Minneapolis, MN – On March 20, over 30 people rallied across the street from Smith Foundry in East Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis. A miniature factory replica named Little Smith Foundry stood in front of the “Shutdown Smith Foundry” banner. Community members expressed anger at impact of the foundry’s pollution on the community of East Phillips and Little Earth which is allowed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

Minneapolis – On March 12, just 16 hours after being notified that the Consul General of Israel Yinam Cohen was meeting with University of Minnesota Vice President Croson, along with a group of Zionist community leaders, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) pulled together an emergency protest and march starting outside of the Coffman Student Union. Protesters demanded an end to the ties between the university and the state of Israel.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

SDS and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) have just been made aware that the Consul General of Israel Yinam Cohen will reportedly be meeting with University of Minnesota Vice President Croson along with a group of Zionist community leaders. Given various factors: the climate of repression of Pro-Palestine activism on campus, the genocide being carried out by the illegal Israeli occupation, and an ongoing Department of Education investigation into false claims of anti-semitism, this meeting is shameful complicity in Israel’s crimes.

Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, March 8, over 100 people gathered for a panel on International Women’s Day discussing the fight against gender oppression and practicing international solidarity in local movements, specifically solidarity with the women of Palestine. The event was hosted by the Twin Cities District of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Minneapolis, MN – On March 7 the Minneapolis city council passed an ordinance forcing rideshare corporations like Uber and Lyft to pay their drivers the equivalent of the city’s minimum wage of $15.57 an hour if they want to continue to operate in the city.

Minneapolis, MN – The Climate Justice Committee (CJC) recently brought a taste of guerrilla theater to a local bureaucrat’s front lawn, March 3, to drive home a simple point: her wealthy, white neighborhood would never allow a major polluter like Smith Foundry to move in and disrupt their way of life.

And, as shown by the neighbors’ peeved reactions to our noisy presence and miniature factory replica on a quiet Sunday morning in pseudo-suburbia, their obsession with maintaining the status quo single-handedly proved the point.

Minneapolis, MN – On March 6, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee organized a protest outside the First Avenue nightclub, where pro-Israel musical act Matisyahu was performing.

Matisyahu is the stage name of Matthew Paul Miller, a white American reggae musician, best known for his 2005 hit King Without a Crown. Miller is known for his extreme pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian political views. In a 2012 interview, he said, “There was never a country called Palestine.” In 2015, Miller performed for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the notorious pro-Israel lobbying group. He has also performed for Friends of the IDF, which fundraises for Israel’s military occupation forces.

Minneapolis, MN – In an action against industrial pollution, the Climate Justice Committee and its allies in the Shut Down Smith Coalition confronted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Thursday, February 29. The coalition also presented the MPCA with a petition demanding the closure of Smith Foundry, a symbol of environmental injustice that casts a shadow over the East Phillips neighborhood.

Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, February 10, well over 100 activists, organizers, trade unionists and revolutionaries gathered under the signs and banners from movements past and present to celebrate the work of Fight Back!.

During the short program, various sectors of the people’s movement toasted to the important role of Fight Back! plays in uplifting the demands and wins from the mass movement. Organizers from the student movement, labor, climate, immigrant rights, police crimes, women’s and reproductive rights and the anti-war movement led the attendees in raising their glasses to the revolutionary reporting and editorials of Fight Back!.

Minneapolis, Mn – On Monday February 19, University of Minnesota’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society gathered outside the U of M student union along with about 70 students, staff and faculty for a rally to demand divestment.

SDS’s main campaign right now is for the University of Minnesota to completely divest from Israel in terms of defense companies, recruiters, study abroad programs and weapons manufacturer companies. SDS also demands that all students, staff and faculty have the right to protest on campus without being repressed.

Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, February 15, the University of Minnesota chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, in collaboration with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, held a panel in Nicholson Hall on the UMN campus discussing Marxist-Leninist perspectives on Palestinian liberation. Thirty people, both students and community members, were in attendance.

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, February 13 around 100 flight attendants picketed in front of the arrivals gates of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport in Minnesota.

The crowd’s chants were heard clearly in the whole arrivals area. Chants included “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!” as well as “If we don’t get it? Shut it down!”

Minneapolis, MN – On the evening of February 7, residents of East Phillips confronted the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) at a community meeting and then held a press conference regarding the Smith Foundry.

East Phillips is a primarily oppressed nationality neighborhood and home to the Little Earth indigenous community. East Phillips has the highest rates of asthma in all of Minnesota, with many residents suffering from COPD among other respiratory health issues.

Minneapolis, MN – As students came up the escalator for the College of Science and Engineering job fair on Tuesday, February 6, they could look upon the great values that the University of Minnesota holds itself to. Courage, pride, equity and “Weapon companies off campus!”

Minneapolis, MN – On February 1, 400 people gathered across from the Minneapolis City Hall to protest Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of the ceasefire resolution that the Minneapolis city council had passed the previous week.

The Free Palestine Coalition organized the protest to urge the city council to override Frey’s veto. The original resolution passed with nine votes, enough to override the mayor’s veto if all nine stay united behind the original resolution.

Minneapolis, MN – Organizers with Nenookaasi healing camp hosted a press conference on Friday, February 2 at the camp’s new location, to discuss the ongoing struggle against repeat evictions and the unanswered call for housing solutions.

Minneapolis, MN – In the early hours of Tuesday, January 30, Nenookaasi Healing Camp was evicted for the second time from an otherwise vacant lot in the city of Minneapolis.

On January 4, the encampment was evicted from its original location, which housed up to 200 people, primarily indigenous. Mayor Jacob Frey, the main perpetrator of the city eviction policy, met with camp organizers following the first eviction and feigned support for our unhoused neighbors. This second eviction shows how little the mayor and other city officials actually care for unhoused Minneapolis residents.

Minneapolis, MN – On January 28, the Women Against Military Madness’ Solidarity Committee of the Americas (SCOTA) and the MN Cuba Committee held their monthly car caravan with 15 cars and 20 people to demand Cuba be taken off the U.S. terrorist list.

Minneapolis, MN – On January 29, 500 Minneapolis public school students participated in a student-organized walkout for Palestine.

Students marched from downtown’s Gold Medal Park to Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office, chanting, “Louder, louder, say it more; not a conflict; not a war” and “No more hiding, no more fear; this genocide is crystal clear.” The students’ demands included calls for an end to Israel’s siege on Gaza and for U.S. divestment from Israel, both of which have been vehemently echoed across the nation.