bombing of an elementary school in the Iranian city of Minab, “the largest attack of which was directed against an all-girls school, murdering at least 108 young girls and injuring 80 more. This is all amidst the backdrop of two and a half years of the ongoing genocide of Gaza, four years of the U.S. proxy war against Russia, two months after the illegal kidnapping of President Maduro of Venezuela, three months of the federal occupation of Minneapolis by ICE, and barely one month since the murder of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”

Naveen Borojerdi, an Iranian American with family in Iran, spoke as a representative of MPAC and had a message regarding his recent meeting with a staffer for Minnesota Senator Tina Smith.

Saturday’s protest was just one of dozens that were held across the United States to oppose Trump’s war with Iran. The nationwide Anti-War Action Network called on member organizations in cities ranging from New Orleans, Portland, Dayton, Tucson, Philadelphia, Colorado Springs, Dallas, New York, and many others to hold demonstrations against the war.

The next protest against U.S. attacks on Iran will be on Tuesday, March 3 at Lake Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis at 5 p.m. as a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s call for action for that day.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Iran #AntiWarCommittee #USPCN

St. Paul, MN - As Donald Trump was inaugurated the 47th president of the United States on Monday, January 20, people gathered in Saint Paul to make a promise that from day one they would resist Trump’s agenda. 

The day began at the Saint Paul Police Department’s Western District precinct. With temperatures dipping to negative five degrees, a single hearse led a caravan of over 100 cars in remembrance of Marcus Golden. At the young age of 24, Mr. Golden was murdered by Saint Paul Police on January 14, 2015. He is the nephew of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities organizer Monique Cullars-Doty. 

The caravan participants decorated their cars with Palestinian flags and signs in support of the defense of Black lives, immigrant rights, and reproductive rights. The caravan proceeded from The Saint Paul Police Department’s Western District precinct along University Avenue. Two young men exited their parked cars in subzero weather to wave a Palestinian flag in support as the caravan passed. The caravan participants honked as they continued east toward downtown.

Cullars-Doty spoke about the significance of the single hearse leading the caravan today. “The hearse is from the same undertaker who took my nephew Marcus Golden’s body from Ramsey County Coroner’s office, but it also represents all the revolutionaries this country has killed and silenced. It is also symbolic that we all follow the hearse because we are still fighting. So as this Trump administration rolls in, we cannot let our dreams die. It means we have to keep fighting.” 

A coalition of organizations led by Black Lives Matter Twin Cities (BLM-TC Metro), the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), and Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) organized the car caravan and indoor rally.

In the shadow of the Minnesota State Capitol, the caravan arrived at Saint Paul College where 500 attendees filled the cafeteria to chants of “Black Lives, they matter here! and “Immigrants are welcome here!” 

Despite the somber occasion of Trump’s second inauguration, the room buzzed with enthusiasm as the emcees led the crowd in chants. Speaking for MIRAC was Manuel Pascual - a first generation Filipino immigrant who witnessed the violence of ICE raids against his community first hand. 

Pascual stated, “Immigrants and the working class are the backbone of this country. It is extremely important we don’t panic or fall into despair in this time of uncertainty. Instead, we organize. We take to the streets. We continue speaking up, showing up, and fighting for one another.” 

Charlie Berg, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, affirmed the task ahead of everyone in the room: “It is up to all of us to unite the many in order to defeat the few. We need to make this country ungovernable! Our job is to take the fight to higher stages than ever before.”

Toshira Garraway, the founder of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, whose fiancé was murdered by the Saint Paul Police in 2009, inspired the crowd saying, “When we see someone being hurt or harmed or mistreated for any reason at all it’s going to take every nationality of people from every walk of life to stand up against the evil and the corruption in this world and we are going to win!”

Sarah Murphy from the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee who spoke about the fight for abortion access under Trump and the fight against the predatory crisis pregnancy centers that are run by the Christian right and embed themselves in predominantly Black and brown working-class communities and college towns to dissuade people from getting abortions.

The crowd also heard speeches from the Climate Justice Committee, the TCC4J, the Minnesota Immigrant Movement, among many others. Other groups were present to table and talk to community members and other organizers throughout the day to share information and get more community members involved in joining the fight against Trump. 

Closing out the program was Anti-War Committee and Free Palestine Coalition member Sabry Wazwaz, who connected the fights for Black and Palestinian liberation, stating, “This connection is not something new. It has always been there. They don’t want us to remind each other that our struggle is one struggle! If you go to Palestine, you will see murals all along the apartheid walls of Martin Luther King, of Malcom X, of George Floyd - because our struggle is one struggle!”

After the program, participants returned to their cars to caravan to the Minnesota State Capitol building where they ended the day of protest honking outside of the Minnesota State Capitol to send the message that Minnesotans will be in the streets to fight Trump’s agenda starting on day one, even in extreme subzero weather.

#StPaulMN #MLKDay #MLK #Trump #Inauguration #Minnesota #AntiWarCommittee #FreePalestineCoalition #FreePalestine #Abortion #AbortionAccess #ReproductiveFreedom #ReproRights #BLM #BlackLivesMatter

Minneapolis, MN – During the harsh winter conditions on January 11, the streets of Minneapolis were filled with the flags, signs, vehicles and chants of the pro-Palestine movement. 

Marking the one-year anniversary of the Great Ride of Return, an international cycling movement dedicated to raising awareness and funds to support aid efforts for the people of Gaza, a caravan was held to take the streets of the city in an effort to continue applying pressure to get Governor Tim Walz to divest the billions of Minnesota pension holder’s funds from modern day apartheid and genocidal efforts.

The caravan was initiated by the MN Anti-War Committee. It began at Minneapolis South High School, wove through one of Minneapolis’ busiest roads, Lake Street, crossed the Mississippi River, and ended in front of Governor Walz’s mansion in St. Paul.

Before the caravan, participants heard from several speakers. Liz Bolsoni of Minnesota’s Anti-War Committee praised the efforts of the Gaza Sunbirds, a paracycling team that has worked tirelessly to distribute aid throughout the Gaza Strip for the past year. Signifying Minnesota’s complicity with the ongoing genocide, Bolsoni told the crowd, “In a statement of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, the Office of Humanitarian Affairs reported that the besieged Gaza Strip is home to the largest cohort of child amputees in history. Each day, tenchildren are losing one or both legs.” 

Bolsoni continued, “Right now, the Minnesota State Board of Investment - chaired by Walz - has over $700 million invested in weapons manufacturers that are actively selling to Israel. This being only a fraction of the $5.4 billion invested in other corporations that kill, displace, and terrorize Palestinians.”

Brian Chval of Minnesota’s Anti-War Committee explained, “From weapons, tech, and heavy machinery companies, whose inventory marks Palestinian existence for death to demolition the banks, businesses, and government bonds of Israel itself, the SBI has put our tax money and the retirement funds of workers around the state to the service of genocide.” 

Naveen Borojerdi, a unionized public employee and member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, stated, “You would think after losing an election on the national stage, Tim Walz would start listening to his constituents. Time will tell if he, and the rest of the State Board of Investment, will start listening to us. Otherwise, it will be a repeat of what happened this past November.” 

Borojerdi also told how the State Board of Investments recently closed their public meetings to community members, by no longer allowing the public to participate in the meetings in person, limiting their participation to being able to watch the meeting as a live stream. 

After the powerful speeches, a caravan of 75 vehicles and cyclists took to the streets of Minneapolis to begin their journeytowards the mansion of Governor Walz. Slowly traversing the traffic of streets, the caravan continued to grow in size as it approached the mansion.

Cheers echoed, fists were raised, and pride in the continued fight against oppression was experienced by thousands who were witness to the action. Upon arriving at the Governor’s mansion, protesters exited their vehicles to plant and hang signs and messages to make it clear to Walz that his willing participation in genocide will not be forgotten.

#MinneapolisMN #Walz #TimWalz #FreePalestine #MNAWC #AntiWarCommittee

Minneapolis, MN – On September 26, 200 protesters demonstrated to demand an end to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. The protest started with a lot of energy as Students for Justice in Palestine marched from the University Minnesota Student Union and across the Mississippi River to the West Bank campus to join the community solidarity action. Protesters filled the plaza in front of Mayday Books to chant and wave Palestinian and Lebanese flags. The emergency action was organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee as a part of a wave of protests nationally in solidarity with Lebanon.

On September 17-18, Israel detonated thousands of communication devices in Lebanon. This act indiscriminately killed and wounded civilians, including many children. It ran against all war conventions and was unprecedented in cruelty. This week, Israeli airstrikes have killed over 600, including at least 50 children, wounding 1800 and displacing hundreds of thousands.

Anna Madison, a member of the newly-formed Families Against Military Madness, was the first speaker and addressed the recent attacks, “There is nine-year-old Fatima and 11-year-old Bilal who were murdered by Israel using exploding pagers. There are the 50 children murdered earlier this week during the single deadliest day in Lebanon in decades. The reality is I could spend hours listing the dates and times that Israel murders children with impunity. We can talk about 1978, 1982, 1993, 2006, 2024. I can no longer keep track because every time I look at my phone, I see that more children have been murdered. This cannot be normalized. And look, I’m saying this knowing full well that this country doesn’t care about terrorizing and murdering children.”

Israel’s violence in Lebanon has a long history. In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon, triggering a large-scale conflict that killed tens of thousands. After occupying nearly 10% of Lebanon's territory, Israel withdrew in 2000 from its “security zone” following years of Lebanese resistance. Israel attempted another invasion of Lebanon in 2006 but quickly withdrew, killing hundreds in the process.

Many speakers showed solidarity with both Palestine and Lebanon as well as support for resistance to Israel. Lina Jebara, a Lebanese American member of the MN Anti-War Committee, told the crowd, “The struggle against U.S. imperialism and Zionist occupation in the Middle East has never been a struggle belonging to a single nation.”

Jebara continued, “Ironically, and inevitably, Israel’s attempts to turn the Lebanese people against the resistance through unabashed acts of terrorism has failed tremendously. The defiance in the face of brutal occupation has continued to shine effervescently among the resistance, and among the civilians of those countries continuing to resist, united in their cause, now, more than ever before.”

Mick Kelly, the political secretary of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, has traveled to Lebanon and addressed the crowd, “We know for a fact that the Zionists cannot win. And we also know for a fact that the Lebanese resistance is powerful, and it is strong, and it is determined. Hezbollah has at the top of its agenda the liberation of Palestine and the defense of Lebanon.”

Kelly continued, “In Washington DC there’s a group of politicians in the White House and Pentagon who are facilitating a genocide. It is something we cannot and will not ever accept! We absolutely will not rest while it’s taking place.”

Other speakers included Jae Yates from Twin Cities Coalition for Justice and Mnar Adly, the Palestinian American editor of Mint Press News.

The closing speech was from Shahd Abouhekel, an organizer from Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Minnesota, who told the crowd that the students would continue to fight for Palestine and for Lebanon regardless of the repression from U of MN administration.

Wyatt Miller from the Anti-War Committee closed out the protest by encouraging everyone to come out on October 6 to march a year of resistance to genocide at the Free Palestine Coalition march, which will start at 1:30 p.m. at Hennepin and Washington Avenues in downtown Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #Lebanon #StudentsforJusticeinPalestine #FamiliesAgainstMilitaryMadness #AntiWarCommittee

Saint Paul, MN – On August 14, members and supporters of the MN Free Palestine Coalition packed every available seat at the quarterly Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) meeting to demand divestment of state-managed pension funds and other public monies from Israeli weapons manufacturers, banks and bonds, and other entities, complicit in Israel’s apartheid system that contribute to the genocide in Palestine.

The MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) has identified a total of nearly $4.3 billion in public Israeli entities and multinational corporations, some of which explicitly contribute to the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians, all of which profit from it, including Elbit Systems, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Dynamics.

The SBI meeting was chaired by State Auditor Julie Blaha because Governor Tim Walz, who usually chairs the meetings, was campaigning for the Harris/Walz Democratic presidential ticket.

The meeting had a significantly higher number of state patrol troopers than previous meetings and every attendee was given a purple ticket which informed them that disrupting the meeting would lead to gross misdemeanor charges. Multiple protesters were searched by cops and had their signs taken away. Despite these attempts to intimidate pro-Palestinian protesters, four banners and many pictures of murdered Palestinian children were snuck into the meeting and the protesters chanted loudly throughout the whole meeting.

16 union members and community activists testified at the SBI meeting asking for the state of Minnesota to divest from genocide. Stacey Gurian-Sherman, an anti-Zionist Jew and a former public employee who organizes with the Climate Justice Committee, was the first speaker. Her powerful speech kicked off the public comment section of the meeting, “This is painful to me because it is being perpetrated in my name as a Jew – and in violation of Geneva Convention protocols created as a direct result of Nazi atrocities during WWII that murdered 6 millionJews, and 5 million more Romanies, persons with disabilities and in the queer community. What Israel is today should be painful to all of us for being perpetrated in our names as Americans.”

Omari Hoover, a member of both the MN Anti-War Committee, the Free Palestine Coalition and executive board member of AFSCME Local 2822, gave the SBI the 3425 petition signatures the AWC collected this summer and their updated white paper on the board’s investments.

Hoover stated in his testimony, “Earlier this year, when the Palestinian death toll was just under 30,000, we passed a resolution for divestment in Israel. Since then, the death count has risen to almost 40,000 with an anticipated 186,000 for those unaccounted for. In April, I watched Governor Walz give an impassioned speech at the AFSCME Council 5 Day on the Hill about how he plans to stand in solidarity with laborers and would continue to put efforts into thriving unions. Since then, along with everyone on the Minnesota State Board of Investments, you have shown that the solidarity is only with organizations that build an economy in favor of infinite financial growth. You meet quarterly with no indication that there'll be any progress in Minnesota’s divestment of the ongoing atrocities that is the current genocide, happening daily in occupied Palestine, of which many labor organizations have put forth divestment and ceasefire resolutions for.”

Neil Radford, a member of MFT 52 and Minnesota Workers United, also has his pension invested by the SBI. He testified, “Divestment is not a request, it is a demand, and it does not stop with Palestinian liberation. The SBI needs to divest from Israeli apartheid and divert itself and this state from a future where increased militarism is our only answer.”

Michael Runyon, an organizer with Students For Palestine-Normandale and the MN Peace Action Coalition testified, “When you decide to invest in companies like General Dynamics you are choosing to fund the only company in the United States that produces that shell casings for the MK bomb series that was used by Israel to bomb a school in a so-called safe zone killing over 100 innocent men women and children who had gathered for morning prayer. You helped pay for the bombs that tore those people to shreds, so much so, that not one complete body could be recovered.” Runyon is also a part of organizing a protest on September 14 in Bloomington, Minnesota at General Dynamics.

Many protesters said goodbye to each other acknowledging that they will ride the Anti-War Committee’s buses to Chicago on Sunday to March on the DNC on August 19.

#SaintPaulMN #FreePalestine #Antiwarcommittee #Walz #MinnesotaWorkersUnited

Minneapolis, MN – An estimated 300 Twin Cities residents came out in a downpour of rain to participate in the Free Palestine Coalition’s emergency rally to show solidarity with Rafah, May 27. The protest took place outside of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office near downtown Minneapolis.

Protesters wore keffiyehs and pro-Palestine apparel, held signs favorable to Palestinian liberation, and bellowed chants like “From the olive to the sand, Palestine is our demand,” demonstrating their commitment and continued support of Palestinian liberation.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) utilized the dark of night to engage in military tactics that continued genocidal efforts on the Palestinian people, dropping over 60 bombs within 48 hours and killing at least 45 civilians who sought any semblance of solace Rafah had to offer.

The Rafah massacre took place on the weekend of the anniversary of the death of George Floyd, and on this Memorial Day, the MN Free Palestine Coalition’s emergency response rally illuminated Israel’s unceasing genocide.

Loretta VanPelt, from Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, placed the Black liberation with the liberation of Palestinians, touching on the offensive chokehold tactics that were used in the killing of George Floyd as equivalent to those used in the massacre of Palestinians. “The cops here, in Minneapolis and across the country are trained by the IOF. We need to continue to fight together for a free Palestine. I’m glad I’m in the same company and on the same side with people who want liberation,” said VanPelt.

Trent Fast of the Anti-War Committee proposed that instead of taking part in the traditional American Memorial Day holiday, “we take part in a different type of remembrance. We should be honoring the millions of innocent civilians who have been beaten, tortured, raped and murdered at the hand of the American military and its willing proxies over the course of this nation’s history.”

Fast went on to say, “The Zionist entity of Israel, with the unrelenting support of Genocide Joe and all of his crooked-mouthed cronies in Washington, have unleashed some of the most devastating attacks to date on the exhausted, malnourished, desperate and dying Palestinians who have fled to Rafah, who are grasping at the sliver of hope that they may somehow escape the nightmare they’ve been enduring for the past seven months in their native land.”

Representatives of Qatar and Egypt have indicated that the recent air strikes and onslaught may be additional deterrents to peace deals that Israel has continued to obstruct. France’s President Emmanuel Macron and the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell have also expressed their disdain – condemning the attacks on Rafah while practicing vigilant avoidance of denouncing the ongoing genocide and displacement of Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the attacks “a tragic mistake,” after Israel’s dismissal of the International Court of Justice order to halt its offensive assault on Rafah. Not in alignment with the verbal sentiments of the prime minister, the IOF took to social media to conceal their adverse attacks, claiming they “carried out an intelligence-based precise strike that targeted senior Hamas terrorists in Tal al-Sultan.”

The world has become aware of the fabrications coming out of Israeli leadership and military operations, seeing the amplified messages coming out of Rafah with reports of the dozens killed and infernos at the refugee camps.

Where international news outlets continue to offer skewed opinions and differing narratives, American Muslims for Palestine’s Maysoon Wazwaz reminded us to pivot attention to the people of Gaza, in the struggle for a free Palestine, stating, “We center them first, we center their work always. When I talk about Palestine, I bring up every person who is on the ground first, before I bring up me. This is about them, first and foremost, and we unite with them for their struggle.”

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Bloomington, MN – On March 16, protesters held a march to the Bloomington facility of weapons manufacturer General Dynamics, to demand that the Minnesota State Board of Investment divests public funds from General Dynamics for its weapons trade with apartheid Israel. Israel has relied heavily on General Dynamics’ weapons for decades, including during its ongoing genocide against Gaza over the last five months.

The protest of 400 people started near the Penn-Lake Library with a rally followed by a march to General Dynamics building in Bloomington. General Dynamics is the world’s fifth largest weapons manufacturer, with an annual revenue of $38.5 billion. General Dynamics manufactures and sells military weapons and equipment – including armored fighting and robotic combat vehicles, tanks, artillery systems, aircraft guns and cybersecurity systems – and is currently the only company that produces the 155mm artillery shells that have been used by Israel in Gaza. These weapons have repeatedly been fired against Palestinian civilians, resulting in numerous casualties as well as mass destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and water and electric systems.

Students for Palestine Normandale, Bloomington Students for Palestine, and the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition organized the protest.

Michael Runyon, the founder of Students for Palestine Normandale, explained the reasoning behind the protest to the crowd, “This location is called a ‘Mission Systems’ location. They develop the technology behind the killing machines. They brag that they are the ‘brains behind the brawn.’ What that means is they are the brains behind the genocide.”

Audrey, a ninth-grader at Kennedy High School in Bloomington and a member of Bloomington Students for Palestine spoke to the crowd before marching, “More children have been killed in Gaza in the past four months than have been killed worldwide in the past four years of wars. How can Biden ask us to vote for him when he’s responsible for this mass murder? How can General Dynamics sit here pretending to be just a tech company when they're responsible for the deaths of so many children? Walz was at the Democratic fundraiser last night. How can he ask for money and have a fancy dinner when he doesn't divest from this genocide?”

She continued, “It’s important that students speak out about this because this is a youth issue. If you were born in Palestine in 2006, you’ve already lived through five Israeli assaults. Kids in Gaza aren’t thinking about going to college, they’re thinking about surviving the next week. Hoping to not starve to death. Hoping to not be bombed. Hoping that their families will survive.”

According to its most recent asset listings, the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) has invested over $31 million of the public pension funds it manages in General Dynamics. The MN Anti-War Committee is leading a campaign to get the SBI to divest its over $3 billion worth of investments from Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers.

Liz McLister, a member of the AWC, also spoke to the crowd, “What brings us to this particular site today? The SBI has funneled almost $37 million of Minnesotan taxpayer money into General Dynamics shares and securities.”

McLister continued, “Long before Israel's current gloves-off campaign, General Dynamics' weapons and equipment were terrorizing, maiming and killing Gazans. Shame! This company has spent years seeding death and destruction in occupied Palestine; along the U.S.-Mexico border; and elsewhere around the globe.”

The march went to General Dynamics’ “Mission Systems” facility on Queen Avenue to draw attention to their role in the rising death toll in Gaza.

#BloomingtonMN #GeneralDynamics #AntiWarCommittee #Palestine #StudentsforPalestineNormandale, #BloomingtonStudentsforPalestine #MinnesotaPeaceActionCoalition