North Charleston, SC – On Tuesday, September 8, over 20 community members joined the Elbit Out of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition’s picket of a Charleston County Council meeting to demand a cancellation of the tax breaks given to Elbit Systems.

Outside of the public services building, participants filled the plaza with signs linking Council Chair Joe Boykin to the body’s failure to end the tax breaks and chanted “Boykin, Boykin your hands are red, over five hundred thousand Palestinians dead!” and “County council you will see, we’ll kick Elbit out of SC!”

The picket was seen as an escalation of anti-war activists' efforts to compel the council to end the Fee in Lieu of Tax (FILOT) agreement with the Israeli weapons manufacturer, through meetings with councilmembers and public comment speakouts.

Two EOSC organizers also used the public comment period of the meeting to again demand an end to the FILOT, call attention to the picket happening outside, and read messages written by Boykin’s constituents who signed EOSC’s petition demanding an end to the tax breaks.

“In the almost five years since the FILOT was signed, our public schools have lost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars as a direct result of your action,” stated Zach Hall, EOSC organizer and member of Charleston Democratic Socialists of America. “At the same time, Elbit has made bomb bodies and howitzer cannons in Ladson that it sells to commit war crimes and genocide. This is a losing deal for working-class people in Charleston and working-class people around the world.”

The combined picket and public comment drew the attention of many council members who remarked on the anti-war activists' presence. Most notably, Boykin, who had previously missed an EOSC community meeting in his district because of a lobbying trip to Israel, noted there are two-sides to every story and that “it’s not a role for county council to involve itself in. We are here to serve the citizens of Charleston County and govern accordingly.”

Attendees of the picket listening in through the council’s live stream laughed at Boykin’s closing remarks.

“It’s amazing that after two years of organizing at county council that councilmembers can still peddle the lie that the FILOT is serving Charleston County,” remarked Nate Hubler, an EOSC organizer and member of the Lowcountry Action Committee (LAC). “It's obvious that defunding Charleston’s public school system of millions of dollars doesn’t serve the citizens of Charleston County.”

The picket continued for another hour after the council meeting ended. “We wanted to make sure every single council member had to walk by the picket and make the choice to either ignore us or engage with their constituents,” said Matt Colburn, a member of LAC.

Boykin, almost an hour after the meeting concluded, was the final councilmember to leave the public services building. He was escorted to his car by multiple police officers and refused to make eye contact as the crowd chanted, “Boykin, Boykin you can’t hide! You’re supporting genocide!”

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #BDS #ElbitSystems

Jacksonville, FL – On Tuesday, August 8, community members of the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) mobilized to Jacksonville City Council to demand the Police and Fire Pension Fund Board of Trustees not reinvest into TEVA Pharmaceuticals and divest its investment portfolios from Israel and Israeli companies.

TEVA Pharmaceuticals is a predatory company that helped fuel the fentanyl crisis, and it functions as an economic and societal pillar of the genocidal, war-mongering state of Israel. Despite the Jacksonville’s Police and Fire Pension Fund (PFPF) being in a 45% underfunded state of crisis, it currently has $200 million invested in Israeli bonds with $2 million invested into TEVA Pharmaceutical junk bonds specifically, one of which is up for renewal on October 1, less than a month away.

The press conference at the start of the mobilization served as the official launch of the new campaign, detailing reasons for the community and the PFPF board to act with urgency on the matter of divestment.

JPSN’s press representative stated, “While everyday Jacksonville residents are struggling to afford basic medical care, in just the past decade, Teva has been found guilty in multiple lawsuits, settling for billions of dollars for fraudulence and drug price fixing.”

Public comment from community members echoed shared sentiments of struggling to afford basic needs and advocated for better funding for social programs. One speaker stated, “The $2 million invested into TEVA could provide 20 million meals, according to Feeding America, for Jacksonville families that have recently experienced a lapse in SNAP benefits.”

Speakers presented the case that investments in companies like TEVA are a root cause of skyrocketing city debt that diverts funds from the community.

Immediately after the mobilization, members of JPSN conversed with Jacksonville residents and found unity on the demands that our tax dollars should benefit the people of Jacksonville, not an Israeli foreign corporate entity, that repeatedly breaks U.S. laws, actively chooses to harm our communities, drains local resources, and perpetuates the genocide of the Palestinian people.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #BDS #Palestine #TevaPharmaceuticals

Salt Lake City, UT – On Tuesday, August 25, members of the Utah Anti-War Committee met with Salt Lake District 1 Councilor Jiro Johnson. Johnson’s county council district covers a Raytheon facility, which the UAWC has been campaigning against since May. The anti-war activists demanded that Johnson publicly condemn the Raytheon facility in his district.

The meeting was secured after activists packed Salt Lake County Council earlier in August, calling on Johnson to introduce legislation against the facility. At the meeting, Johnson at first did not commit to issuing a written and public condemnation of Raytheon, citing concerns around Republican backlash to his policy agenda.

Activists continued to push for a firm anti-Raytheon, anti-war stance at the meeting. They gave the deadline of September 16, marking 200 days since the start of Trump’s war against Iran, in which a Raytheon Tomahawk missile killed over 100 schoolchildren at an Iranian girls’ school.

After the meeting, UAWC took to social media to urge the community to call on Johnson to take a side against Raytheon. In comment sections and Instagram stories, more community members began to call on Johnson to condemn the war-profiteering facility in his district.

Soon, Johnson relented, posting on August 28 the public, written condemnation of war and Raytheon, which activists had demanded, on his official social media page.

“It's despicable that corporations like Raytheon and other members of the military-industrial complex are getting rich off this violence,” Johnson’s statement read.

In their own statement, the UAWC said, “This condemnation was demanded by activists and did not come from nowhere, and it was not easy to win. It was the result of deliberate and sustained anti-Raytheon activism by the community since May of this year.”

“A statement from the councilor where Raytheon operates is a good step. We count it as a win. But clearly, much more is needed to stop the U.S. war machine,” continued UAWC.

Those wanting to join the anti-war movement and build on this victory should attend the next Utah Anti-War Committee meeting on Saturday, September 5, 3 p.m. at the Salt Lake City Main Library Level 3 Conference Room.

#SaltLakeCityUT #UT #AntiWarMovement #UAWC #BDS #Raytheon

Philadelphia, PA – On Wednesday evening, August 26, over 80 protesters gathered outside the entrance of the Pennsylvania Convention Center to protest the war profiteers attending the Defense Industrial Base Accelerator, a convention centered around building the U.S. industrial base for greater war production.

It is not surprising that Philadelphia would be chosen to host such a convention. There has recently been a bipartisan push at local and national levels to bolster the position of the defense industry in Philadelphia.

Just last August, Trump cooked up a deal with Republic of Korea President Lee Jae Myung which entailed a direct investment of $5 billion into shipbuilding venture Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc. so that it may expand its facilities and workforce to take on U.S. military contracts. This July, Trump announced a $10 billion investment for new defense industry jobs at the first ever Pennsylvania Defense and & Innovation Summit. At the same conference, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency awarded a $2 billion contract to Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc. for new missile instrumentation ships. Rhoads Industries, right next door to the shipyard, also secured a $24 million investment from JPMorgan Chase for skilled workforce training and the development of nuclear sub facilities.

Protesters lined up along the road with banners reading “Hanwha out of Philly – no war profiteers in our city!” and “Smash U.S. imperialism.” Some carried effigies of IDF soldiers and ICE agents hanging from nooses.

A member of Koreans for Decolonization, representing the Philly Alliance Against Imperialism, spoke out against Hanwha’s presence at the convention, stating, “The Korean people do not want war and division. But these money-hungry companies are willing to cash checks into the U.S. war economy while exploiting Korean and American workers. Hanwha is an arm of U.S. imperialism, from its partnerships with the IOF to the UAE, and until the U.S. imperialist project is destroyed, Hanwha will continue to contribute to the violence and genocide it benefits from.”

Members of Philadelphia Students for Justice in Palestine also highlighted the presence of Philly-headquartered Day and Zimmerman, an artillery manufacturing company and IDF supplier, at the convention.

After an hour of speeches, protesters entered Broad Street, marched around the convention center and dispersed.

#PhiladephiaPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Hanwha #WarIndustry #BDS

On Tuesday, August 25th, members of Utah Anti-War Committee met with Salt Lake District 1 Council member Jiro Johnson.

We demanded that Johnson formally and publicly condemn the Raytheon AST weapons facility located in his district in West Valley City. Raytheon makes bombs and guided missiles for the Israeli and U.S. military. These weapons are used in well-documented war crimes in Iran and Palestine.

Earlier in August, our movement won a verbal statement against Raytheon from Johnson in County Council. But he stopped short of agreeing to write a public anti-war condemnation of Raytheon. Johnson said he needed to “consider” before condemning Raytheon AST, as he feared political backlash from Republicans against his policy agenda.

He told community members in our meeting that, “children are dying every day, but I need to think of the political ramifications.”

This is an issue of right and wrong, and about where average people in Salt Lake want political power spent. There can be political costs to doing the right thing. But Raytheon is a company profiting off bombing civilians in tents in Gaza and killing unarmed schoolgirls in Iran.

What’s worse, Raytheon does it with our taxes while housing, education, jobs, healthcare, and our environment are left on the wayside. Jiro Johnson should release a statement against Raytheon AST. He ran for Council on a progressive platform, and the war-profiteering facility is in his district.

A statement from the County Councilor where Raytheon AST operates would represent a real blow against the Republicans’ unpopular pro-war agenda. We need to make companies profiting from war and genocide with our taxes unwelcome in our communities and demand reinvestment in people’s needs.

Johnson committed to meet UAWC again by September 16, 200 days from the start of Trump’s illegal war on Iran. It’s the perfect time for him to publicly condemn an unpopular, genocidal war-profiteer like Raytheon and call for money for Utah’s needs, not war.

We only got this meeting by months of protesting, educating, and building the anti-war movement. To strike a blow against Raytheon, we need to organize even more and stay united.

Be ready to call on Jiro Johnson to honor the progressive principles that got him elected.

Raytheon Out of Salt Lake!

#SaltLakeCityUT #UT #AntiWarMovement #Raytheon #BDS #Palestine #Iran

San José, CA – On August 20, the second day of the fall semester, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led a protest on the San José State University Campus. SDS has been leading a “No Tech for Genocide” campaign for several years, demanding that university administration cut all ties with weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin. San José State University has maintained ties with Lockheed for decades, including hosting specific engineering master’s programs tailored to send students straight to working as weapons designers.

At 1:30 p.m., students gathered at the Arch of Dignity and started chants such as “Lockheed Martin off our campus!” and “Lockheed does the killing, admin makes a killing!”

Nikki Flowers from SDS stated, “We are here to make sure our university knows we will not sit idly by. We will not allow our tuition, our resources, to be funneled into companies like Lockheed Martin.”

Flowers demanded that SJSU admin “cut all university partnerships with these war profiteers, with these defense and technology corporations, and government entities complicit with the occupation and genocide of Palestine.”

Ethan Maruyama from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated, “While tuition goes up every year, making living increasingly unaffordable for students, SJSU admin continues to maintain contracts with war profiteers.”

Maruyama continued, “We will not passively watch as the U.S. empire tries to consolidate the little power they can hold onto. Students on this campus and across the nation have led a long militant history of struggle, from the anti-war movement to the immigrant rights movement, and we will continue down that militant path. Through our day to day struggles, like this protest today, we can build the movement to strike blows against the enemy by continuing to put pressure on SJSU admin.”

Finally, the students stopped at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library for a speech from Jack McCann of San José Against War. “Israel continues to murder Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank,” McCann stated. “It is clear that institutions like San José State have made it possible for this to happen.”

The students continued to march throughout the campus, with many students joining them along the way. This action and noise demonstration called attention to SJSU's ties to war profiteers and complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. SDS will continue to pressure university administration to cut ties with Lockheed Martin, and all other war profiteers.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement #BDS #Palestine #LockheedMartin

Grand Rapids, MI – On the morning of August 19, activists walked into the Grand Rapids Retirement System board meeting with one goal in mind: “What will it take for the city pension plan to divest from Israeli companies?”

The ongoing “Grand Rapids Divest from Israel” campaign started when Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests confirmed the existence of a $1.1 million investment from the retirement system in an Israeli AI company called NiCE.

NiCE makes AI-powered software for use in anything from business management to police surveillance. 

“Word has gotten out among the broad public that our government has been funneling billions of dollars into Israel every year, and Americans are rightly upset about it,” said Nick Young during the public comment section of the board meeting. 

Young continued, “We suggest that you, as the board of the General Retirement System, communicate with your investment consultants and investment managers, directing them to eliminate all holdings in NiCE.”

Palestine solidarity activist Jessica Plichta commented, “This isn’t the police or U.S. government using and accessing our information alone, it is a foreign entity from a foreign government who is committing crimes against humanity that is using and saving our private information.”

After the meeting, trustees talked with activists, and many expressed their openness to working together to find which asset manager held the NiCE investment on behalf of the city and to continue the conversation.

“It is a great initial step,” said Anthony Hegarty. “People don’t want our economy tied up with Israel anymore. We want our city to stop conducting business with Israel and if it means chipping away at each lousy investment to get there, we will do it.”

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #BDS #Divestment

The Palestine Solidarity Committee of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) found out on July 7 from the Saint Paul Water Board website that they have selected Waterfall Security Solutions again for a contract.

Saint Paul provides water to Saint Paul, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Lilydale, Maplewood, Mendota, Mendota Heights, West Saint Paul, Roseville, Little Canada and Arden Hills.

Meredith Aby, the WAMM director, explains, “After a year of attending board meetings, meeting with board members, petitioning and calling, we are angered that, despite Waterfall being an Israeli company that works hand in hand with Israel in its genocide of the Palestinian people, Saint Paul wants to expand and extend their contract. The new proposed contract will be $153,611.74 and for five years. They proposed this knowing that their constituents do not support genocide.”

WAMM has been working on this campaign for a year as a part of the boycott, divest and sanctions (BDS) movement. WAMM chose this strategy because it was previously successful in pressuring the U.S. to stop supporting South African apartheid. The BDS Movement website says that the tech sector “feeds Israel’s war chest, making up 20% of Israel’s GDP (in 2023) and 53% of its exports (2023).” The goal of the BDS movement is to isolate Israel economically to pressure them to end apartheid and genocide.

Aby continued, “If you drink or use Saint Paul water, please call today – 651-266-6350 extension 7. And regardless of where you live, we need you to come out to the next Water Board meeting on Tuesday, July 14 at noon at Saint Paul City Hall, 15 W Kellogg Boulevard in room 300 to demand that they cut the contract with Waterfall!”

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Divestment #BDS #Palestine #WAMM

Minneapolis, MN – On June 5, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) and allied organizations held a rally outside the Minneapolis Convention center to disrupt the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s (DFL) 2026 Humphrey-Mondale fundraising dinner. The dinner is the Minnesota Democratic Party’s annual fundraising event and a strategic rallying point for local Democrats ahead of key elections.

Braving the intense summer heat for a program of chanting and speeches, community members made their voices heard as they demanded an end to state funding of Israel’s genocide in Palestine, an end to the war on Iran and Lebanon, and a return to quarterly in-person State Board of Investment (SBI) meetings.

Cassidy Aickin, member of the AWC and co-emcee for the day, opened the event by saying, “In that building the DFL is hosting their annual Humphrey-Mondale dinner; their biggest fundraising event of the year. The people who have the most institutional power in our state, alongside their benefactors, are coming together to celebrate – another ‘great year’ of shutting out their constituents, ignoring people’s cries for divestment, and directly paying for the bombs that have martyred hundreds of thousands of Palestinian, Lebanese and Iranian people. Shame!”

Aickin continued, “The State Board of Investment, composed of Tim Walz, Keith Ellison, Julie Blaha and Steve Simon, chooses to invest hundreds of millions of Minnesota state employee pension dollars into weapons manufacturers, Israeli companies, and war profiteers like Palantir.”

The SBI had been scheduled to hold its second quarterly meeting of 2026 on Wednesday, June 3, but quietly removed the details from its schedule less than a month before. This effective cancellation continued the SBI’s over year-long trend of restricting community participation in what should be public meetings. But these cancellations have not deterred community involvement and have instead given way for powerful coalitions.

Representing the MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Mira Altobell-Resendez reminded the crowd that, “The Minnesota Democratic Party spent all of winter ignoring the calls for protections for immigrants during Metro Surge. Tim Walz can sign an executive order at any time to ban 287(g) agreements that deputize county law enforcement into local ICE agents. The candidates for this year’s gubernatorial election like Amy Klobuchar could commit to creating ICE free zones as soon as they step into office.”

Alissa Washington, founder and executive director of the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council of MN, gave an impassioned speech connecting the wrongful conviction of her fiancé, Cornelius Jackson, and the over-policing of communities here and abroad. Washington said, “We’re here tonight because while the DFL dines with donors, we’re out here struggling to survive. While politicians gather behind closed doors, families are torn apart by wrongful convictions and over-sentencing! While they celebrate fundraisers, our loved ones are deported, imprisoned, displaced, and forgotten.”

Washington continued, “The DFL loves to tell us they are the party of working people. Then prove it! Stop shutting the public out of SBI meetings. Stop making decisions that impact our communities without our communities present.”

“What they’re really doing is defining what it means to run as a Democrat: position yourself as the only alternative to the Republican Party when you support genocide, racist tough-on-crime policies, corporate profiteers, expansion of the police state, all at the expense of the same constituents you claim to represent,” said Maddy Schwartz, member of the MN AWC. “The SBI has ignored constant calls from public employees to address this disgusting complicity in human rights violations. This sends a clear message that if you stand against genocide, your voice doesn’t matter.”

Only two days after the SBI was scheduled to meet, workers and allies in the anti-war movement made their voices heard, questioning why DFL politicians have time for their donors but not the taxpayers who pay their salaries. One volunteer working at the dinner stepped out from his role inside the Convention Center and picked up a “Divest MN from Apartheid Israel” sign for a portion of the action, before returning to his duties inside. When asked why he chose to join the voices demanding divestment he said, “It is the right thing to do.”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #DFL #Palestine #Divestment #BDS

Chicago IL – A group of 50 residents protested outside the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) quarterly meeting in downtown Chicago, Friday March 27. The action was organized by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Anti-War Committee Chicago (AWC), BDS Chicago, and the Illinois Divest from Genocide Network, a group of 60 organizations. Protesters demand that ISBI divest from all companies complicit in Israeli, U.S. wars, as well companies materially supporting ICE and other federal immigration enforcement here in the U.S. 

The network hosted a rally outside of the quarterly meeting as they have been for the past year and a half.

“The aggression on Iran both by our government and the Zionist state happened because boards like ISBI and treasurers like Michael Frerichs refuse to divest from genocide and war. When we gift companies with government contracts, investments and tax incentives, they will continue doing the evil things that our so-called politicians stand against and oppose,” stated Husam Marajda of USPCN during the outside rally portion. 

In addition to ISBI’s investments, Michael Frerichs, the Illinois state treasurer and vice chair of ISBI, has invested $100 million in Israel bonds. He renewed $15 million worth of bonds as recently as this February, despite growing demands for divestment.

After the outside rally, several people went through intense security checks and were even threatened with arrest to give public comment at the board meeting where they expressed their concern over ISBI and Frerichs’s inaction and demanded divestment. Several commenters discussed how money invested in companies like Palantir, L3Harris, and Boeing directly funds ICE kidnappings at home, and Israeli war crimes and genocide in West Asia. 

Several directly invoked ISBI and Frerichs’s responsibility. As Dominic Robolino, a healthcare worker and commenter stated, “We can stop this. We can end the genocide. We can end the wars. All we have to do is turn off the tap. Pull the money out. No money for genocide. Set an example for others to follow.” 

Speakers at public comment and the outside rally, including the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) spoke to how the Israeli state and complicit companies fund police violence on the streets of Chicago, ICE deportation blitzes around the country, and U.S. imperialist aggression around the world. 

Gianna Escareño, another public commenter and a member of CAARPR, highlighted the ways that Boeing, L3Harris, and Palantir sell weapons and software for genocide in Palestine, and terrorizing immigrant communities in Chicago. Palantir, for example, “uses data to surveil our immigrant communities here at home and they are used in Palestine as well. They develop a kill list that is then used to brutally murder families in Palestine. How disgusting is that?”

At the end of the meeting, the network presented its research on the atrocities that Israel has committed using weapons from companies in the ISBI portfolio. They also presented signatures added to the organization’s divestment petition.

ISBI has still not released their 2025 annual report which should have been released by the end of 2025. The network had to get the data through FOIA, showing the importance of keeping pressure. 

Illinois residents can sign onto the petition demanding ISBI and Frerichs divest from genocide, warmongering, and ICE raid and can keep up with any actions surrounding the campaign by following @antiwarchicago, @BDSchicago, and @USPCN on social media.

#ChicagoIL #IL #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #AntiWarChicago #BDSChicago #USPCN #BDS #Divestment

Chicago, IL On Wednesday afternoon, February 25, dozens of demonstrators gathered downtown Chicago at the State Building, carrying signs that read “Zionism, like apartheid, cannot last” and “Stop buying Israel Bonds.”

This protest, organized by Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) Chicago – a project of the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), and Anti-War Committee Chicago – was called after Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced in early February that he would renew Illinois’ investment in two Israel Bonds, totaling $15 million together.

“We are here today outside Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs’ office because for over a year, his constituents, Illinois taxpayers, pension holders, and community members have been consistently coming to him with one simple demand; And that is to divest our public funds from genocide!” said Noura Ebrahim, an organizer of BDS Chicago, opened up the rally.

Michael Frerichs released a statement about the renewal of the bonds on February 5. Ahead of the February 1 bond expiration deadline was a mounting pressure campaign demanding Frerichs not renew the two expiring investments in Israel Bonds. Calls and emails from constituents were left unanswered by Frerichs’ offices, and phone lines disconnected. Despite the elevated calls for divestment, Michael Frerichs remains committed to investing Illinois taxpayer dollars in Israel Bonds. 

Wednesday’s event was organized as part of a statewide campaign of the Illinois Divest from Genocide Network, made up of 56 organizations across Illinois demanding divestment of Illinois public funds from genocide. While demonstrations took place outside of Frerich’s Chicago office, Illinois residents and organizers with the Illinois Divest From Genocide Network in Springfield gathered to demonstrate in front of the Treasurer’s Springfield office. Michael Frerichs was confirmed to be at his Springfield office during the time of the rally.

Although Illinois investment in two Israel Bonds has been renewed, activists vow to continue to demand the end of the treasurer’s appropriation of taxpayer dollars to aid in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. 

“We will keep showing up, we will keep organizing. No police violence will intimidate or stop us. And we will keep exposing his hypocrisy until every single Illinois dollar is divested from genocide, and reinvested here at home,” Ebrahim stated.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #BDS #USPCN #AWCChicago

Chicago, IL – On Thursday, January 22, organizers in Anti-War Committee (AWC), Chicago, United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), and BDS Chicago braved the cold to host a press conference demanding that Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs divest state funds from Israel Bonds. They were joined by rank-and-file members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 to announce that they are filing their third ethics complaint against Frerichs for his investments.

“Michael Frerichs, what don’t you understand? We are not going to stop until you divest from Israel,” declared AWC Chicago Co-chair Jae Franklin, addressing the crowd gathered outside the Illinois State Treasurer’s office.

A representative from 73 for Palestine, Gaby Martinez, explained the reason for the complaint. “Treasurer Frerichs needs to be censured in that he is not investing for the people of Illinois, but for his personal political agenda.” The charges submitted to the Executive Inspector General include “abuse of authority, corruption, favoritism, improper use of state time and other resources, and prohibited political purposes and misuse of political assets.”

The state of Illinois currently has $100 million actively invested in Israel Bonds, making Illinois one of the leading state governments supplying material support to Israel. Funds raised from the sale of Israel Bonds are unrestricted. They are transferred directly into Israel’s general budget and can be used for any purpose. “We’ve seen what they do with these resources,” stated Franklin, “mass starvation, occupation, the destruction of schools, hospitals, places of worship.”

Organizers spoke to the repression they have faced from the state treasurer’s office, as well as from the Illinois State Board of Investments (ISBI), who are also under fire from the public for their investments in companies that provide material support to Israel.

Tulsi McDaniels from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR) recounted her experience of being forcibly removed from the most recent ISBI meeting. “State police separated us and purposefully brutalized another protester in the room – but not before denying us entrance unless we removed our keffiyehs.” The meeting was also delayed by over an hour, and protesters were left to stand outside in freezing temperatures.

Noura Ebrahim from the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) summed it up, “Frerichs is clearly more comfortable engaging with representatives of Zionist organizations and supporters of genocide than with the people whose money he manages—a profound breach of public trust.” Michael Frerichs still has not publicly addressed any calls for divestment.

Protesters were also joined by state senator and candidate for Illinois comptroller Karina Villa, who represents the 25th District of Illinois. She spoke to the connections between these atrocities overseas, and the violence being committed by ICE within the United States itself, both of which are funded by taxpayer dollars stating, “These monsters that are wreaking havoc at home or abroad, this Donald Trump regime, understands one thing: he understands money. We understand money, too. This is Illinoisans’ dollars.”

Organizers attempted to deliver a copy of the ethics complaint to the state treasurer’s office but were denied entry. They were told that a representative from the office would come down to receive the papers, but no one ever arrived to do so. Eventually, the papers were handed off to the state police officer managing the entrance, who said that they would be delivered.

Call Frerichs’ office and sign the letter to divest!

Organizers are urging the public to call Michael Frerich’s office and demand for him to divest from Israel Bonds, starting with two bonds with a total value of $15 million that are set to expire on February 1.

Illinois residents can also sign the letter to divest as an individual or endorse as an organization to join the divestment network. For updates about the campaign and further calls to action regarding divestment, follow @uspcn, @bdschicago, and @antiwarchicago on Instagram.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Divest #Palestine #Labor #SEIU #BDS #USPCN

Niles, OH – On October 12, members of the Pittsburgh BDS Coalition joined up with activists from various local groups to protest outside a Howmet Aerospace factory, known to be manufacturing parts for the F-35 jet which is being used by the IDF in occupied Palestine. The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement works to isolate Israel for the crimes it is committing in Palestine.

From the outset, protesters were clear that their enemies are the Howmet and Lockheed Martin executives who signed a genocidal contract which ensures that the country’s specialized titanium industry is used to manufacture tools for the war machine, rather than needed services like prosthetic limbs for the thousands of injured Gazans. The movement expressed support for the workers through chanting slogans like “Drop the contract, not bombs” and “Keep Gaza alive; cancel the F-35.”

Although only a small group was able to protest outside the factory, support from the local community was tremendous. Many people driving past the factory honked in support of the protest, even though Niles is the kind of semi-rural factory town which is often written off as inherently conservative.

The action in Niles is the second event to come as part of the Week of Action against Howmet, where organizers are moving past recognizable urban centers to protest outside the factories.

The project has been organized by the Pittsburgh BDS Coalition, in collaboration with groups like BDS International, Jewish Voices for Peace, the Anti-War Action Network, DSA, PSL, as well as a number of regional Palestine Solidarity Committees across the US.

As Pittsburgh BDS organizers see it, it’s time for the Palestine solidarity movement to go beyond regional demonstrations reacting to atrocities committed by the Zionist entity, and go on the offensive with a nationally coordinated campaign against the local infrastructure of genocide.

#NilesOH #OH #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #WeaponsIndustry #BDS

Madison, WI – As part of a Global Weekend of Action called by the BDS Movement, a contingent of about 40 peace activists led by World Beyond War-UW, including the newly formed Students for a Democratic Society-UW Madison chapter, community members and religious organizations, followed by Madison Area DSA, made the cause of Palestine impossible to ignore at the city's 48th annual Willy Street Fair, September 21.

As is tradition for the second day of the festival, a parade kicked off from the 900 block of Williamson Street, set to march about six blocks through the historic Williamson-Marquette neighborhood. Front and center, behind the sponsors, the beloved “Bubblemobile” coughed large clumps of bubbles into the air and immediately the chanting began.

In a typically light-hearted and proudly “weird” environment like the Willy Street Fair, chants of “From the river to the sea,” and “Stand up, fight back” echoed between the homes and small businesses. Ensuring that no fair-goer forget that while their funnel cakes fry, children are dying in Palestine. Not only from starvation, but from weapons provided by the U.S. government.

Later in the day, as part of the same BDS Movement call to action, World Beyond War-UW led a significantly longer walk, with 20 or so people carrying signs and banners around the entirety of Lake Monona, a 12-mile journey, to continue bringing attention to American complicity in Israel's crimes.

#MadisonWI #WI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #BDS #StudentMovement #SDS

New York, NY – On February 25, over 20 NYU students, faculty and workers picketed the board of trustees meeting demanding they disclose and divest from all companies supplying Israel in its genocidal occupation of Palestine.

In addition to disclosure and divestment, the NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition demanded the closure of the NYU Tel Aviv campus, built upon stolen Palestinian land, and the reversal of all suspensions and probation charges of Palestine student activists. The coalition’s demands aim to cut the university’s ties to the state of Israel.

As board of trustee members were escorted into their meeting by campus security officers, they were confronted by picketersdemanding that they disclose and divest. As the meeting went on, picketers chanted “Trustees pick a side, justice or genocide” and “We want justice you say how! Answer our demands now!”

The picket was called for by the NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition, which consists of the NYU Students for a Democratic Society, NYU Students for Justice in Palestine, Shut It Down NYU, NYU Graduate Student Workers Union – UAW, and several other organizations.

The participating organizations vow to continue their fight against NYU, no matter what repressive tactics are thrown their way. They will continue struggling until they win all their demands.

#NewYorkCityNY #NewYorkNY #NYC #NYU NYUPSC #SDS #NYUSDS #NYUSJP #SJP #BDS #UAW #NYUGSWU #FreePalestine #Disclose #Divest

Chicago, IL – To coincide with Human Rights week, dozens of protesters led by Anti-War Committee – Chicago (AWC) and Boycott Divest Sanctions – Chicago (BDS) descended on the offices of the Illinois State Board of Investments (ISBI), December 13 in a militant action demanding Illinois divest over $120 million worth of bonds from Israel.

The protest happened at a time where Israel has murdered over 50,000 Gazan Palestinians, over 4000 Lebanese, and now is ramping up a massive land grab of western Syria. Treasurer Michael Frerichs responded to the crimes of Israel by investing an additional $30 million dollars since October 7, 2023.

This is the first protest of AWC’s new divestment campaign. It brought together other organizations, including Students for a Democratic Society – UIC, Students for Justice in Palestine – UIC, U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Malaya Chicago, Rogers Park Food not Bombs, and Boycott Divest Sanctions – Chicago (BDS).

Despite freezing temperatures, the assembled rally-goers were in high spirits as activists began to speak, explaining the connection between the genocide in Gaza, ISBI and Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs.

Using bullhorns, activists started the protest with chants demanding divestment while picketing with signs around the entrance of the building: “Michael Frerichs you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide!” And “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest!”

Frerichs has doubled down on his support for the Israeli occupation, calling them “Our Israeli friends” and defending the purchase of the bonds by claiming they “diversify our portfolio.”

Despite the International Criminal Court calling for the arrest of Israeli leaders such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Frerichs has not budged on his refusal to divest from Israeli bonds.

“We are here because Michael Frerichs and the Illinois State Board of Investments are happy to accommodate and continue to give our tax dollars to the criminal Israelis, “said a member of BDS Chicago. “This board is more concerned with supporting a foreign apartheid state than supporting communities here in Illinois.”

Several speakers focused on the fact that organized mass-movements have won divestment from racist regimes in the past and are still doing so today A member of the AWC pointed out, “It was not long ago when the world responded to apartheid in South Africa with the same demands, we won then and we will win now.” Erin Boyle from SDS stated, “Divestment of Barclays Bank from Israel’s largest arms manufacturer Elbit Systems shows sustained and targeted pressure works!”

ISBI was caught off guard when AWC led the rally inside their offices. “We know from past records that they try to make these meetings not accessible to the public and they have gotten away with it, but we’re here to change that,” said Caeli Kean of AWC.

Although some people in the building called the cops and clearly thought what the activists were doing should be illegal, five protesters made public comments directly to the board, while the other demonstrators watched on in support.

Activists’ speeches highlighted how investing in Israel is to invest in a failed colonial project; how Illinois is home to the United States’ largest Palestinian population; that the majority of Illinoisans support the Palestinians; and how if ISBI continues to ignore the demands of the majority of their constituents, the board members’ positions will be as untenable as the Zionists’ crumbling economy.

As speeches concluded, AWC led the demonstrators out of the building chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” The activists who attended the event, rather than feeling tired, felt energized to keep pushing forward with AWC’s divestment campaign, declaring certainty that the campaign will be won.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #BDS #USPCN #ChicagoAWC

Milwaukee, WI – On November 21, the UWM Popular University for Palestine (PUP) Coalition took bold action to rename the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Golda Meir Library. As part of the National Students for Justice in Palestine’s International Strike for Palestine, students hand-delivered a petition signed by over 500 students, alumni, faculty and community members. The petition, denounced UWM’s dehumanizing language and policies toward Palestinians, and was brought to Chancellor Mark Mone’s office. The protest ended in a banner drop at the campus library, and a call for renaming the building to Electa Quinney Library.

Coalition member organizations including Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Muslim Student Association, and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) - led the campaign to put an end to UWM’s continued financial and academic ties to the genocidal state of Israel and to challenge the ongoing repression of Palestinian and pro-Palestine students on campus. 

Fed up with repeated dismissals of their demands by the administration, students taped the petition to the chancellor’s office’s doors at Chapman Hall before continuing their march to the library. The banner drop came after months of frustration with UWM administrators, who repeatedly dismissed student demands against the admin’s support of Israel as it carries out an ongoing genocide. Students also decried the library being named after a Zionist former prime minister of Israel, Golda Meir. 

The PUP coalition demands that UWM rename it to the Electa Quinney Library. Electa Quinney is Wisconsin’s first public schoolteacher and an indigenous woman from the Stockbridge-Munsee band of Mohicans. The demand represents the future that students want for UWM, “Just as countless institutions have removed the names of figures tied to oppression, UWM must take responsibility and rename the library,” said student organizer, Ameen Atta.

Over the last year, Muslim, Palestinian and pro-Palestine students have faced attacks for standing with Palestine, while the university administration does nothing but pay lip service. 

“Over the past year, UWM has undermined the safety of its Palestinian and Muslim students, and in many instances, put us directly in harm's way. Having a library named after someone who's basically denied the existence of Palestinian people only puts us in even more danger,” said Students for Justice in Palestine president, Waleed Nassar. “We’ve attempted literally all conventional means of communication with admin to address this issue of student safety, but all we are met with are empty promises and words of ‘sympathy.’” 

Despite the constant repression faced on campus, students and allies remain steadfast in their demands. The PUP coalition continues to fight for UWM to sever all ties - academic, financial, and social - with the state of Israel.

#MilwaukeeWI #UWM #SJP #SDS #UWMSDS #PUP #YDSA #InternationalStrikeForPalestine #GoldaMeir #FreePalestine #BDS #CulturalBoycott #AcademicBoycott #Israel #ElectaQuinney #NativePower #IndigenousPower #Mohican

New Orleans, LA - On November 13, students packed a room to hear about their university’s difficult financial future and anincreasingly bloated and unaccountable administration.

The Muslim Student Association (MSA) and members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) created an exposé highlighting their campaign demanding that Loyola disclose their $250 million endowment fund.

Students were especially frustrated with tuition increases and cuts to their financial aid to bail out the university from its poor financial management.

“Loyola’s plans for the future are not looking great. You can expect tuition to increase from $47,390 to $51,656 and total financial aid to drop by 3%. This is all for what admin has called a ‘premium education’,” said Nadir Benslimane, a Liberate and Unite New Orleans (LUNO) SDS member. “If you think this premium education means more classes and higher paid professors, you’d be wrong. Loyola plans to hire two more vice presidents who will make over $300K, bloating our administration while professors who have worked here for 15 years haven’t ever seen a raise.”

On top of extreme tuition increases, this panel exposed the board of trustees and the corporation that controls the endowment fund and where that fund is invested. “The board of trustees iscomposed of wealthy business owners whose interests do not align with students’ material interests by any means,” said Miu Sims, an SDS member.

The exposé revealed that the university’s “ethical investment statement,” despite pandering to the Jesuit and Catholic values regarding investments, includes a clause that says ethical investing is very hard, and so they are free to do as they wish. The “corporation” is a small group of high-ranking Jesuits who control the board of trustees and have the ultimate say on where the investment fund ends up.

“The corporation excludes all outside perspectives by only hiring Jesuits and those in ‘good standing’ in the Society of Jesus, meaning only men can be on this corporation,” said Mae Guidry, SDS member.

The Jesuit Order has released several statements on the genocide of Palestinians and Pope Francis, a Jesuit, has called Israel a terrorist state. “They [the corporation] claim to represent Jesuit values but only at their convenience and your silence,” continued Mae.

The panelists then explained the retaliation that students have faced for demanding disclosure and exercising free speech and expression. “We’ve been consistently struggling for financial transparency, the right to free expression, and a meeting with admin. Now, two students have been fired for protesting; people are on disciplinary probation, and the administration is consolidating its power to shut down student free speech,” said Nour Saad, president of Loyola MSA.

The panelists concluded with a call to action to sign a letter to the president of Loyola, Xavier Cole, the Loyola board of trustees and the corporation with the following demands: Disclose all investments made by the university; divest from all companies related to Israeli apartheid; rescind all institutional sanctions placed on students related to free speech and expression, including but not limited to protesting, and calling for meetings with relevant university administrators regarding the above demands, including but not limited to President Xavier Cole.

This event served as a way to unite students around disclosure and institutional transparency.

#NewOrleansLA #NOLA #SDS #FreePalestine #LoyolaMSA #Loyola #Budget #Disclose #Divest #BDS #Endowment

On October 7, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Wayne State University joined the National SDS Student Walkout to remember one year of genocide, resistance, and student struggle against our administrations all over the country. We hoped to be able to protest without the threats of repression and violence by the Wayne State Police Department (WSU PD). However, this was not the case. 

At 2 p.m., we marched from Gullen Mall to the Admin Building without using amplified sound. Within minutes of standing outside, we were surrounded by WSU PD. Officer Daniel Williams approached one SDS member, telling them to immediately disperse. When asked why, he cited a new, anti-democratic policy, claiming, “protests must be registered with the school.” This is a policy SDS was never informed of at our prior two protests. Furthermore, the policy cited is difficult to locate on the Wayne State website, nor are all its stipulations localized. Specifically, the policies regarding the use of amplified sound and what activities do or do not require a reservation are inaccessible, contradictory, and confusing. The unpredictable enforcement of these policies violates students’ rights to know the rules by which they are governed. These rights have been in place since 1967, meaning Wayne State administration is violating some of its oldest principles. 

More than violating our rights as students, Wayne State Administration and WSU PD denied our constitutional right to assembly and speech under threat of violence. After informing us of the policy, Officer Williams threatened our members, saying to one, “This is your first warning to disperse or leave campus, I’ll give you a second warning, and if I have to give you a third, I’ll use force.” These threats are unacceptable, but they are shamefully common. Over the past year, Wayne State Police have met students with immense violence, which has been left unchecked by the administration. This is shameful, seeing as Wayne State is a public university that claims to support freedom of speech. Instead of uplifting student voices, they resort to police intimidation and unconstitutional policies to silence us. 

SDS stands proud in the history of the student movement. We draw inspiration from the Chicano, Black, and Asian student walkouts in 1968, the student strikes of 1969, the historic struggle against the war in Vietnam, and the struggle against South African apartheid. Like the students in those times, we also stand in solidarity with the national liberation movements taking on the U.S. empire. New SDS was founded in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and since then, SDS has never shied away from standing up to the U.S. war machine. It is our duty to resist from within the belly of the beast.

 The Wayne State PD and Admin want to intimidate us and stop us from continuing our struggle for Wayne State to Cut the Ties with the IOF, but instead, they have hardened our resolve. We must continue fighting for change on campus. Because of the repression experienced on Monday, we issue the following demands to counteract threats of brutalization from WSU PD:

A. An end to the policy requiring registered protests, which undermines the spirit of freedom of speech and right to protest.

B. End the threats of brutalization from police by designating a staff of trained, unarmed, non-PD admin liaisons to communicate with student protesters rather than police. 

C. Issuing a resolution enshrining the right to student led protests on campus without restriction.

D. And once again: Cut the Ties Between the “israeli” Occupation Forces and the WSUPD

As we represent the one year of struggle against the ongoing genocide, Wayne State University students stand together to demand justice. We will not allow WSU PD or any other institution to silence us. Our fight for justice continues, and we will remain united against oppression.

#DetroitMI #WayneState #WSUPD #WSUSDS #WSU #SDS #SDSWSU #Divest #BDS #FreePalestine #StudentIntifada #PoliticalRepression #Repression #StudentMovement

Superior, CO – On Saturday, June 1, a group of several dozen protesters marched to the home of University of Colorado Regent Callie Rennison in Superior, Colorado.

Rennison is the chair of the University of Colorado (CU) board of regents, and thus bears special responsibility for the board’s failure to meet the demands of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to divest from corporations involved in the ongoing U.S.-Israeli genocide in Palestine.

Additionally, the students recently concluded a 22-day solidarity encampment on the Auraria Campus, one of the longest lasting encampments in the country.

Despite the encampment and nearly daily protests, sit-ins and other direct actions, the CU board of regents has thus far been silent on agreeing to SDS’s demand and have refused to meet with students. With administrators mainly working from home and refusing to engage with them, the students decided to go the home of the chair of the CU board of regents.

Outside of Rennison’s home, protesters led chants and marched in a picket circle. They were confronted by a small, violent group of far-right Zionists. The Zionists verbally harassed students, shoved them and called for increased violence against the Palestinian people. Despite this, the students were unfazed, and continued the protest outside of Rennison’s home for around two hours.

“We are seeing a genocide that is continues to escalate and our administration can’t meet our basic demands to cut ties with genocide, apartheid and occupation. Gaza can’t wait!” said Khalid Hamu, an organizer with Denver SDS.

#SuperiorCO #DenverSDS #SDS #DenverCO #BDS #FreePalestine