Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

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By Nick Tolliver

Willy Massay speaking about his experiences with healthcare in Gaza.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, October 27, over 100 people gathered at the New City Center to listen to a presentation given by Willy Massay, a critical care ICU nurse who was one of the few American healthcare workers to go to Gaza since the start of the war last year. The presentation was hosted by the Minnesota Anti War Committee.

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By Drake Myers

St. Paul, MN – MAPE, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, is an independent union representing approximately 15,000 employees of the State of Minnesota. At their October 26 delegate assembly, MAPE approved a resolution titled “Supporting a Ceasefire and Divestment in Israel-Palestine.” It included strong steps towards divesting both MAPE and Minnesota’s State Board of Investments (SBI) from apartheid Israel. The MAPE Ceasefire Caucus organizing team had conversations with nearly every delegate over the last six weeks in preparation for the vote, which ended up with 82 for, 49 against, with 17 abstaining.

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By Andrew Josefchak

Minneapolis rally against repression  of pro Palestine students.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

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.

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By Sarah Martin

Presidential candidate Jill Stein \[right\] at protest against the U.S./Israel war on Palestine.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

St. Paul, MN – On October 19, Jill Stein, presidential candidate for the Green Party, stopped by the weekly Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) Solidarity Palestine bannering. Stein stopped by to show support for the Palestine solidarity movement on the way to her Green Party fundraiser.

For over a year, every Friday, community activists have steadfastly came to the busy intersection of Summit and Snelling Avenues in Saint Paul to call for an end to the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza and for a free Palestine.

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By Meredith Aby

Palestine solidarity bannering in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  | Paul Ellertson/Fight Back! News

St. Paul, MN – On October 17, 40 protesters held banners, signs and Palestinian flags on the Snelling Avenue bridge over Interstate 94 to draw attention to Israel’s atrocities in Gaza and Lebanon. Over 42,000 Palestinians and 2400 Lebanese have been killed by Israel since last October. Now 41% of people in Gaza are in danger of catastrophic levels of hunger in the coming months. Thousands of cars passed under the bridge while hundreds more went up Snelling Avenue.

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By Sophie Breen and Montana Hirsch

Minneapolis protest against vice president candidate Vance demands legalization for all.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Minneapolis, MN – On Monday, October 14 over 50 protesters gathered together on Indigenous People’s Day to tell Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance that he is not welcome in Minneapolis. Vance attended a private fundraiser in Minneapolis the same day, and held a press conference at the burned down Minneapolis former 3rd Precinct police station.

The protest was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) as part of a national week of action called by the Legalization for All Network to stand with Haitian immigrants in the fight for legalization for all, in the face of the intensely racist anti-immigrant rhetoric spewed by right-wing politicians at every turn.

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By Trent Fast

October 6 Minneapolis march for Palestine. | Brad Sigal/Fight Back! News

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.

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By June Gromis

Minneapolis vigil for Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, October 4, 30 abortion rights organizers, allies and community members gathered to mourn the deaths and celebrate the lives of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller. Thurman and Miller tragically passed away because they were unable to access lifesaving reproductive care, as a result of Georgia’s draconian anti-abortion laws. Their stories just recently came to light after the state’s maternal mortality review committee ruled both of their deaths preventable.

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By Meredith Aby

Minneapolis protest against U.S./Israel attacks on Lebanon.  | Meredith Aby/Fight Back! News

Minneapolis, MN – On October 2, over 100 people protested outside the office of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. The MN Anti-War Committee called the protest to bring attention to the recent Israeli ground offensive into Lebanon which is leaving many Lebanese civilians dead in its wake.

Senator Klobuchar was targeted for the protest because her policy decisions have repeatedly put Israel first, and its victims last; and that the people of Minnesota stand with the Lebanese people and against U.S. military support for an Israeli led large-scale regional war.

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By Annie Russell-Pribnow

Minneapolis students protest at the inauguration of new University of Minnesota president demanding divestment from apartheid Israel.  | Staff/Fight Back! News

Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday, September 18, over 700 protesters rallied outside Northrop Auditorium as the new University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham was inaugurated inside. As university workers prepped the Northrop Mall for the massive celebration set to begin in just two hours, students walked out of class, joining the rally to demand that the University of Minnesota divest from Israel.

As the crowd chanted, “Neutrality is a lie! You’re supporting genocide!” nervous low-level administrators fidgeted with their clipboards and took photos of the protest. The rally was a campus-wide effort, called for by the UMN Divest Coalition, AFSCME 3800, and Educators for Justice in Palestine.

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