Charleston, SC – On January 19, Charleston’s Elbit Out Of South Carolina (EOSC) coalition marched with a large contingent in the city’s Martin Luther King Day parade. Around 40 community members carried Palestinian flags, large banners, and a variety of signs criticizing Elbit Systems of America for producing weapons for Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The coalition handed out hundreds of flyers with information about Elbit’s Charleston County facility as well as ways to get involved with the coalition's efforts to shut the factory down.

“It was so great to see families watching the parade from the sidelines light up when they saw a contingent in solidarity with Palestine,” said Alfred Peeler, of the Charleston District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). “It showed that the community supports our efforts to do our part locally in demanding an end to the U.S.’s role in supporting the genocide.”

Elbit Systems of America opened its Charleston factory in 2023 to construct Next Generation Sigma 155 mm Howitzer cannons for Israel, and at least two loads of weapons and other munitions have already been shipped.

“It’s important for us to take every opportunity we can to publicly show our support for Palestinians and bring attention to the ways our community is wrapped up in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza,” stated Nate Hubler, an EOSC organizer. “Most people are unaware that Elbit was given tax breaks by our county council to operate here, depriving the public of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.”

The Elbit Out Of SC Coalition formed at the end of 2024 to shut the factory down and has pursued a variety of tactics including weekly pickets in front of the facility for over a year, regular teach-ins at community meetings, speaking at county council to scrap the tax breaks, and appealing to labor unions and religious institutions.

The Coalition consists of Free Palestine Charleston (FPC), Charleston DSA, the Lowcountry Action Committee and FRSO Charleston as well as numerous at-large organizers.

The coalition kept the energy up for the entire length of the parade, chanting for an hour and a half. Attendees were led in chants like “Free, free Palestine!” and “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!”

“It was so great to see the people chant along with us, especially the kids,” said Autumn Waddell, an organizer with FPC and EOSC.

Volunteers with the Charleston Linea Directa Comunitaria Inmigrante, the local Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) verification hotline, also marched with the coalition. Representatives handed out flyers to spread the word about the hotline’s phone number and made connections between attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, and attacks on immigrants in the U.S.

“It looks like the local news covering the parade turned off their coverage as we approached, which they did last year as well,” said Alfred Peeler. “But it’s all good, we’ve been getting more and more coverage, more and more engagement, and Elbit facilities are shutting down across the globe. We are winning!”

#CharlestonSC #SC #AntiWarMovement #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #MLKDay #FPC #EOSC

Minneapolis, MN — On May 17, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), American Muslims for Palestine — MN (AMP), and the Free Palestine Coalition held a march to remember Al Nakba. They were joined by more than 250 community members in a march that shut down several of Minneapolis’ busiest downtown arteries. The action was a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s week of action.

Nakba Day, the commemoration of Al Nakba, Arabic for “the catastrophe,” marks the 1948 expulsion of more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homes by militias that would later become the formal Israeli army.

Demonstrators marched with signs that read, “Victory to the Palestinian Resistance!” and “End the Nakba.” They carried a banner demanding “Trump: Hands off Gaza!”

While those in Minneapolis were commemorating Nakba Day by demanding an end to Israel’s apartheid laws and genocide in Gaza, Israel is currently carrying out a continuing Nakba. Hundreds have been massacred since Thursday, May 15, as Israel intensifies its aerial bombing and ground invasion in Gaza.

Speaking at Saturday’s march, Sana Wazwaz said, “I don’t want to give a speech today. The people of Gaza were saying their goodbyes the other night. And honestly, I’m sick of the sound of my own voice. But we’re here to say we’ve heard their goodbyes and yet Palestine will never say goodbye.” Wazwaz led the crowd in a series of call-and-response chants, the crowd responding with chants of “Never again!” as Wazwaz listed atrocities that have been carried out by the Israeli military.

The U.S. Palestinian Community Network-Minnesota (USPCN) was represented by Nadiyah Salawdeh, who emphasized that Israel’s crimes against humanity aren’t limited to Gaza. They described the apartheid conditions faced by Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank, including the 793 military checkpoints that Palestinians must navigate as they live their daily lives, the land theft that has accelerated in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, and the 40,000 Palestinians who have been driven from their homes in the West Bank in the past few months.

Salawdeh stated, “As genocide continues in Gaza, don’t turn away and forget the escalations happening in the West Bank. It’s no secret that what Israel is doing in Gaza, Israel hopes to one day do in the West Bank as well. We are here to remind you: the Nakba never ended. It has evolved, shifted, and changed, but the goal of the Israeli regime has always been the same: permanent displacement of the entire Palestinian people.”

Layna Crandell, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, spoke as a Jewish anti-Zionist, saying, “This genocide is our modern-day Holocaust. I could talk about how Jews can’t be safe while Palestine is under attack, until Palestine is free, but ultimately this isn’t about us. Our solidarity is with Palestinians and their liberation. Our solidarity is with Palestinian resistance, who have fought for decades for their people and land.”

Crandell continued, “It’s not just Netanyahu or Ben Gvir or Smotrich. Israel has been a strategic pawn for U.S. imperialism for decades and continues to exist through U.S. economic and material support. Israel has been a stable ally throughout the U.S.’s destabilization efforts in the Middle East in pursuit of their own economic interests. Israel has also allied with the U.S. through supplying weapons to paramilitaries and far right governments in Latin America, collaborating with apartheid states in Africa, and supporting U.S.– led invasions in Asia. The IDF even trains our own police!”

Vash Lamp of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) spoke on the necessity of the movement for immigrant rights standing up for Palestine. He summed up the sentiment of the demonstrators when he said, “My friend shared with us the posts made by Palestinians in Gaza sharing their final goodbyes, because they didn’t expect to make it through the night. In these times, it’s hard to remain hopeless when we have the means of forging the future that we’re fighting for. Despite how bad this week has been, I’m not feeling hopeless, I’m feeling like I want to fucking fight!”

Organizers ended the march by emphasizing the need for all those standing for justice in the U.S. to show solidarity across movements, calling for marchers to attend an upcoming demonstration against Trump’s empowerment of police departments.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #MNAWC #AMP #FPC #Nakba

Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, October 26, the Free Palestine Coalition organized a rally that drew out 75 community members and students to send a message to University of Minnesota administration that the repression of student Palestine solidarity protesters on campus is unacceptable and will not be allowed to stand. The protesters rallied near a UMN football game during homecoming week, and were seen by thousands of students and alumni, many of whom joined in pro-Palestine chants and raised fists in support as they passed the demonstration.

Earlier in the week, on Monday, October 21, 11 UMN student members of Students for a Democratic Society occupied a campus administrative building, Morrill Hall, stating that they would not leave the building until the university resumed a course towards divestment from apartheid Israel that had been agreed upon in the spring. The university responded with heavy repression. More than 50 police vehicles were called to campus to respond to this student protest, including a SWAT van, and heavily armed police were seen cordoning off large sections of campus. Students were detained and arrested at gunpoint. Four members of the press were likewise detained, though not arrested and jailed.

The 11 students who were arrested are facing trumped-up charges. One has been charged with felony assault of a police officer, nine have been suspended from the University, and four were immediately evicted from their campus housing. All 11 were held for upwards of 36 hours in jail. FBI agents were called to the jail to attempt to interrogate the protesters, for unknown purposes.

Jess Sundin, an organizer with the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, an organization that combats police crimes and fights for community control of the police in Minneapolis, spoke at Saturday's rally in support of the students who are facing repression. Sundin stated, “There is nothing more important than standing against genocide. Nothing. Our students did the right thing on Monday, and I am outraged at the university’s response. Instead of doing the right thing, standing with them and divesting from Israel’s genocide, the admin sent in the UMPD to point weapons at our students – that could have been my kid!”

Sundin went on to say, “Not only that. There is no alleged federal crime here, but the university even called in the FBI! How dare they call the FBI on our students?! The FBI are the political police, and they are involved only for one reason: to silence dissent. That is political repression, and the only way to fight it is with solidarity.”

Dr. Sima Shahksari, a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, emceed the event. Shahksari stated, “The reason the students occupied the building was because the administration continues to ignore their demands for divestment from the Israeli genocide in Gaza, even though students voted overwhelmingly last semester for divestment. If Black students had not occupied the ‘Morrill’ Hall in 1969, the discriminatory policies of UMN would not have changed; there would not have been an African American and African Studies Department; there would have been no MLK Program. Criminalizing students who protest discriminatory laws or laws that protect a genocide is shameful.”

Community organizers with the Free Palestine Coalition have plans to continue to support the students through this period of political repression. A court date has been set for the student who is facing felony charges, and the community will rally to show the police, FBI, and university administration that students have the support of the entire Palestine liberation movement.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PoliticalRepression #SDS #TCC4J #MNAWC #FPC #Feature

Columbia Heights, MN – On Monday, February 26, the city council of Columbia Heights voted 4-1 to pass a resolution calling for an end to Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza. The Columbia Heights community packed the room, as it did at a previous city council meeting to provide public comment and encourage the council to vote in favor of the resolution.

The Columbia Heights resolution is just one example of a wave of historic resolutions adopted by cities across the country. Minneapolis has passed the most progressive ceasefire resolution in the U.S., which calls for an end not only to the genocide in Gaza, but also to all military aid to Israel. Columbia Heights’ resolution cites the International Court of Justice’s ruling against Israel and demands an immediate halt of all weapons shipments that may be used in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The Free Palestine Coalition, a Twin Cities-based coalition of Palestine activist groups like the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, American Muslims for Palestine-MN; Faculty, Librarians, Alumni, Graduate Students, and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FLAGS-JP), and many others, organized several call-in campaigns and turned out community members to city council meetings to make an impact on the council.

Brandon Veal, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, states, “All of [the council members’] statements focused on how this was very much a local issue. Many of the members pointed out that they received more calls and emails from members of the community about this issue than any other as long as they’ve been on the council.”

Veal continued, “As the final vote was made, the crowd erupted in applause for the successfully passed resolution. There were many moments of warm embraces from community members. Both the meeting two weeks ago and Monday’s felt like times of collective grieving and healing. At the previous meeting, community members stepped up to the podium one by one to express why this resolution was so important to them, something that went on for nearly three hours.”

Over 70 cities across the U.S. have now passed resolutions demanding a ceasefire. The Free Palestine Coalition is currently campaigning to get a similar resolution passed in Saint Paul. Dr. Sima Shakhsari, a member of FLAGS-JP, stated “It was heartwarming and refreshing to see the Columbia Heights city council take the time to listen to their constituents and vote for a ceasefire. As a Saint Paul resident, I hope that my city council members join Columbia Heights and stand on the right side of history by voting to stop this genocide.”

#ColumbiaHeightsMN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #CityCouncil #Ceasefire #MNAWC #AMP #FPC #SJP

Minneapolis, MN – On the evening of December 11, eight Palestine protesters were arrested by Minnesota State Patrol while driving on Interstate-94 in Minneapolis.

Out of the eight protesters, five were released overnight. The next afternoon, supporters with the Free Palestine Coalition gathered across from the jail where the rest were being held to demand their release and that all charges be dropped. The remaining three arrestees were released during that rally.

According to coalition member Ashley Taylor-Gougé, “The decision to arrest the protesters and impound their vehicles, rather than simply issue tickets for minor alleged traffic violations, was a politically motivated attack by Minnesota State Patrol on Palestinians and their supporters. We condemn the State Patrol’s actions. We urge city and county attorneys to drop all the charges against all eight.”

A day-long a call-in campaign was carried out to put further public pressure on the county to release and drop charges.

Sabry Wazwaz, a member of the MN Anti-War Committee, explained that while the protesters were driving slowly on the highway in a peaceful protest, they did not block the highway and allowed faster traffic to pass by. “It was a state trooper who overreacted. They came, they took over. They’re the ones who completely blocked us off in the tunnel. Eight protesters were then illegally arrested.”

All told, the State Patrol blocked the highway traffic for around two hours while making arrests and searching and impounding cars. Even passengers were arrested and taken to jail with trumped-up charges unrelated to the protest. Reportedly, some of these charges have since been dropped.

Some of those whose cars were impounded were charged nearly $1000, raising questions about the private towing company and impound lot and its relationship with law enforcement.

Abrahim Eisa, one of the arrested protesters, took things back to the original point of the protest, stating, “Something that we should be taking into account, more than the actual news of how I got arrested or how there was a big issue in Minnesota, is the bigger picture of children in Gaza that are under ten years old being destroyed every day in terms of physically, mentally, literally, like some kids are literally being destroyed, annihilated. So I'd say, I was arrested for 24 hours, but my heart stays with Gaza and I'll do this again and again and I'm not worried about it. I won't stop until Palestine is free from the river to the sea.”

The Free Palestine Coalition continues to demand that the city and county drop all charges.

#MinneapolisMN #International #Palestine #InjusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #MNAWC #FPC #Feature