San Francisco, CA – El miércoles 8 de abril, cientos de residentes del Área de la Bahía se reunieron en la estación de BART de la calle Powell para protestar contra Trump por las amenazas que él hizo el 7 de abril, de que “una civilización entera morirá esta noche” si Irán no reabría el estrecho de Ormuz.

Irán cerró el estrecho tras los incesantes bombardeos de Estados Unidos e Israel contra escuelas, hospitales, universidades, centros de investigación médica y zonas residenciales. Según la Federación Internacional de Sociedades de la Cruz Roja y de la Media Luna Roja, estos ataques han matado al menos a 1,900 personas y herido a más de 20,000 en Irán.

Los manifestantes coreaban “No a la guerra contra Irán” y “Fuera EE.UU. del Medio Oriente”.

La protesta ocurre mientras los bombardeos estadounidenses-israelíes en Irán han contribuido a un aumento en el costo de vida. En algunas partes del país, el precio de un tanque lleno de gasolina ha llegado a los $120. En el Área de la Bahía de San Francisco, el precio promedio de la gasolina ha alcanzado los $6 por galón en la mayoría de los condados, y una gasolinera en Menlo Park llegó a cobrar hasta $7.69 por un galón de gasolina regular.

El 8 de abril, Irán obtuvo una victoria histórica al obligar a Trump a aceptar un plan de diez puntos como base para futuras negociaciones con Teherán. El plan buscaba garantizar un alto el fuego de dos semanas, detener los ataques de EE.UU. e Israel contra Irán, Líbano, Palestina y todo el Medio Oriente, y poner fin a las décadas de sanciones estadounidenses que han afectado la calidad de vida de los iraníes, a cambio de reabrir el estrecho de Ormuz. Sin embargo, horas después, Israel rompió el acuerdo de alto el fuego con bombardeos contra vecindarios y otras zonas civiles en Beirut y en todo Líbano, matando al menos a 254 personas e hiriendo a más de 1,165.

En respuesta a estos ataques de Israel, que recibe el 70% de sus armas a través de ayuda estadounidense, Irán volvió a cerrar el estrecho de Ormuz.

El cierre del estrecho debido a los ataques de EE.UU. e Israel muy probablemente afectará otros aspectos de la vida cotidiana más allá del combustible, incluidos precios más altos en alimentos, fertilizantes, la fabricación de microchips y otros productos de alta tecnología, como señaló el profesor de economía Masao Suzuki en su artículo “Precios crecientes de gasolina provocan aumento de inflación en marzo” (Rising gasoline prices lead inflation surge in March).

“Estamos cansados de las guerras interminables. La gente está en las calles, el BART está siendo desmantelado y los alimentos cuestan más cada día. Irán nunca nos ha hecho daño. Pero Wall Street y D.C. nos siguen dañando todos los días. Necesitamos un sistema mejor, uno que ponga a la gente a cargo en lugar de estos multimillonarios belicistas”, dijo Brandon Cavins de la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad.

El creciente número de protestas refleja la creciente frustración entre estadounidenses ante otro conflicto iniciado por Trump en el Medio Oriente. El Pentágono ha solicitado más de $200 mil millones adicionales para continuar los ataques contra Irán – la mayor parte de ese dinero terminaría en los bolsillos de los fabricantes de armas o quedaría sin justificar, como se ha visto en las ocho auditorías anteriores que el Pentágono ha reprobado.

Mientras tanto, las necesidades y servicios esenciales enfrentan recortes o falta de financiamiento. Por ejemplo, el BART planea cerrar entre 10 a 15 estaciones y reducir un 63% de sus servicios, lo que incluye tiempos de espera más largos de hasta 30 minutos (en lugar de los 10 a 20 minutos actuales), horarios reducidos (cerrando a las 9 p.m. en lugar de la medianoche), aumento en las tarifas de estacionamiento y el despido de entre 600 a 1,200 trabajadores, debido a un déficit presupuestario de $376 millones causado por la reducción del financiamiento federal.

#SanFranciscoCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #Iran #Lebanon #Palestine

San Francisco, CA – On Wednesday, April 8, hundreds of Bay Area residents gathered at the Powell Street BART transit station to protest Trump’s April 7 threats that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran closed the strait after relentless U.S. and Israeli bombardment of schools, hospitals, universities, medical research centers, and residential areas. According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, these attacks have killed at least 1,900 people and injured over 20,000 in Iran.

Demonstrators chanted “No war on Iran” and “U.S. out of the Middle East.”

The protest comes as U.S.-Israeli bombardments on Iran have contributed to a rising cost of living. In some parts of the country, the cost of a full tank of gas has reached $120. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the average price of gas has reached $6 per gallon in most counties, with one station in Menlo Park reaching as high as $7.69 for a gallon of regular.

On April 8, Iran secured a historic victory, forcing Trump to agree to a ten-point plan as the basis for future negotiations with Tehran. The plan was intended to secure a two-week ceasefire, halt U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, Lebanon, Palestine and across the Middle East, and end decades-long U.S. sanctions that have harmed Iranians’ quality of life – in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. However, within hours, Israel broke the ceasefire agreement with bombardments on neighborhoods and other civilian areas in Beirut and across Lebanon, killing at least 254 people and injuring 1165 more.

In response to these attacks by Israel, which receives 70% of its weapons through U.S. aid, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz once again.

The closure of the strait due to U.S.-Israeli attacks will likely impact other aspects of daily life beyond fuel, including higher prices for groceries, fertilizer, chip manufacturing, and other high-tech goods, as stated by Professor of Economics Masao Suzuki in his article Rising gasoline prices lead inflation surge in March.

“We're tired of endless wars. People are on the streets, BART is being gutted, and groceries cost more each day. Iran has never hurt us. But Wall Street and DC keep hurting us every single day. We need a better system, one that puts people in charge instead of these warmongering billionaires,” said Brandon Cavins from Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The growing number of protests reflects rising frustration among everyday Americans over Trump launching another U.S.-instigated conflict in the Middle East. The Pentagon has requested more than $200 billion additional funds to continue attacks on Iran – most of which would either go to the pockets of arms manufacturers or remain unaccounted for, as seen in the eight previous audits the Pentagon has failed.

Meanwhile, essential needs and services face cuts or underfunding. BART, for example, is looking to close 10 to 15 stations and cut 63% of services, including longer wait times of 30 minutes (up from 10 to 20 minutes), reduced hours (closing at 9 p.m. instead of midnight), increased parking fares, and the layoff of 600 to 1200 employees, due to a $376 million budget deficit caused by decreased federal funding.

#SanFranciscoCA #CA #Iran #Lebanon #Palestine #AntiWarMovement

Dallas, TX – A coalition of Dallas anti-war organizations met at Main Street Garden Park Wednesday evening, April 8, in response to the Trump administration’s genocidal calls for violence against the Iranian people and the wholesale destruction of their infrastructure.

A crowd of 200 community members gathered around 7 p.m., arriving to chants of “From Iran to Palestine, Israel is on borrowed time!” Energy remained high while DFW Foot Not Bombs set up a hot food table.

Ryan Ahmadi of DFW Shias for justice told the crowd, “Just yesterday it seemed that we were on the brink of a genocidal, apocalyptic nuclear war. Donald Trump used his war-mongering and genocidal language, and tactic of psychological warfare that had the entire world sick to their stomachs and on the edge of their seats, waiting to see if he would carry out his threat where he said ‘an entire civilization will die tonight.” A 3000-year-old civilization, a nation of over 90 million people. Well, we’ve got news for you – you gambled, and you lost.” 

Nura Bawab of Palestinian Youth Movement stated, “The Iranian people held their ground with honor and steadfastness and showed the world that their sovereignty would not be compromised by imperialists and Zionists without global repercussions. We are proud of the resilience of the people of Iran.”

Jo Hargis of DFW Anti War Committee spoke on the role of North Texas weapons manufacturers in the last month of attacks, stating, “The factory producing the bombs Israel is using to attack Lebanon and Iran, and to carry out genocide in Palestine? Many of you know that bomb factory is in our own backyard. Many of you know that this bomb factory normalizes its complicity in murder by participating in the FAME program, partnering with schools in Garland, in Mesquite, and at Dallas College to bring students into this very facility. Many of you know DAWC is working to end those partnerships that use students at home to make the bombs killing students abroad, that DAWC has a petition at tinyurl.com/NoFAMEPaligen which all of you should sign before you leave today. And many of you know that infamous bomb factory by an old name: REPKON USA.“

Hargis continued, “The owners of this factory are the same, but seemingly overnight they changed their name to Paligen. This change happened so abruptly that when a DAWC member drove by, the old REPKON signs were simply flipped around and haven’t been replaced with anything. Paligen urgently felt the need to distance themselves from the name REPKON, and that is because they are scared. Paligen is scared of the negative international press they are receiving for arming Israel as it expands this war.”

The evening ended in chants and evening prayers as community members cleaned the park and packed out. 

DFW Anti War Committee’s next rally is April 15, directly outside the Paligen Technologies facility in Garland, to draw attention on Tax Day to the gross misuse of our tax dollars to weapons of war.

The protest was organized by DFW Anti War Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Code Pink, Communist Party DFW, DFW Food Not Bombs, Young Active Labor Leaders, and others.

#DallasTX #TX #AntiWarMovement #Iran #Palestine #Lebanon

We hail with revolutionary fervor the long-overdue release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the indomitable Lebanese resistance fighter who, after 41 years of unjust imprisonment in the dungeons of the French state, walks free at last. His liberation is not a gift from the oppressors – it is a victory wrestled from the jaws of imperialist vengeance through decades of struggle, solidarity, and resistance.

A stalwart champion of the Palestinian cause, Abdallah engaged in the struggle as a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Lebanese Revolutionary Armed Factions (LRAF).

As confirmed by Al Akhbar, the Paris Court of Appeal finally concluded Abdallah’s legal ordeal on July 18, 2025, clearing the way for his release on July 25—more than four decades after the French state, in collusion with U.S. and Zionist interests, sought to bury him alive for his role in the anti-imperialist and Palestinian liberation struggle.

Georges Abdallah is not merely a former political prisoner—he is a living symbol of revolutionary resilience, unyielding patience, and principled commitment to the people’s right to freedom, democracy, dignity, and national independence. Despite being eligible for parole since 1999, Abdallah refused to renounce his convictions. He did not beg for mercy—he stood firm, proud, and uncompromising, even when the prison walls sought to crush his spirit.

His release is not a closure—it is a clarion call. It ignites the flame of struggle against imperialism, Zionism, and all reactionary forces. It affirms the justness of armed and unarmed resistance against occupation, colonization, and exploitation. It is a tribute to the martyrs and comrades who gave their lives for liberation and a reminder that the struggle continues until all chains are broken.

We welcome Georges Abdallah’s return to Lebanon with clenched fists and open arms. The sea of red flags, Palestinian banners, and revolutionary songs that greeted him are testament to the enduring unity of the peoples’ struggles across borders. His freedom belongs not only to Lebanon, but to Palestine, to the oppressed masses of the Arab world, and to all those who resist imperialist domination.

As we celebrate this moment, we issue a renewed and militant call to action: Free all political prisoners! Intensify the global resistance! Fight imperialism in all its forms! Let the legacy of Georges Abdallah inspire new generations to rise, organize, and resist without compromise.

Signed,

International League of Peoples’ Struggle

#International #Lebanon #ILPS #PoliticalPrisoners #PFLP #LRAF #GeorgesAbdallah #Palestine

El 27 de noviembre, el Líbano y el gobierno israelí, que cuenta con el respaldo de los Estados Unidos y el apartheid, implementaron un alto el fuego. Hezbolá, un poderoso ejército en el Medio Oriente que lucha por liberar a Palestina, combatió a Israel hasta detenerlo. El Ejército Libanés ya está reportando que las fuerzas de ocupación israelíes han violado los términos del alto al fuego varias veces en los dos últimos días.

Mientras el Eje de la Resistencia llevaba a cabo con éxito misiones en toda la región para derrotar a los israelíes, Israel invadió el Líbano con la esperanza de desorganizar a Hezbolá y debilitar la resistencia árabe. Al final, Israel fracasó en su intento de establecer una zona militarizada en el sur del Líbano y en conseguir cualquier nuevo territorio. A través de una contundente derrota militar Hezbolá y el Líbano obligaron a Israel a firmar un alto al fuego. Miles de libaneses, triunfantes y llenos de alegría, tomaron las carreteras anoche para regresar a sus hogares en Dahiyeh y Bekaa, en el sur del Líbano, a pesar de las órdenes de evacuación obligatoria dictadas por Israel para la región.

Israel ha pasado el último año aumentando su larga lista de atrocidades, combinando una invasión terrestre del Líbano con un genocidio continuo en Gaza. Este alto el fuego llega después de muchos sacrificios por parte del pueblo árabe y más de un año de lucha, con más de 3.000 libaneses muertos y más de 44.000 palestinos asesinados por las fuerzas de ocupación israelíes. Muchos líderes de la Resistencia Árabe fueron asesinados. A finales del verano, Israel asesinó al secretario general de Hezbolá, el ampliamente querido Hassan Nasrallah, así como a innumerables generales y comandantes militares y dos presidentes del Buró Político de Hamás, Ismail Haniyeh y su sucesor Yahya Sinwar.

Mientras tanto, Israel sigue bloqueando la entrada de alimentos, medicinas y suministros a Gaza, con el objetivo de matar de hambre a la heroica población de Gaza que se niega a evacuar su tierra. Israel incendia los campos de refugiados, lleva a cabo masacres y convierte en objetivos especiales a hospitales, escuelas y aldeas. A pesar de los ataques con cohetes contra Haifa y Tel Aviv, Israel no ha dejado de intentar construir nuevos asentamientos y ampliar su ocupación de la región. Y la Casa Blanca no ha detenido su flujo constante de paquetes de ayuda de miles de millones de dólares, aviones, bombas, excavadoras, armas químicas y ahora incluso tropas estadounidenses para apoyar al régimen genocida en Israel.

La lucha por la liberación de Palestina está lejos de terminar. Israel no ha respetado los términos de los altos al fuego anteriores, como después de su intento de invasión del Líbano en 2006, y ya ha comenzado a violar este nuevo alto al fuego. El pueblo heroico de Gaza y las fuerzas de resistencia en el Líbano, Yemen, Siria, Irán e Irak están llamando al pueblo de los Estados Unidos a exigir la libertad para Palestina y el fin de toda la ayuda estadounidense a Israel.

Este alto al fuego es solo un paso más en un largo proceso revolucionario para expulsar al imperialismo estadounidense del Medio Oriente y de cualquier otro lugar en el mundo donde se encuentre. Felicitamos a los libaneses por su derrota de las fuerzas israelíes invasoras en la frontera y seguiremos luchando para detener toda la ayuda estadounidense a Israel. Nos mantenemos en solidaridad incondicional con el pueblo del Líbano, Gaza y los pueblos libres del Medio Oriente, y esperamos con ansias el día en que declaren la victoria.

#International #Lebanon #Palestine #FRSO #Statement #OSCL

On November 27, Lebanon and the U.S.-backed apartheid government of Israel enacted a ceasefire. Hezbollah, a powerful army in the Middle East fighting to free Palestine, fought Israel to a standstill. The Lebanese Army is already reporting that Israeli occupation forces have breached the terms of the ceasefire multiple times in the last two days.

As the Axis of Resistance across the region carried out successful missions to beat back the Israelis, Israel invaded Lebanon with the hopes of disorganizing Hezbollah and weakening the Arab resistance. In the end, Israel failed to set up a militarized zone in south Lebanon and to establish any new territory. Through a sound military defeat, Hezbollah and Lebanon forced Israel to sign a ceasefire. Thousands of Lebanese people, triumphant and overjoyed, took to the highways last night to drive back to their homes in Dahiyeh and Bekaa in south Lebanon, despite Israel's mandatory evacuation orders of the region.

Israel spent the last year adding to its long list of atrocities, combining a ground invasion of Lebanon with a continuous genocide in Gaza. This ceasefire comes after many sacrifices by the Arab people and over a year of fighting, with over 3000 Lebanese dead and over 44,000 Palestinians killed by the Israel occupation forces. Many leaders of the Arab Resistance were assassinated. In late summer, Israel assassinated the Secretary General of Hezbollah, the widely beloved Hassan Nasrallah, as well as countless generals and military commanders and two chairmen of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh and his successor Yahya Sinwar.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to block food, medicine and supplies from entering Gaza, looking to starve out the heroic people of Gaza who refuse to evacuate their land. Israel sets refugee camps on fire, carries out massacres, and makes special targets of hospitals, schools and villages. Despite rocket attacks on Haifa and Tel Aviv, Israel has not stopped trying to build new settlements and expand its occupation of the region. And the White House has not stopped its steady stream of billion-dollar aid packages, planes, bombs, bulldozers, chemical weapons, and now even U.S. troops to aid the genocidal regime in Israel.

The fight to free Palestine is far from over. Israel has not respected the terms of previous ceasefires, such as after their attempted invasion of Lebanon in 2006, and they have already begun to violate it. The heroic people of Gaza and the resistance forces in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iran and Iraq are calling on the people of the U.S. to demand freedom for Palestine and an end to all U.S. aid to Israel.

This ceasefire is just one more step in a long, revolutionary process to expel U.S. imperialism from the Middle East and wherever else it is in the world. We congratulate the Lebanese on their defeat of the invading Israeli forces on the border, and we will keep fighting to stop all U.S. aid to Israel. We stand in unconditional solidarity with the people of Lebanon, Gaza and the free peoples of the Middle East and we look forward to the day they declare victory.

#AntiWarMovement #Lebanon #Palestine #International #Statement #FRSO #Feature

Columbia Heights, MN – On Saturday, November 23, over 100 protesters gathered along Columbia Heights’s busy Central Avenue to protest U.S. support for Israel’s slaughter of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians. The protest called for solidarity with the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine, an end to U.S. aid and weapons shipments to Israel, and for the state of Minnesota to divest from Israel.

Lina Jebara, a member of the Minnesota Anti War Committee gave a moving speech, “The aggression in Lebanon has left over 3600 Lebanese dead,” and “hearing the stories of Lebanon’s latest martyrs has made something very clear: that in the eyes of Israel and its imperialist benefactors, Lebanon and Palestine are one and the same. The tactics that Israel has been using in Lebanon – the means of collective punishment, the deliberate targeting of civilians, journalists, aid workers and critical infrastructure – are not foreign tactics for all of us who have been watching what’s been happening in Palestine.”

Israel’s violence against Lebanese and Palestinian civilians escalated in recent months. The Israeli military tried to annex northern Gaza and attempted to invade southern Lebanon. This was a futile attempt to push Hezbollah back to the Litani River.

In Gaza, Palestine, the Israeli forces cut off all aid shipments to the north in an attempt to starve out the people living there. Israel is intentionally destroying the civilian infrastructure necessary to maintain life, such as hospitals, bakeries and civilian shelters.

Low estimates of the death toll in Gaza say 44,000 are dead with 108,000 wounded by the Israeli military. Many bodies are buried beneath rubble and go uncounted. The thousands of bombs that Israel has dropped on Gaza, the most densely populated area in the world, are equivalent to two nuclear bombs in terms of destructive power.

The protest also heard from Taher Herzallah, a member of America Muslims for Palestine. Herzallah was a recent victim of a Zionist smear campaign spearheaded by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and the Jewish Community Relations Council, a Zionist organization. The smear campaign was intended to prevent Herzallah from speaking to the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) Local 59 about the genocide in Palestine.

Taher responded to Mayor Frey’s attacks, “On Tuesday I woke up to some messages from some folks, saying the boy-mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, had made a video condemning me personally. Typically, I would be concerned about such things, but considering this is the George Floyd murder mayor, considering this is the [homeless] encampment destroyer mayor, considering this is the union-busting mayor, I really didn’t feel a sense of worry.” The teachers union event proceeded as planned despite Zionist attempts to shut it down. 

MFT 59 is one of a number of Minnesota unions whose pensions are invested via Minnesota’s State Board of Investment. The investment board allocates approximately $5.4 billion of that fund to Israel, Israeli corporations, and other corporations that are complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its occupation of Palestine. Rank-and-file union members around the state are increasingly speaking out against their hard-won pension funds being used to fund Israel’s crimes in Palestine.

The Minnesota Anti-War Committee is holding a Human Rights Day march at Washburn Fair Oaks Park in Minneapolis at 1 p.m. on December 8, both to mark the annual holiday and as part of a statewide week of action demanding that the Minnesota State Board of Investments eliminate all its investments in apartheid Israel.

#ColumbiaHeightsMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Lebanon

Atlanta, GA – The assassination of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah, in an apocalyptic Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 28, has shaken Lebanon and the entire Middle East. For the forces of liberation, Nasrallah was a mighty resistance leader, a voice of the oppressed, and a tireless fighter for the liberation of Palestine. His death marks a deeply tragic moment in the struggle against Zionism and imperialism, but the legacy he built, one grounded in solidarity and liberation theology, will continue to inspire the masses of people who remain committed to his vision of a free and sovereign Arab world.

Nasrallah was the secretary-general of Hezbollah (the Party of God), a broad mass movement in Lebanon dedicated to national liberation and social justice. Under his guidance, Hezbollah grew from a small resistance group into a formidable political and military force, capable of challenging not only Israel but also the broader imperialist designs of the United States and its allies in the region. Nasrallah’s life was dedicated to defending the dignity and sovereignty of Lebanon and to supporting the Palestinian struggle for liberation.

A religious and political leader all at once, Nasrallah preached and practiced a form of Shi’a Islam – one rightly called “liberation theology.” Hezbollah, the “Party of God” as translated, is an armed resistance movement of the Lebanese people, which administers social services, education and medical care to the poor and oppressed in Lebanon, as well as to thousands of Palestinian refugees. Under Nasrallah’s leadership, Hezbollah embraced the principles of national democratic revolution, always with an eye toward the broader liberation of the Middle East – and Palestine in particular.

Hezbollah defeated Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 2006, cementing itself as a significant counterweight to the designs of Zionism and U.S. imperialism in the region. In the 2010s, Hezbollah became an integral part of the Axis of Resistance in the Middle East. This anti-imperialist alliance encompasses the Palestinian resistance, the broad masses of Palestinians, the revolutionary and patriotic forces in Lebanon – of which Hezbollah plays the leading role” the Houthi movement in Yemen, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic, and the national democratic militias in Iraq.

Hezbollah and Syria: International solidarity in practice

In 2010, the monopoly capitalist rulers of the United States, through its regional proxies, launched an all-out attack on the national democratic government of Syria. Enjoying regional backing by reactionary Gulf monarchies as well as the state of Israel, reactionary paramilitaries like al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State (IS) attempted to topple the popularly supported government of Bashar al-Assad. Despite brutal U.S. sanctions and diplomatic attempts at isolation, Hezbollah rallied to defend Assad’s government – one of the only principled supporters of Palestinian national liberation in the Middle East. Nasrallah’s decision to stand firmly behind Syria during the Western-backed proxy war against Assad demonstrated concrete international solidarity that helped cement the Axis of Resistance, which is the concrete form of the united front against U.S. imperialism and Zionism in the Middle East. In doing so, Hezbollah helped deal a crushing blow to the designs of U.S. imperialism.

Appropriately, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in his message to the Lebanese National Resistance in general and Hezbollah in particular, declared that Nasrallah’s martyrdom would not weaken the cause. “Resistance does not weaken with the martyrdom of its leader but remains firmly rooted in the hearts and minds,” Assad said, reminding all that Nasrallah’s legacy is far greater than any individual life. His leadership built the framework of a lasting struggle against occupation and imperialism, and his vision will guide future generations in the continued fight for justice.

Assad also emphasized Nasrallah’s role as a symbol of resistance across the Arab world, particularly in his unwavering support for the Palestinian cause. He commended Nasrallah for standing alongside Syria in its struggle against Zionism and praised him as a leader whose courage extended beyond Lebanon’s borders. For the Syrian people, Nasrallah was more than an ally – he was a brother in the fight for dignity and liberation. While his loss is deeply felt, Assad assured that the legacy of Nasrallah’s sacrifices would fuel the ongoing resistance until every occupied Arab land is free.

‘Free Palestine’ central to Nasrallah’s movement

Palestine, however, always remained at the heart of Nasrallah’s anti-imperialist theory and practice. His sermons often echoed the pain and suffering of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. He understood that the liberation of Palestine was not just a local issue – it was the key link in the broader anti-colonial struggle against Western imperialism in the Middle East. “We fight for Palestine because it is the cause of justice, the cause of all who believe in human dignity,” Nasrallah once said – a belief that guided every decision he made as a leader.

An important Marxist-Leninist organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), issued a solemn declaration honoring the martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, hailing him as a “great national Arab leader” who dedicated his life to the struggle for the Arab nation. The PFLP's statement emphasized that Nasrallah's assassination, resulting from a “treacherous Zionist raid” in Beirut, would not break the “banner of resistance,” but rather mark the “beginning of a new phase of greater strength and determination.” In mourning the loss of Nasrallah and his comrades, the PFLP affirmed its solidarity with Hezbollah and the Lebanese people, stressing that the blood shed by the resistance would fuel the ongoing struggle for the liberation of Palestine.

In its statement, the PFLP also highlighted Nasrallah's pivotal role in the regional resistance movement, describing him as an “exceptional leader” who left a lasting impact on the fight against Zionism and imperialism. The statement further noted that Nasrallah's leadership transcended the borders of Lebanon, as he played a crucial role in supporting Palestinian resistance factions with logistical support, military training and weapons. The PFLP reaffirmed its commitment to the cause of liberation, declaring that the resistance would continue to stand united against imperialist forces, armed with the “will of the peoples” until the final victory over Zionist occupation and the liberation of all occupied Arab lands.

Hezbollah: A movement born from resistance to Zionism

Nasrallah’s assassination comes at a time when Israel, with the full backing of the United States, is engaged in a genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people, particularly those living in the Gaza Strip. His death is part of Israel’s broader effort to crush all forms of resistance across the region, from the Palestinian resistance fighters in Gaza to the cadre of Hezbollah defending their Lebanese homeland. Israel’s military triumphalism in this moment is intended to demoralize the people of Lebanon and Palestine, and to make them believe that resistance is futile. But history proves that imperialist war, no matter how brutal, cannot break the will of the people.

The Zionist state may celebrate this assassination as a victory, but history has shown that such victories are fleeting. When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, it quickly took control of large swathes of territory and even laid siege to Beirut. But out of that occupation grew Hezbollah, a movement that would ultimately force Israel to retreat in 2000, marking the first time that Israeli forces had been expelled from Arab land through military action. The current moment is no different. Nasrallah’s death, while a profound loss, will not break the spirit of the resistance. If anything, it will intensify it.

Hezbollah was founded in 1982 in response to the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, which lasted until 2000. Its success in forcing the Israeli military to withdraw without a formal ceasefire marked a turning point for the region, establishing Hezbollah as a symbol of Arab resistance to Israeli occupation. This victory not only solidified Hezbollah’s military reputation but also elevated its political influence in Lebanon. Hezbollah's ability to regenerate leadership and continue operations despite losses, such as the assassinations of key figures, further showcased its institutional resilience.

Western imperialism and the Israeli Zionists have consistently misread Hezbollah's strength, believing that assassinating leaders like Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah would lead to the group’s collapse. They have never understood Hezbollah’s structure, deeply rooted in the working masses of the Lebanese people, which extends beyond individual figures. It enjoys strong community ties and ideological commitment among the broad masses of people in Lebanon. Even after the deaths of military leaders like Hajj Imad Mughniyeh and Sayyed Fouad Shokor, Hezbollah not only continued its operations but advanced its military capabilities, including the ability to launch successful precision missile strikes against Israel.

Hezbollah’s resilience is not just military in nature but also ideological, rooted in a commitment to defending Lebanon’s national sovereignty and resisting occupation, both by Israelis as well as undue influence by the reactionary Gulf monarchies. Its strong connection with local communities, predominantly but not exclusively Shi’a, ensures widespread support for its leadership as a resistance force.

Even as its leaders have died in cowardly Zionist assassination plots, Hezbollah continues to play a crucial role in the broader resistance against Zionism, directly supporting Palestinian organizations in Gaza and coordinating with allies to challenge Israeli and Western designs. This collective resilience makes it difficult for external powers to dismantle the movement, which is sustained by a deep sense of loyalty to land, national identity, and liberation.

Nasrallah himself assumed leadership of Hezbollah after Israel assassinated Abbas al-Musawi in 1992. Just as his predecessor’s martyrdom led to the strengthening of Hezbollah, so too will Nasrallah’s. The people of Lebanon and Palestine are no strangers to sacrifice, and they have learned through decades of struggle that true liberation comes only through steadfast resistance.

Repeated efforts by Israel and the U.S. to dismantle Hezbollah and other resistance movements in Lebanon and Palestine have consistently fallen short. The core reason for this failure lies in the West’s misreading of the Resistance, which is deeply rooted in historical injustices, ideological strength and resilience. Targeting leaders like Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah overlooks the fact that Hezbollah is not dependent on one person. This miscalculation reinforces the stereotype that Middle Eastern movements rely solely on charismatic leaders, ignoring their strong institutions and community support. As a result, Hezbollah has not only survived the loss of leaders but has continued to grow stronger.

Hezbollah’s military capabilities, for example, significantly advanced after the assassinations of leaders like Hajj Imad Mughniyeh and Sayyed Fouad Shokor. Rather than weakening, the group developed more sophisticated missile systems and refined its tactics, as seen in its operations in Syria during the battles of Qusayr and Aleppo against both U.S.-backed rebels like al-Nusra Front and the reactionaries in the Islamic State (IS). Even recent targeted strikes aimed at destabilizing Hezbollah has shown the movement possessing an ability to regenerate leadership and maintain its strength.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned in 2006, “If you strike Beirut, we will strike Haifa – and beyond Haifa.” This institutional resilience has made it difficult for Israel and the U.S. to dismantle the group, as they fail to grasp the depth of its ideological commitment and community-based support, which ensure its continued survival. The future does not bode well for Israel.

The struggle continues

Nasrallah gave his life for Palestine, for Lebanon, and for oppressed peoples across the world. And while his enemies may celebrate his death, they will soon discover that resistance, as Nasrallah often reminded us, is not an individual – it is an idea. And ideas, especially those born of justice and liberation, can never be bombed out of existence. Those ideas find their expression in organizations like Hezbollah, and their strength will only magnify in the face of this cowardly assassination.

In moments of tragedy, it is vital to remember that resistance movements like Hezbollah are not built on the charisma or will of one individual. They are rooted in the broad masses of working people. As the Algerian revolutionary Frantz Fanon wrote, “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.” Nasrallah discovered his mission. He fulfilled it, and his martyrdom only strengthens the resolve of those left behind to carry on the fight.

#International #Lebanon #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #Rememberances #Hezbollah #Nasrallah

Minneapolis, MN – On October 6, over 4000 protesters gathered in downtown Minneapolis on to mark one year of protest and resistance to Israel’s U.S. funded genocide in occupied Palestine. The Free Palestine Coalition started the march with a rally at the Gateway Park Fountain on the corner of Hennepin and Washington Avenues. Protesters marched through downtown and the North Loop neighborhood, proudly displaying support for Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iran, Iraq and all people caught in the crosshairs of Israel’s terror campaign.

Red and green smoke flares filled the air as the crowd marched, and onlookers came out of businesses and apartments to cheer on the protestors and show their support. Chants of “Fight fight fight! Resistance is a human right!” and “Lebanon make us proud, turn another tank around!” echoed off the walls of high rises. Protesters and opponents of Israel's U.S.-bankrolled murder spree held various signs, some notable ones reading, “Resisting genocide is not a crime” and “Arms embargo on Israel now!”

The action held a special significance not only because it took place one day shy of the anniversary of October 7, but also in the wake of Israel's recent escalations into Lebanon, notably terror attacks carried out via exploding pagers and walkie talkies which killed at least a dozen Lebanese civilians, including children, and left as many as 3000 injured. This was followed by an aerial bombing campaign, with one attack requiring U.S.-made bunker buster bombs to flatten six buildings in order to assassinate Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and finally a “special ground operation” in southern Lebanon, which has yet to yield the Israelis any material results other than dozens of dead soldiers.

The previous Tuesday, October 1, had also seen Tel Aviv come under fire from resistance missiles launched by Iran, presumably a retaliatory strike for Israel's assassination of Hamas’ top negotiator in ceasefire talks, Ismael Haniyeh, which took place in Tehran. These strikes caused significant damage to Israel's Nevatim air base, proving Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system to be egregiously more ineffective than Israel and Western media have attempted to lead people to believe.

Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine spoke to the crowd before the march, highlighting the theme of resistance that took precedence on the day. Speaking on opposition to the Israeli project he noted, “At the same time that we have witnessed an entire year of genocide, we have also witnessed an entire year of resistance. We have witnessed an entire year of courage and bravery like we have never witnessed before. Just like Minneapolis in 2020 sparked the global reckoning on race, in 2024 Minneapolis and the rest of the country has sparked a global reckoning on the United States’ relationship with this apartheid regime.”

Herzallah continued, “There are those around the world who think that they can act with impunity, to do whatever the hell they want and not face accountability, there are those who believe they can kill innocent people left and right, that they can blow up other countries, that they can take whatever steps necessary to ‘defend themselves’, but what we have seen the last year, is the people of the global South, the people of Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq, and the people of Gaza, have shown them that they will pay a price.”

Yossi Aharoni, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee who was born in occupied Palestine also spoke at the march. Referencing the recent acts of desperation by the Israelis, Aharoni noted, “Iran recently conducted the largest military attack against Israel, unprecedented in its size, scope and success in history, rendering the Iron Dome useless. By all metrics both politically and military, Israel has lost the war, that is why we see it so desperately lashing out like a wounded animal caught in a bear trap; Israel knows the only way to continue is through a U.S. supported regional war. Israel’s successes lie only in the fact that now the vast majority of the world sees what we have known all along; the state of Israel is a terrorist state and the greatest threat to West Asia and world peace.”

Touching on the role of U.S. imperialism in Israel’s campaign, Aharoni later added, “Let us be clear, the problem is not a religious issue, nor is the problem Netanyahu, or Gallant, or Smotrich, or Gantz; the problem is Jewish supremacy, colonial occupation, apartheid; the problem is Zionism and its primary endorser, U.S. imperialism. The Black, indigenous, Chicano and LGBTQ movements support Palestine, not only because they recognize the moral travesty at hand, but because they know, like the Palestinians, their success hinges on the destruction of U.S. imperialism.”

The march wound its way through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, ending up back where it began two hours before at the Gateway Park fountain. There, Sanaa Wazwaz from American Muslims for Palestine told the crowd, “The Israeli occupation, it’s not a system – it’s a time, and that time is coming to an end in our lifetime. That time is coming to an end when we know 52% of Americans, including one-third of Republicans want an arms embargo on Israel.”

Many pro-Palestine voters have expressed a willingness to sit out this year's presidential race as a show of solidarity with Palestinians.

As the final chants of the afternoon rang out, a brisk autumn wind blew across the crowd and the message of the day had been made clear. With the calendar turning on one year of genocide since the October 7 resistance uprising, and Israel’s tactics only becoming more desperate and widespread into West Asia, the people of Minnesota made it clear that they’re in it for the long haul, meaning for as long it takes – until Minnesota divests its holdings in apartheid Israel, and until Palestine is free.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Lebanon #MNAWC #AMP

Nearly one year ago, on October 7, the sound of freedom thundered across Palestine, and its echoes are still being heard around the world. The Palestinian resistance launched Operation Al Aqsa Flood, a mass breakout from the world’s largest open air prison, Gaza. And, in doing so, they took a historic step towards liberation. Karl Marx once said that such moments of revolution, of people taking their own futures in their hands should be regarded as “festivals of the oppressed.” He was entirely right about that.

So, apartheid Israel and its backers in the Biden/Harris administration launched a genocide. There are at least 42,000 people dead in Gaza, many of them kids, and many who are unaccounted for. The occupiers of Palestine target homes, hospitals, places of worship, and, as of last week, cafes. This is out in the open for everyone who is willing to see reality.

There are more than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners in Zionist jails. Some behind bars are well known, like Ahmad Sa’adat, the general secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and others are known only to their families, friends and neighbors. Israel’s prisons are a nightmare where torture is normalized, and snarling dogs are unleashed on human beings in chains.

The Lebanese resistance groups are heroically assisting Palestine – and the Israelis have killed at least 2000 there. Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Iran are doing their part. They are stepping up to stand with the oppressed and stop a genocide. The countries and resistance groups that are acting in defense of Palestine are doing the right thing and deserve the solidarity of those of us here in the U.S.

Biden tells the truth when he says, “no administration has helped Israel more than I have.” Decent people would say that is nothing to be proud of, but it has the virtue of accuracy. The Biden/Harris administration is always rushing another arms package to the war criminal and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. 2000-pound bombs raining down on Beirut are courtesy of the White House and Pentagon. Same goes for the multiple attacks on Yemen. Then these fabricators of mass murder have the nerve to say that we, the American people, must vote for them – we have no choice. Well, they are wrong about that.

The United States and Israel have regionalized the conflict. The Biden/Harris administration has given a green light to the attempted invasion of Lebanon and states it will coordinate with Netanyahu on attacking Iran. The war is growing. Fortunately, the battle is not one-sided. Israel has not accomplished a single one of its military objectives in Gaza, and as of this writing, the Lebanese resistance has stopped Israeli forces on the border.

There are two sides in this conflict. On one hand you have the U.S., a declining empire walking hand-in-hand with the failed apartheid state Israel. One the other hand you have Palestine, and the constellation of resistance forces around it. For revolutionaries and progressive people in this country the choice is clear. We stand with the resistance. We oppose attacks on Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Liberation is coming!

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

#AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Lebanon #FRSO #Statement #Feature

Orlando, FL- Thirty activists gathered outside of City Hall in downtown Orlando for a vigil to mourn and remember the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. This was the second of several events being organized each day as part of a week of action to mark one year since Israel began bombing Gaza.

Local activists lined the steps of City Hall with photos of Palestinian children killed since October 2023. They also placed flowers, tea lights candles, and 50 tombstones that each represented over 1000 Palestinians murdered by Israel over the last year.

In between the lines of tombstones were dozens of pairs of children's shoes, symbolizing the innocent lives of children taken by U.S. bombs and weapons used in Israel’s war on Palestine and Lebanon. The display also included 100 Palestinian and Lebanese flags.

Throughout this gathering, police circled around on bikes before concealing themselves inside of City Hall to look out onto the group from above. Several activists at the vigil had been brutalized and arrested a week earlier in a previous Palestine Solidarity action. This night, the police decided not to engage – perhaps because so much video evidence of their violent attacks on protesters on September 21 has since gotten so much negative national attention.

#OrlandoFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Lebanon

Chicago, IL – On Wednesday, August 25, the New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS at UIC) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP at UIC), alongside other progressive student organizations at the University of Illinois Chicago, ended the month strong on campus by organizing a hands-off Lebanon demonstration following not only the terrorist cyberattack/bombings against Lebanon but the deploying of U.S. troops to the region.

Angel Naranjo of SDS started off the rally talking about the fast escalation of the U.S. backed Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Starting with Israel’s cyberattack, Naranjo informed the crowd, “Just last week the Zionists launched a cyberattack against the people of Lebanon that injured more than 3000 and murdered dozens – including four children. In order to carry out this attack Israeli intelligence agents put explosives inside pagers and walkie-talkies that then blew up all at the same time. Among the two children were an 11-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl named Fatima Abdullah, she had just begun the fourth grade.”

Naranjo continued, “On top of that, not only did U.S. officials acknowledge that it was Israel who was behind the attack, but reports show that U.S. intelligence agencies knew that Israel was planning this attack for years!”

The crowd responded, shouting “Shame!” Naranjo made it clear that the Biden/Harris administration is not only complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people, they are outspokenly supportive of it and are responsible for the aid Israel receives to attack nations like Lebanon. He spoke about the victims as “everyday people who were in their homes with their families, out walking on the streets, in stores buying groceries, doing regular everyday activities like you and me.”

Abdal Alfawaqa, a member of SJP told the crowd, “Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Jenin. Paramedics were being blocked in by IOF military vehicles. The bulldozers flattening homes, and tearing streets apart are Caterpillar bulldozers which UIC is currently invested in. UIC continues to ignore Palestinian voices on campus, even as they demand divestment from corporations that continue to make the genocide possible,” adding, “While our universities continue to refuse divestment, turning their backs on their Palestinian students and their allies who pay tens of thousands of dollars in tuition each year, Israel runs a genocidal ethnic cleansing campaign using Caterpillar bulldozers specifically made with the IDF in mind.”

Liz Rathburn, speaking for Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) came out to express the organization's support for the united Palestinian and Lebanese resistance against Israeli terrorism and U.S. imperialism. The United States’ desperate need to hold control of the Middle East through its support of the apartheid state of Israel shows its hypocrisy when it talks about democracy.

Rathburn stated, “Where was the Biden administration when the IOF kidnapped and tortured Palestinian Americans in Gaza and, or when, they assassinated a Turkish-American activist in the West Bank? I’ll tell you, they were on the news defending ‘Israel’ and excusing their crimes, they were welcoming Netanyahu into Congress and shipping another load of bombs to Gaza.”

Rathburn continued, “So when I hear them say that U.S. troops are going into Lebanon to defend Americans, I call bullshit! This government doesn’t give a damn about the working and oppressed peoples in this country because it is not our government, it belongs to corporations, Wall Street and the one percent.”

Finally, Erin Boyle, also a member of SDS, stated, “They know that what they’re doing is deeply unpopular and that people won’t swallow their lies. They talk differently about what they’re doing – they feel the pressure of a ceasefire – and we can tell from their duplicity that they are afraid. Afraid of the power of our generation. Afraid of the student intifada. Just look at an interview Hillary Clinton gave this week on CNN. She once again denounced the student protests over Palestine as dangerous.”

Boyle continued, “Just this week our own UI System banned SJP at UIUC! And in Florida, took away the degree of my friend and fellow SDSer Victoria, because she led an encampment! The same sort of encampment that DePaul sent CPD [Chicago Police Department] to violently break up. But the harder they repress us, the harder the student movement will fight.”

Students marched past the Engineering Research Facility and Science And Engineering South (SES) buildings, where UIC corporations like Boeing and Caterpillar, in collaboration with UIC, make the bombs and weapons used by the apartheid state of Israel against Palestinians, possible. Student chants roared around campus and on to the road, “UIC it is time! Stop funding war crimes!”

Students stopped by the ROTC to remind everyone of the threat the United States military has been to oppressed peoples around the world, not just in the past, not just now, but in the future if it is not stopped.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Lebanon #Palestine #SDS #SJP

San Jose, CA – On September 28, about 50 people gathered in front of San Jose City Hall to protest U.S. involvement in Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. People joined together demanding end all U.S. aid to Israel and for San Jose to divest from companies directly tied to Israel.

Signs bearing the slogans “All victory to the Palestinian resistance,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “End U.S. aid to Israel” were carried by the crowd.

San Jose Against War activist Jay Marcos described how Israel is using “the same lies that the United States and Israel have propagated to manufacture consent for their genocide in Gaza, to now justify their crimes against humanity on the people of Lebanon.”

Elle Maíz, an organizer with San Jose Against War, stated, “I’m so proud of every single person here because together we are all standing up to these evil empires and saying, ‘Enough!’ We will never be defeated and we will never be silent!” Maíz ended by giving the crowd a call to action: “Together we will continue escalating and demanding better because we all deserve better!”

Thai Nguyen of San Jose Against War noted, “One look at history tells us that an empire in decline will commit its most heinous attacks before collapse. But for those of us living in the imperial core – the belly of the beast – what can we do to meet this moment?” Nguyen reminded the crowd to support San Jose Against War’s divestment campaign for the city of San Jose – which has upwards of $50 million in investments in companies with direct ties to Israel.

San Jose Against War, along with eight other local organizations, has called for rally and march at City Hall on October 6, 12 noon to answer the national call from the Anti-War Action Network to mark one year of genocide, and one year of resistance.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #Lebanon #Palestine #SJAW

New Orleans, LA- On the evening of Wednesday, September 25, close to 100 New Orleanians gathered in front of the Federal Building to protest Israel’s increased offensive in Lebanon and the U.S. government’s continued facilitation of Israel’s atrocities.

The rally began by paying tribute to Khalifa Ibn Rayford Daniel, who was mercilessly executed by the State of Missouri the day before. Despite the prosecution’s serious doubts regarding the integrity of his conviction and pleas from his family, the State refused to grant Daniel clemency.

“Imam Khalifa, from his prison cell, saw the connection between the occupation and terror attacks on the Arab world and his own oppressors here. The America that sends a never-ending supply of bombs to Israel has no more humanity for its own citizens than for the citizens of Palestine and Lebanon,” said a NOSHIP member. “Let me remind you how the U.S. went from killing 1 million people in Iraq over 20 years to funding at least 50,000 murders in Gaza in one year, to now 500 people in one day in Lebanon,” she continued.

Speakers highlighted the sheer scale of Israel’s atrocities towards the people of Lebanon. Last week, Israel carried out two bombing campaigns. It detonated thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies indiscriminately, killing hundreds and maiming thousands, including children and first-responders all throughout the country. Israel followed its terrorist attack with an increased air offensive against the South of Lebanon earlier this week. It issued evacuation orders akin to those spread throughout Gaza over the past year, to make room for Israel’s spree of abject destruction extending as far north of the country as the Beqaa Valley.

The protest was organized by New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP) and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and gathered the support and endorsement of close to a dozen organizations including Loyola and Tulane Students for a Democratic Society, Vote of the Experienced, New Orleans Community Oversight of Police, and Democratic Socialists of America.

“Our government is not complicit in this genocide – complicity would be far too kind. They are the perpetrators, they are the murderers,” said Blu DiMarco from the FRSO. In response, the crowd chanted “Shame!” and “End the killing, stop the bombs, Israel out of Lebanon!”

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have done nothing to stop this escalation, and they won’t. This rotten system has forced the people to choose between voting for these genocidal democrats and the xenophobic Trump. We say fuck that, keep fighting back in the streets!” continued DiMarco.

As the sun set over the crowd, the energy carried on as the emcee gave a reminder of a recent local movement win. On Friday, September 20, 14 protesters who were arrested and charged in relation to protests at the Tulane and Loyola popular University for Gaza in last May were found “not guilty” by a New Orleans Criminal District Judge. This was the first trial nationwide regarding student encampment protests. “Who got the power? We got the power!” chanted the crowd.

“Let this be a reminder and a lesson to all of our enemies that when they start a fire, we pour gasoline,” said the an organizer with NOSHIP. “We will continue to speak out, organize, and strike blows against the Zionist entity and its supporters at home. We owe it to ourselves and to the brave fighters in Palestine to struggle against our enemies until the very end, especially when faced with repression,” she continued.

The crowd dispersed after two hours of speeches and chants, with a reminder to reconvene and take the streets of downtown New Orleans on October 5, marking nearly one year of genocide and one year of resistance.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #AntiWarMovement #Lebanon #Palestine #NOSHIP

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

Atlanta, GA – About 100 community members gathered outside the Israeli consulate Tuesday evening, September 24, to protest the U.S.-backed Israeli aggression on Lebanon. The Israeli airstrikes on civilian homes and institutions signify a major escalation and are a futile attempt to quell the militant solidarity between Lebanese and Palestinian resistance groups.

Since the beginning of the U.S.-funded genocide in Gaza last October, the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah has been strategically striking Israeli military bases and illegal settlements in the north of occupied Palestine. The high degree of coordination between anti-imperialist resistance movements in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine is not only a deterrent to the region-wide war the Israeli leadership desires but is actively paving the way towards a Middle East free from U.S. domination and meddling.

Community members lined both sides of Spring Street in Midtown Atlanta, waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags in unison. Flag-waving protesters occupied the intersection during red lights while activists distributed flyers to drivers, detailing the genocide in Gaza and promoting future protests. Over a dozen Atlanta Police Department officers surveilled the protest from nearby alleys and parking lots. They were met with chants of, “APD, KKK, IDF you’re all the same!” and “200,000 people dead! Democrats, your hands are red!”

A Palestinian community member stated, “Yesterday Netanyahu was saying he was bombing Lebanon to kill Hezbollah, in Gaza he says he wants to kill Hamas. They’re lying! They just need excuses!” She finished the speech by reaffirming support for the popular resistance, “40,000 women are pregnant in Gaza right now, they will never kill the Palestinians. Palestine will be free soon. And we say to Lebanon, make us proud! Keep bombing Israel!” The crowd erupted in cheers.

The protest ended with attendees committing to protest yet again in Centennial Olympic Park on October 5 to commemorate one year of genocide against Gaza and a year of heroic resistance to Zionist occupation.

#AtlantaGA #GA #AntiWarMovement #Lebanon #Palestine

Israel está perpetrando una guerra criminal contra el Líbano. Ciegan, mutilan y matan al azar con dispositivos de comunicación explosivos. Bombas suministradas por los Estados Unidos están cayendo sobre apartamentos en Beirut y casas en todo el sur del Líbano, y sobre carreteras llenas de refugiados. Estas bombas están siendo lanzadas desde aviones que Israel recibió de los Estados Unidos. Por temor a que Israel se encuentre en problemas, la administración de Biden/Harris está enviando más material bélico y tropas a la región. Y el genocidio israelí en Palestina continúa.

Después de casi un año de genocidio en Gaza, la ocupación israelí no ha podido dominar la resistencia palestina. Sigue siendo una fuerza a tener en cuenta e Israel no ha logrado ninguno de sus objetivos militares. En la Cisjordania ocupada, donde hay una lucha armada en curso, el nivel de resistencia está aumentando en alcance y capacidad.

Cuando comenzó el genocidio, el grupo de resistencia libanés Hezbolá hizo lo correcto al actuar en solidaridad con Palestina. Ninguna persona seria puede dudar de que la resistencia libanesa está inmovilizando a muchas tropas israelíes que de otro modo estarían involucradas en el asesinato en masa que está ocurriendo en Gaza. Ahora Israel, con la ayuda de la administración de Biden, quiere cambiar la ecuación. Fracasarán. Es como dijo Mao: “Están levantando una piedra para dejarla caer sobre sus propios pies”.

Las fuerzas progresistas y patrióticas del Líbano, que demostraron un heroísmo y una tenacidad increíbles, derrotaron a Israel en 2006, cuando pusieron fin a la ocupación sionista del sur del país. Tienen la capacidad y la voluntad de propinar otra derrota a los israelíes. En todo Medio Oriente, las fuerzas de resistencia están uniendo sus fuerzas: está en marcha una batalla para poner fin al apartheid israelí y liberar a toda Palestina.

Ahora es el momento de apoyar a los pueblos del Líbano y Palestina. Habrá oscuridad antes del amanecer de la liberación, pero ese día llegará. Más pronto que tarde.

La victoria del Líbano en 2006 y la inundación de Al-Aqsa del 7 de octubre del año pasado en Palestina demostraron que el “superhombre” sionista es una ilusión, un tigre de papel, más débil que una telaraña. En las próximas semanas, tenemos que hacer todo lo posible por Palestina. Y por el Líbano. Al diablo con los políticos estadounidenses que apoyan el genocidio. Sí, es una prueba de fuego. Para el mundo en el que vivimos, Palestina es una cuestión de la dirección que tomamos. Hacia adelante o hacia atrás. Reacción o progreso.

¡Apoyemos la resistencia en Palestina!

¡Solidaridad con el Líbano!

#International #Lebanon #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #FRSO #OSCL #Statement

Israel is waging a criminal war on Lebanon. They blind, maim and kill at random with exploding communications devices. U.S.-supplied bombs are falling on Beirut apartment buildings and homes across south Lebanon, and roads crowded with refugees. The bombs are being dropped from planes that Israel got from the U.S. Fearing that Israel will find itself in deep water, the Biden/Harris administration is dispatching more war materials and troops to the region. And the Israeli genocide in Palestine continues.

After nearly a year of genocide in Gaza, the Israeli occupation has been unable to tame the Palestinian resistance. It remains a force to be reckoned with and Israel has obtained none of its military objectives. In the occupied West Bank, where there is an armed struggle in progress, the level of resistance is expanding in scope and capacity.

When the genocide began, the Lebanon resistance group Hezbollah did the right thing, by acting solidarity with Palestine. No serious person can doubt that the Lebanese resistance is tying up many Israeli troops that would be otherwise engaged in the mass murder happening in Gaza. Now Israel, with the assistance of the Biden administration, wants to change the equation. They will fail. It is like what Mao said, “they are lifting a rock to drop it on their own feet.”

Showing incredible heroism and tenacity, the progressive and patriotic forces of Lebanon defeated Israel in 2006, when they ended the Zionist occupation of the country’s south. They have the capacity and the will to hand the Israelis another defeat. Across the Middle East, resistance forces are pitching in – a battle to end apartheid Israel and liberate all of Palestine is in motion.

Now is the moment to stand with the peoples of Lebanon and Palestine. There will be darkness before the dawn of liberation, but that day will come. Sooner, not later.

Lebanon’s win in 2006 and last year’s October 7 Al-Aqsa Flood in Palestine demonstrated that the Zionist “superman” is an illusion – it is a paper tiger, weaker than a spiderweb. In the weeks ahead, we need to go all out for Palestine. And Lebanon. To hell with U.S. politicians who embrace the genocide. Yes, it is a litmus test. For the world we live in, Palestine is a question of the direction we are going. Forward or backwards. Reaction or progress.

Stand with the resistance in Palestine!

Solidarity with Lebanon!

#International #Lebanon #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #FRSO #Statement #Feature

Salt Lake City, UT – Nearly a dozen student activists gathered outside the University of Utah’s career fair on September 24 to protest military recruiters present on campus.

They carried signs reading “U.S. military off campus!” and “U.S. military backs genocide, students stand with Palestine!” The action was part of Utah SDS’s campaign for divestment from Israel and war profiteers.

Activists educated students entering the Student Union about the military’s strategic support for the genocide in Gaza as well as the military’s predatory recruiting tactics, which lure in low-income youth with the promise of free education and healthcare. “There’s no honor in joining a genocidal military,” said Gabriel Casados of Utah SDS, “not to mention that 22 veterans die per day from suicide.”

The protest got support from passing students, who took pictures, and maintained unity in the face of pro-war and pro-genocide hecklers. The hecklers quickly dispersed as the students chanted, “U of Utah! We’re at your door! We won’t fight an imperialist war!” and “Money for student needs, not for genocide and greed!”

Speakers called attention to the presence of U.S. military advisors in Israel, the redeployment of military assets to the Middle East to defend Israeli genocide, and the missile strikes on Yemen in January of this year. Chants of “Yemen, Yemen, stand your ground! Turn another ship around!” filled the University Union lawn. Speakers also condemned intensified recent Israeli attacks on the Lebanese people.

Even after two low-level university bureaucrats ordered Utah SDS to move away from the career fair, the chanting, speaking and education finished as planned, protesting campus military recruitment for the full hour. Utah SDS called for a sustained campaign for Palestine and invited the crowd to attend their rally for divestment on October 3, 12 p.m. in front of the University Union.

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Thousands of small, seemingly innocuous devices, exploding in the hands and pockets of Israel’s enemies. Tuesday and Wednesday’s bombing attacks across Lebanon have been hailed by Zionists as a crushing blow to Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah, an intelligence coup that one viral tweet called “biblical” in scale and sophistication.

But while the attacks certainly showed cunning, an analysis of their targets, objectives and likely effects reveals not sophistication but a crude logic of collective punishment, common to flailing colonial regimes.

Who are the victims?

Contrary to its portrayal in Western media as a shadowy underground terror organization, Hezbollah is in reality a vast social movement, with mass support and an above-ground institutional network that goes far beyond guerrilla warfare. Hezbollah operates hospitals, charities, schools, agricultural development centers, garbage collection and other social services across Lebanon. It also has a political bureau, with members elected to the Lebanese Parliament and holding ministerial appointments in the official government.

In other words, Hezbollah employs many thousands of people in noncombatant and civilian roles. Many—if not most—of the bombing victims appear to have been from this category, including doctors, first responders, administrative and diplomatic personnel. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was also wounded in Tuesday’s attack, as well as several people in neighboring Syria.

While much has been made of the attacks supposedly breaching Hezbollah’s famed operational security measures, recognizing many of the victims to be civilian functionaries paints a different picture. Israel and/or its allies simply planted explosives in large numbers of devices bound for Hezbollah-connected institutions, then began detonating them indiscriminately. Far from a masterstroke of targeted espionage, this is just another of Israel’s grotesque mass bombing campaigns.

A failing strategy

Hezbollah’s frontline positions seem to have been negligibly affected. Resistance operations continue along the Zionist occupation’s northern border.

So what is Israel’s strategy with the device bombings? Terrorism, plain and simple. It sought to convey to the entire population of Lebanon that it will target anyone remotely involved with the resistance, no matter how incidental or tertiary the connection—children and other family members, or even random bystanders.

This is much like Israel’s strategy in Gaza. There, too, Israel has openly targeted civilian families of suspected Hamas members on a mass scale, as well as doctors and nurses, aid workers, police and other civilian functionaries deemed to be “part of” Hamas—which, like Hezbollah, operates a vast network of social and political institutions in addition to its armed wing.

In Gaza, Israel’s strategy has largely failed. Despite Israel’s nearly year-long campaign of mass murder and destruction, Hamas continues to function both as an administrative and military formation, even retaining the ability to strike inside the borders of the Zionist occupation. Crucially, the genocidal scale of Israel’s terrorism has failed to crush the spirit of resistance among the Palestinian masses. Gaza remains a quagmire for Israel.

High-tech atrocities

Likewise, the device bombings in Lebanon are unlikely to win anything beyond a short-term morale boost in the twisted minds of Zionists, but the human toll remains horrifying to contemplate. Focusing on the death count alone obscures the scale and the truly gruesome nature of the attack. While at least three dozen people have been killed by exploding pagers and other devices, hundreds to potentially thousands more have lost hands, eyes and other organs.

Let’s be clear about the historical precedents for this: from 19th-century colonial authorities in the Congo Free State chopping off plantation workers’ hands, to the mutilations of Mau Mau rebel prisoners by British occupiers in 1950s Kenya, to Israel’s own “break their bones” doctrine against Palestinian protesters during the First Intifada—not to mention the tens of thousands wounded during the ongoing Gaza genocide—mass maiming and disfigurement campaigns have long been waged by colonial regimes against indigenous resistance. Whether done by machete or by exploding pager, the sadistic brutality is the same.

If there is anything new about the bombings, it’s the large-scale weaponization of civilian consumer items. It heralds an era where household tech devices might not only be spying on you but waiting for a signal to bomb you. This novel tactic will force resistance groups around the world to reevaluate their suppliers, but the greater economic fallout could affect civilian supply chains and consumer behaviors all over the world. Considering that Israel’s own economy relies heavily on its tech sector, the mass boobytrapping of tech products reeks of desperation.

Regardless whether these attacks continue, and regardless whether Israel ultimately attempts a Gaza-style military invasion in Lebanon, Israel’s crude strategy of mass reprisals against resisting populations is unlikely to succeed in the long run. History shows that colonial violence tends to unite and grow national liberation movements, not silence them.

People here in the United States—Israel’s main director and sponsor—have our part to play. By building international solidarity with liberation movements, we help create the conditions for the overthrow of the imperialist system altogether.

Wyatt Miller is an organizer with the Minnesota Anti-War Committee.

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