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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pittsburg, PA – Ten students at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) are facing repression from campus authorities, after displaying messages in solidarity with Palestine on the campus's so-called “free speech fence.”

The Fence is a landmark of CMU's campus, which the university describes as “a student-centered space for free expression and community.” According to school policy, students are permitted to paint the Fence however they like, yet this past summer a cohort of anti-Zionist students discovered a very specific boundary around what speech the administration deems free.

Between June 9 and July 4 this summer, a series of anti-Zionist messages painted on the Fence provoked escalating censorship by campus administration. These paintings included slogans like: “75 years of apartheid, 56 years of occupation, 16 years of blockade,” “Forcing ideological conformity (Zionism) on Jews is antisemitic – free Palestine,” “Anti-Zionism ≠ antisemitism” and “Death to Zionism” (written in Yiddish)

Most telling was the July 3 painting, which read “Multiple choice: which will they censor? Death to: fascism, apartheid, Zionism, colonialism, racism.” A question which the administration answered by covering only the word “Zionism” the following day.

In an attempt to silence anti-Zionist sentiments among the student body, the CMU opened Title VI investigations into ten of the students believed to have been responsible for the series of paintings. This grossly stretches the definition of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which protects against discrimination “on the ground of race, color, or national origin,” not adherence to genocidal political ideologies.

Rather than accepting this repression, the suspected students are working with Palestine Legal to challenge the administration's actions, as well as activist groups like Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and the International Solidarity Committee of Pittsburgh (ISCPIT) to build popular support within the city.

In response to this blatant attack on free speech, ISCPIT Chair Dot Bodwell addressed administration, saying, “Like it or not, you have an obligation to these students. Plenty of them are paying an arm and a leg to attend CMU, and they get a voice on campus. You can't get in the way of that.”

At time of writing, JVP is circulating a petition calling on the university to drop the Title VI investigations against these ten students and end the censorship of pro-Palestinian messaging.

Rosalyn Tosh, one of the students under disciplinary investigation, defended the paintings, saying, “In censoring our fence paintings, Carnegie Mellon is showing it is more concerned about the possibility people find the language we use offensive than the reality of Zionism’s genocidal violence. We won’t stop drawing attention to this reality and protesting CMU's complicity in it.”

CMU administration released a statement attempting to justify their actions, in which they baselessly liken anti-Zionist fence painting to the 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue, where 11 people were murdered in an antisemitic hate crime. The statement claims that the fence painters, some of whom are themselves Jewish, “threatened to create a hostile environment for members of our Jewish community, and increasingly undermined, rather than promoted, constructive dialogue.”

Incidentally, the final Fence painting, in response to which the administration launched its Title VI investigations, read, “21,000+ children murdered due to Zionism – who are the ones inciting violence here?”

CMU is thoroughly complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people, as the university regularly hosts “defense” industry companies, which recruit engineering students directly into the military industrial complex. This complicity has long been the target of protest from students, such as when CMU hosted defense and ICE contractor Palantir in February this past year.

#PittsburghPA #PA #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement

Braddock, PA – On Sunday, July 26, the International Solidarity Committee of Pittsburgh (ISCPIT) gathered outside John Fetterman's home in Braddock, Pennsylvania to protest the Senator's support of the Trump administration's increased sanctions on Cuba. This protest was held as part of the Anti-War Action Network's week of action marking Cuba’s National Rebellion Day.

Organizers and attendees chanted, held signs and spoke on a variety of issues that Senator Fetterman has been on the wrong side of, focusing on his vote in April to uphold the Trump administration's ramping up sanctions on Cuba. “Let the people of Cuba live” was shouted by attendees, as passersby joined in or honked in approval.

Since April, Fetterman has increased his violent political rhetoric. Last week, the Senator went on Fox News to say he “will always be the last man standing within the Democratic caucus in the Senate that's unapologetically standing for Israel.”

This week, faced with criticism from those he represents, Senator Fetterman posted to Twitter “Israel keeps killing Hamas members. @DemSocialists, cry harder.” This mirrors his in-person bravado quite well, as he briefly locked eyes with a chanting organizer from behind his curtains before quickly disappearing from sight and calling his private security team, who arrived within minutes to ensure protesters stayed on the “correct” part of the public sidewalk.

Recent polling shows that fewer than one in five Pennsylvania Democrats hold a positive view of Senator Fetterman's job performance.

Protest organizer Marigold Cameron of ISCPIT and FRSO stated, “Fetterman won't fight for us, so it's up to us to fight for ourselves, to say no to blockade on Cuba, no to war in Iran.”

The messaging of the day was clear: The people of the world have a right to live outside the whims of United States demagogues. Cuba is under attack by the U.S.and if politicians won't end the violence, activists will step in to fight for freedom and justice.

#PittsburghPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #Cuba #AntiWarActionNetwork

Pittsburgh, PA – On Saturday July 4, anti-war activists disrupted the Brentwood, Pennsylvania Independence Day parade. While the parade messaging called the U.S. “the land of the free,” protesters rejected this notion, bringing attention to the many ongoing crimes of Donald Trump and the U.S. government.

The protest was organized by the International Solidarity Committee of Pittsburgh (ISCPIT), with the support of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). Protesters held a banner reading, “No more endless war!” and signs with slogans including “U.S. out of everywhere!” and “No ICE! Stop the deportations!”

“They’re calling this ‘250 years of freedom’ and we are here to say that there is no freedom in genocide!” said FRSO organizer Marigold Cameron. “There is no freedom in endless war, in deportations, in police crimes. For 250 years, and longer, the people of this land have been struggling to achieve really the freedom that they claim to have given us 250 years ago. Right now, Donald Trump and his billionaire friends have been wreaking havoc across this country, leading a campaign of terror against the people who actually built this country. We want to fight Trump’s agenda and make the U.S. ungovernable.”

Over the course of two hours, only two people tried to speak out against the protest, whilst nearly a dozen attendees as well as some parade participants stopped to offer the group encouragement.

ISCPIT chair Dot Bodwell stated, “While you’re waving your flag and celebrating here, we’re still at war in Iran and Lebanon; we’re still throwing billions of dollars to the wholesale slaughter of children and families; we still have ICE officers arresting people in their homes and their workplaces: and we don’t think that’s something to celebrate.”

ISCPIT is currently in the process of launching a new campaign against Palantir, a major defense company that processes data for the U.S. military as well as ICE, helping billionaires and their armed forces spy on the working-class from Palestine to Minneapolis. As Pittsburgh’s capitalist class tries to establish the city as a hub for tech investors, ISCPIT wants to draw a clear line to keep Palantir and their bloody business out.

The biggest foothold Palantir currently has in the city is on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus, where the capitalist administration regularly invites recruiters to court graduates of the U.S.’s number one machine-learning programs for genocide.

#PittsburghPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #Palantir #Iran #July4th

Philadelphia, PA – Around 100 people gathered in Love Park on May 1, before joining a rally of thousands organized by the Philadelphia AFL-CIO at City Hall. Among these groups were Philadelphia Anti War (PAW), Philadelphia Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression (PAARPR), Anakbayan, Marxist Education Group, Industrial Workers of the World, Workers World Party and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

At the rally, speakers condemned Trump’s actions, U.S. wars, ICE detention and the continued exploitation of workers. A brass band provided entertainment and volunteers offered pretzels and water to those standing in the sun along the crowded John F Kennedy Boulevard.

Around 6 p.m., demonstrators marched northwest, stopping at hotels and other businesses, where union groups demanded higher wages and improved working conditions.

Demonstrators with megaphones led constant chants during this contingent's march. Despite traffic and police flanking the roads, demonstrators showed their commitment to liberation movements with such chants as, “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido,” “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go,” “Luchando, creando poder popular,” “Free Mumia Abu-Jamal, brick by brick, wall by wall” and “La migra, la policia, la misma porquería.”

The revolutionary contingent left the march and went to the offices of Day and Zimmerman, the weapons company that produced the munitions that killed Palestinian child Hind Rajab. Members of these progressive groups stood firm as police gathered at either end of the crowd. There, a speaker denounced the imperial violence of U.S. military contractors. The contingent then rejoined the main march, which ended at 7 p.m.

May 1 is an international holiday. It is important that progressive and socialist movements build internationalism. Since the 19th century, the day has celebrated the working class. The day honors their fight against the capitalist systems and their desire to end the oppression of all peoples.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #Labor #ImmigrantRights #MayDay #FRSO

Philadelphia, PA – On Friday February 27, the Philadelphia Alliance against Racist and Political Repression held a movie showing to commemorate Black History Month. The movie, Judas and the Black Messiah, is about the iconic Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and William O’Neal, who the FBI used to infiltrate the Black Panther’s and helped the Chicago Police department kill Fred Hampton.

The event was held at the LavaSpace in West Philadelphia and was attended by dozens of people from the neighborhood who were interested not only in learning more about Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party, but in getting to know all about the Philadelphia Alliance against Racist and Political Repression (PAARPR), its campaigns and its mission.

PAARPR chair Musa Bey had conversations with many of the attendees about the work PAARPR is doing in Philadelphia and the families it is working with, including the families of Robert Jones, Aaron Rainey and Amanda Cahill.

The movie event began at 5 p.m. with a short speech made by PAARPR Co-Chair Olujimi Alade which delved into Fred Hampton as a revolutionary and his impact on the Black Panther Party and the struggle for socialism and liberation.

PAARPR was able to establish a connection with the neighborhood residents, which is a foundation in building a presence in the West Philadelphia area, an important section of the city where many people have either experienced police brutality or know a loved one who did. By holding similar events, PAARPR aims to advance its aim of fighting for the community control of the police.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #BlackHistoryMonth #NAARPR #PAARPR

Pittsburgh, PA – On March 8, the International Solidarity Committee of Pittsburgh (ISCPIT) celebrated International Women’s Day on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh with a rally to end “End the War on Women!”

ISCPIT speaker Marigold Cameron told the crowd, “Although Western media likes to portray the Islamic Republic as an ultimate oppressor of women, it should be noted that since the revolution, literacy among women has jumped from 67 to 97%, with women now constituting a majority of university students, especially in STEM fields. This marks Iran as the country in the region with the highest participation of women in academia – and yes, that is even counting Israel.”

Cameron continued, “When the U.S. and Israel launched their joint attack on Iran eight days ago, one of their first targets was a school for girls, where over 150 students and teachers were murdered!”

A representative of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) stated, “Here in Pittsburgh, the healthcare providers for trans youth, namely UPMC, Central Outreach, and Metro Community Health, have all pre-complied with Trump's lies and cut off this care entirely. Planned Parenthood has also shut down three of its Pittsburgh-area family planning offices, and unionized workers at Allegheny Reproductive Health Center have been repeatedly fired or locked out of their jobs.”

Another speaker from ISCPIT, Kate Hagerty said, “Hatred of women, violence against women, and the sexual abuse of children are symptoms of patriarchy, capitalism and colonialism visited on the weakest and most defenseless people in our society. When the identity of your country is rooted in dominance, theft, exploitation and dehumanization, sexual violence becomes an obvious and unavoidable consequence.”

Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s (FRSO) Ed Gallo stated, “Even within the already exploited working class, women’s work is even more undervalued, underpaid and rendered invisible. When women's labor is treated as worthless, it lowers the floor for everyone. Capitalists use the devaluation of women's work to justify cutting wages, slashing benefits and demanding more from all workers.”

Gallo continued, “The struggles of women, workers and oppressed nationalities are not separate fights. They are all fronts in the battle against our common enemy – monopoly capitalism and the ruling class that profits from exploitation at home and abroad. When we can build an alliance between the labor movement and the liberation movements of oppressed people, we will have the power to win.”

#PittsburghPA #PA #InternationalWomensDay #WomensMovement

Pittsburgh, PA – On February 20, the International Solidarity Committee of Pittsburgh (ISCPIT) rallied outside of the headquarters of Howmet Aerospace – a company that produces essential F-35 jet components for Lockheed Martin which are used against Palestine

The demonstration took place in coordination with the Anti-War Action Network’s week of action. Protesters chanted, “No more violence, no more threats, no more parts for bomber jets!” Volunteers read selections of poetry by Palestinian authors, and members of local organizations delivered speeches bringing attention to the many facets of U.S. imperialism facing the world today.

ISCPIT’s Dot Bodwell stated, “The genocide did not begin when it hit U.S. headlines, and it will not end once it's out of the spotlight. Pittsburgh needs a consistent voice against war.”

Pittsburgh’s branch of Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) has long been leading the campaign against Howmet Aerospace. The Howmet Accountability Project is one of many efforts by local organizers to end Pittsburgh’s complicity in genocide and war crimes.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s (FRSO) Marigold Cameron stated, “During the renegotiations between Howmet and Lockheed Martin, Lockheed's representatives argued that if Howmet dropped the contract, it would take 18 months to resume F-35 production.”

Cameron continued, “The work done in this building forces laborers to work in unsafe conditions around the country; it consumes all other titanium manufacturers, forcing whole industries to do business on its terms; it contributes to the gentrification of our city, pricing our poorest neighbors out of their own homes; and it drops bombs on Palestine, Venezuela, and perhaps soon Iran. Here is our enemy!”

A member of ISCPIT told the crowd, “This oil-obsessed imperialism is the same mindset that darkened Pittsburgh’s sky with coal dust, and set fire to the Cuyahoga River. They are seeking profit at the expense of our world, our home, and our children.”

Other demonstrators drew attention to the idea of the “imperial boomerang,” which refers to the phenomenon where the repression and violence used overseas in imperialist aggression is eventually turned back on the people of the imperialist nation itself.

The rally’s call to action emphasized the important role of the labor movement in disrupting the military industrial complex’s supply chain.

Ed Gallo, a local union worker, said, “The trade unions in Italy swiftly and repeatedly mobilized the workers. They seriously threatened the economic interests of those in power – what is it going to take for U.S. labor leaders to acknowledge that there is no safety, or secure institutions, nothing is sacred in a world where people are murdered by the thousands with impunity? It’s up to us, the rank-and-file, the workers of the United States, to be brave and make our voices heard.”

A strong anti-war movement will be vitally necessary as the Trump administration continues to boldly stoke conflict with Cuba and Iran.

#PittsburghPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #ISCPIT #Palestine

Philadelphia, PA – On November 30, members of Anakbayan, the Filipino youth activist organization, hosted a fundraising gala. They were celebrating the five-year anniversary of their Philadelphia chapter.

Members and attendees gathered at the University of Pennsylvania’s campus to enjoy a program including a teach-in, music, drag performances and a competitive “Mx. Philly-pino” pageant. Funds went to Anakbayan and a relief fund for people displaced and devastated by the recent typhoons that hit the Philippines.

Since the founding of their chapter in 2020, Anakbayan Philadelphia has been tirelessly organizing and educating Filipino-American youth. They teach about general problems of Philippine society as a semi-colony of the United States. In addition, they explain the goals of the national democratic movement for complete independence of the Philippines. Anakbayan Philadelphia also leads the struggle against the particular repression that Filipino-Americans face as national minorities in the U.S.

One issue highlighted at the gala was the phenomenon of mass migration. Many Filipinos are forced to emigrate from their country. Most send a portion of their wages back home to their family due to the backwards economic and social conditions of the Philippines. A former colony of the U.S., the Philippines continues to be economically dominated by and nationally oppressed by the U.S.

Forced to leave their homes now for multiple generations, many Filipinos end up in the U.S. facing discrimination, low-wage jobs, and a broken immigration system. Especially sharp under the Trump administration are ICE and anti-immigrant attacks. The same Filipino-Americans forced to migrate to the U.S. by exploitation in the Philippines, are then punished in the U.S. for wanting to work.

In true contradiction to these harsh conditions, the gala was the perfect image of the Anakbayan’s warm comradery, clear militancy and genuine mass character. A plate of ube cookies baked by one of the members made the event feel especially welcoming.

The gala concluded with a satirical play, climaxing with the destruction of images of Philippine President Bong Bong Marcos Jr. and Vice-president Sara Duterte, both the objects of a recent wave of massive anti-corruption protests in the Philippines.

One refrain perfectly summed up the spirit of the night, its political clarity and optimism for the national democratic movement apparent, “The U.S. will never liberate the Filipino people! The Filipino people will be the ones to liberate themselves!”

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #International #Philippines #Anakbayan

Philadelphia, PA – On Saturday, November 15, over 100 people gathered at City Hall to denounce the U.S. war moves towards Venezuela. Organized by anti-war and community groups, the event was part of a nationwide week of action responding to the recent U.S. military escalation, missile strikes on maritime vessels in the Caribbean and open calls by the Trump administration for regime change.

The demonstration began with a rally on the north side of City Hall, where speakers highlighted the connection between U.S. militarism abroad and the deepening attacks on working and oppressed people at home. After the speeches, the crowd marched down Market Street, chanting slogans like “U.S. out of Latin America!” and “No more sanctions, no more war!” before gathering again in front of the U.S. Army recruitment center for a second round of speeches.

A member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated, “We cannot allow Trump to make a grab for another country’s natural resources at the cost of human lives. Freedom Road Socialist Organization says ‘Hands off Venezuela,’ but we know this is about so much more than that. We want the U.S. out of everywhere. No more wars, sanctions or occupations.”

Other speakers drew parallels between the violence targeting Venezuela and the genocide against Palestinians, tying together U.S. support for Israel’s occupation and the broader project of U.S. imperialism. Organizers noted that the same politicians slashing SNAP benefits, raising healthcare costs and deploying ICE agents in mass raids are the ones funding the use of warships, missiles and sanctions abroad.

Represented organizations included Anakbayan, Black Alliance for Peace, Code Pink, Democratic Socialists of America, Free Congo, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Philadelphia Palestine Coalition, Koreans for Decolonization Penn, Juntos, Workers World Party, and Mobilization4Mumia, among others.

Speakers urged people in Philadelphia to stay engaged and to continue building a strong, disciplined anti-war movement capable of resisting U.S. intervention abroad and repression at home.

“People everywhere are fed up with the endless violence and evil that the United States continues to perpetrate all over the world,” said a member of FRSO, “Here in Philadelphia, we can help build and lead this movement, but we need to act quickly and decisively.”

Saturday’s demonstration made clear that growing numbers of people in the city reject U.S. aggression in Venezuela and demand an immediate end to all sanctions, occupations and military intervention.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela

Philadelphia, PA – On October 7, 300 protestors marched through Center City to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation which reasserted the global cause for Palestinian liberation and struck a massive blow against the Israeli occupation.

The protesters, mostly young students, marched a route intended to highlight different sites of struggle for the various campaigns being waged in Philly to disrupt Zionist normalization and U.S. military aid to Israel.

The protest started on 1500 Spring Garden Street, just outside the offices of the munitions manufacturing company Day & Zimmerman. The D&Z offices have become a well-known site of protest after Students for Justice in Palestine organized regular early-morning noise demonstrations for the past 17 Tuesdays and even a building occupation earlier this summer. Day & Zimmerman remains a powerful target in Philly, considering their responsibility in the death of six-year-old Hind Rajab and her family, as the 300 artillery shells fired at their car by the IDF were manufactured and sold by Day & Zimmerman.

The second stop along the route was directly outside the ICE field office in the heart of Philadelphia’s Chinatown neighborhood. Chants of “ICE, KKK, IOF – they’re all the same!” and “Chinga la migra!” mingled with the hot October air. For all their audacity, no ICE agent showed their face outside the building.

Finally, the march concluded outside the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, a building which used to sport a large Israeli flag with the words “The Weitzman stands with Israel” inscribed underneath, until an activist splattered it with red paint earlier this summer. Fearing the obvious bloodied flag metaphor painted on the side of their building, the Weitzman has since opted to remove it.

A speaker for the Philadelphia Palestine Coalition oriented the crowd as to why the Weitzman should be targeted for their normalization of Zionism and genocide denial by reading aloud the words on their website, reading “[The Weitzman] strongly rejects the narrative that Israel and Zionism are colonialist enterprises, or that Israel is guilty of apartheid or genocide.” Apart from its CEO and executive director, Dan Tadmor, having served in the IDF’s infamous Unit 8200, Israel’s secretive cyber warfare unit, the Weitzman has also hosted numerous IDF members to spread Zionist, anti-Palestinian propaganda through speeches and presentations.

The march was organized by the Philly Palestine Coalition and included speakers and endorsers from Students for Justice in Palestine, Philly Alliance Against Imperialism, Workers World Party, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

Pittsburgh, PA – On October 10, the Pittsburgh BDS Coalition led hundreds into the streets to speak out against Howmet Aerospace, a locally headquartered company manufacturing aircraft parts for Lockheed Martin. The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement works to isolate Israel for the crimes it is committing in Palestine.

Coming just a day after the announcement of a new ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the Pittsburgh organizers didn’t think for a moment about letting the Palestine solidarity movement settle down. “Just because there might be a new ceasefire doesn’t mean that it’s suddenly okay to sell Israel military jets,” said a member of the Pittsburgh BDS Coalition. “Now is the time to keep up the pressure!”

The event got going with a powerful speech by a representative from the Pittsburgh University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, who spoke to the exhaustion and rage which so many around the world feel watching the Zionist Entity commit genocide in Palestine, with the support of Western Imperialism.

Other speakers included members of PSL, the Our Streets Collective, 50501, the Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee, the East End Food Co-op labor union, and Jewish Voices for Peace.

Protesters marched down Penn Avenue behind a large banner reading “Howmet kills,” chanting slogans calling on the company to cancel its contract with Lockheed Martin. Upon reaching the Howmet headquarters, three cardboard models of the F-35 jet, which Howmet manufactures parts for, were smashed in front of the building.

The protest kicks off a week of action against Howmet, which the Pittsburgh BDS coalition has been organizing with other groups around the country. Although Howmet has locations in a dozen states across the US, they are not well-known as a component of the military industrial complex. The Pittsburgh BDS Coalition has been working to fix this by reaching out to anti-imperialist groups near other Howmet locations, several of which plan following Pittsburgh’s example with their own actions across the next week. The week of action also coincides with the international BDS campaign against the F-35 fighter jet, which many European socialists are participating in through shipping boycotts.

Although only 16% of Howmet’s business is dedicated to defense contracts, the fact that it manufactures highly specialized titanium parts makes it a crucial part of the F-35’s production chain – especially as the company has spent years buying up specialized factories to grow and maintain its monopoly on titanium aircraft parts. As the Pittsburgh BDS Coalition sees it, if a popular campaign were to succeed in pressuring Howmet to drop the Lockheed Martin contract and rely on the other 84% of their business instead, it would deal a serious blow to the continued production of the IDF’s favorite fighter jet.

#PittsburghPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

Philadelphia, PA – On August 26, upon learning that Republic of Korea President Lee Jae Myung would be speaking at Hanwha’s Philadelphia shipyard, anti-imperialist activists quickly mobilized to oppose the war-mongering, $5 billion investment into Philly shipbuilding. This investment is a condition of the recent trade deal brokered by Lee and Trump, who met the day before in Washington, DC.

The deal entailed the lowering of the U.S. tariff rate for South Korean goods from the proposed 25% down to 15% in exchange for a direct investment of $150 billion into the U.S. shipbuilding industry, a deal proposed by Lee as “MASGA” or “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again.” $5 billion of that $150 billion will be spent on developing Hanwha’s shipbuilding venture in Philadelphia.

Hanwha, one of the Republic of Korea’s (ROK’s) largest shipbuilding corporations, acquired the failing Philadelphia shipyard in 2024 with the promise of providing 1700 jobs, training from south Korean experts and advanced shipbuilding technology. While initially meant as a site for repairing existing ships, Hanwha’s Philly Shipyard has expanded into the manufacture of new ships, and now, after the recent large investment from the ROK, will begin building warships for U.S. use.

This is within the context of the trilateral agreement between the U.S., ROK and Japan against China and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK). Alarmed anti-imperialist activists oppose not only the escalation of naval shipbuilding in the U.S., but also President Lee Jae Myung’s hypocrisy of running on a platform sympathetic to Korean reunification, while cutting deals with the U.S. that would threaten the DPRK.

The organizers, representing an alliance of anti-imperialist organizations including Koreans for Decolonization, Anakbayan, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization, staged themselves opposite to the entrance of the Hanwha Group-owned ship building site. They stood with placards reading “No war production in Philadelphia” and “Reject U.S.-Lee puppetry.” Amplified chants such as “From Baekdu to Hallasan – U.S. out of Korea” and “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air – U.S. out of everywhere!” soared over the flat, open air of the shipping yard. The rally’s presence was met with a mixed reaction from a group of Korean Americans who had gathered to greet Lee’s arrival.

An organizer from Koreans for Decolonization spoke out against the naval shipbuilding company, Hanwha, stating that “the heads of these companies are traitors, feeding themselves by escalating tensions and contributing to the U.S. war economy. They continue to be nothing but a happy pawn in the war that the U.S. wages against the world.” The organizer also spoke with members of the Korean press.

Another organizer, from Filipino youth group Anakbayan said, “The people of the Asia Pacific say no! No to subservience to empire. No to profiteering from imperialist war. No to U.S. military in our homelands. We stand shoulder to shoulder with all those resisting U.S. imperialism and fighting for self-determination for their people.”

Tensions were high as a large diplomatic bus lingered outside Hanwha’s main entrance. A few minutes later it drove away without disembarking and went through the back entrance instead, to the disappointment of the group gathered to greet Lee.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #Korea #International

Philadelphia, PA – On the morning of Thursday, August 14, about a dozen members of the Philadelphia Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (PAARPR) held a press conference at the Philadelphia City Hall to demand justice for Aaron Rainey and shed light on his case.

Aaron Rainey, a 36-year-old Black man, was shot and killed in March of this year by Philadelphia police officers while experiencing a mental health crisis. The names of the officers involved have not been released.

Musa Bey, chair of PAARPR, stated, “It’s been almost six months with no answers. We’re here to demand accountability for his killers, and we’re here to demand community control of the police. The officers who shot and killed Aaron could be on the streets right now and we wouldn’t know – with community control, the people of Philadelphia would have a say in how their communities are policed.”

Aaron Rainey’s family members, including his wife and children, were also at the event. Tonya Kersey, Rainey’s mother, addressed the attendees: “Where is Mayor Cherelle Parker? Where is the police commissioner? Aaron was an incredible person who always helped others. My grandchildren won’t have their father at their prom, at graduation, when they go to college – this can’t keep happening.”

After the press conference, community members escorted the family down the block to District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office. The family was denied a meeting with Krasner by the front desk staff, who claimed he wasn’t in the building. A few PAARPR members who remained outside, however, reported that Krasner was seen leaving the building through a side door.

When this information reached those inside, shouts of “coward” and “shame!” echoed through the lobby. Chants such as “Justice for Aaron Rainey” and “No justice, no peace!” began. About eight police officers were brought into the lobby and more than 20 were stationed outside in response, all armed.

Staff then claimed that Jody Dodd, facilitator of the Restorative Justice Unit, would come down to speak to the family – she descended the escalator, and within sight of everyone in the lobby, also left through a side door.

Protesters became more angry. About 30 minutes of intense back and forth between the crowd and police passed, backgrounded by chanting. Finally, Krasner’s support staff appeared and agreed to meet with the family.

Rainey’s neighbor shouted, “That’s what happens when all of us show up here – we force them to listen!” to cheers from the crowd.

According to PAARPR’s Bey, who sat in on the meeting, the family was promised an appointment with the DA “within the next 30 to 45 days.” Whatever the date, PAARPR will be there in force to continue demanding justice for Aaron Rainey.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #InJusticeSystem #PoliceCrimes #NAARPR #PAARPR #Feature

Philadelphia, PA – On May 3, around 40 community members and activists came together to commemorate the half year anniversary of Robert Jones’ killing by Detective Christopher Sweeney. The rally took place at the south side of City Hall in the afternoon.

The rally was part of a National Day of Action, meant to put even more pressure on the Philadelphia Police Department and to propel the mission for greater accountability for police crimes. Seven months have passed, and no progress has been made to bring officer Christopher Sweeney to justice, despite numerous calls to do so from Robert Jones’ family and the Philadelphia Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (PAARPR). Philadelphia Police Chief Robert Bethel was publicly confronted about the case.

Speakers for the first portion of the rally included PAARPR Chair Musa Bey and Robert Jones’ Aunt Marcia, who spoke on the need to keep the memory of Robert Jones alive. As the day wore on, the crowd became bigger and bigger as more and more people were drawn to the message of justice.

Among the attendees were representatives from Students for Justice in Palestine, who identified with a shared desire to fight back against police repression, as they are currently being arrested and threatened for protesting the genocide in Gaza at Swarthmore University.

After the first round of speakers, the march began. One of the stops of the march was the district attorney’s office, where Amber Khan, of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, delivered a compelling and direct message to DA Larry Krasner to live up to his promises to be tougher on police brutality.

Fired up by the speech, the crowd marched through Center City along Broad Street, chanting “Christopher Sweeney, lock him up” and “When killer cops are on patrol, what do we need? Community control.”

The crowd then arrived at the police headquarters where they held more speeches. A member of Democratic Socialists of America drew a connection between Robert Jones murder and the decades-long genocide and oppression of the Palestinian people.

As the march drew to a close, the attendees pledged to carry on the fight for Robert Jones, taking his Aunt Marcia’s words to heart, “Please keep fighting, not just for my nephew, though that’s the heaviest, but for everyone affected by officer-involved shootings.”

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #InJusticeSystem #NAARPR #PAARPR

Philadelphia PA – On April 18, an anti-abortion religious group called Mission Youth Philly planned to obstruct access to the Planned Parenthood at 12th and Locust Streets in Philadelphia’s gayborhood. In response, over 100 abortion rights activists and community members led by the Philly Abortion Rights Coalition gathered to prevent the anti-abortionists from intimidating patients accessing care and to show solidarity with the clinic-goers.

Mission Youth Philly is a Catholic organization that aims to involve mostly children and teenagers in public religious actions and other missionary work. They organize and lead a series of “missions” each year for the week leading up to Easter. The actions they performed on April 18 were for Good Friday. Their plan was to gather at the Planned Parenthood at 12th and Locust, to obstruct access to the clinic. Then, they would march to Rittenhouse Square to perform the stations of the cross and eventually regroup at the Philadelphia Women’s Center, a second clinic, to continue to harass patients accessing care.

Clinic defenders organized by the Philly Abortion Rights Coalition arrived with signs and banners highlighting the right to bodily autonomy for all, but especially women and LGBTQ people. Though a few people from Mission Youth Philly showed up at 8 a.m., the clinic defenders showed up earlier to prevent them from setting up directly in front of the clinic, forcing them across the street where they could not access clinic-goers.

Mission Youth Philly arrived with life-sized wooden crosses, flowers and various other symbolic props. Over 100 of them began gathering on the sidewalk opposite the clinic and its defenders but eventually crowded into the street to pray and sing as a group.In response, organizers from the Philly Abortion Rights Coalition formed a wall of bodies and led chants to drown them out such as, “Pro-life, that’s a lie. You don’t care if people die” and “Abortion is healthcare, healthcare is a human right.”

After several hours, Mission Youth Philly began the second phase of their “mission” and had their members march throughout Center City with large wooden crosses, a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus. Some anti-abortionists reconvened at the Philadelphia Women’s Center on Appletree Street, where more activists stood in defense of the clinic.

At the second clinic, an organizer from the Philly Abortion Rights Coalition initiated a speak-out and encouraged participants to share their personal experience with abortion and why the right to bodily autonomy was important to them. One participant shared that the lack of access to a medical abortion nearly cost her life and that those events have affected her fertility permanently. Another participant shared that even though they are trans-masculine, they have still needed to access abortion care.

The abortion rights activists successfully kept both clinics open and accessible for patients. Though the focus of the counter-protest was clinic defense, organizers, activists and passersby held broader conversations about bodily autonomy, child welfare, and access to healthcare, identifying the bigger enemy, not in fringe groups like Mission Youth Philly, but in the wealthy reactionaries in power who seek to strip away abortion rights for all.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #WomensMovement #Abortion #ReproductiveRights

Philadelphia, PA – Drawn into the streets by the Trump administration’s broad attack on women’s and LGBTQ s rights, nearly 1000 protesters marched through Center City for International Women’s Day on March 8. The march disrupted traffic along the busy shopping district of Rittenhouse Square.

Women and young children held the front of the march with hundreds of handmade signs advocating for abortion rights and equal pay. One woman paraded two cardboard cut-outs of Trump and Elon Musk wearing prison jumpsuits. Shoppers and restaurant-goers crowded the doors and windows to hear chants of “Fuck Trump – go birds!” and “Working women give ‘em hell; it is right to rebel!”

Pausing along the intersections, the speakers covered on a wide range of issues affecting women and LGBTQ people. “For years we have received meager concessions in the form of reformative legislation and temporary ideological change. For my whole life I have seen these ebb and flow, and at times be stripped away fully,” a Freedom Road Socialist Organization member told the crowd, “Time and theory have proven over and over that reform will never be enough. The only option is total revolution, changing our material conditions into a socialist mode of production!”

Koyuki Chen, a member of Refuse Fascism and an organizer of the 2023 IWD march in Philadelphia told the crowd, “In the name of humanity, we refuse to accept the punishing and cruel attacks on women. The overturning of Roe v. Wade put women and girls in medical jeopardy with horrendous mismanaged pregnancies and delayed care to preventable deaths. It was never about abortions but forced motherhood, control, and enslavement of women.”

Pausing at Rittenhouse Square Park for more speeches at sunset, an activist from the International Jewish Labor Bund led the crowd in chants.

Along the marching path, an officer of the Philadelphia Police Department pleaded with the protest leaders to remove the marchers from the street intersection, threatening to disperse the march otherwise. Despite the threat, the protesters began sitting down in the street to hear the remainder of the final speech of the evening, signifying to the police that they would not be moved.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization organized the march in collaboration with groups like Workers World Party, Anakbayan, Philly Pheminists, Democratic Socialists of America and more.

The organizers hope that the large number of attendees, many who did their first protest since the beginning of Trump’s first term, were able to leave the action with new perspectives on the role of monopoly capitalism in perpetuating gender oppression worldwide; that the struggle for the liberation of women is inseparable from the struggle for a socialist revolution.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #WomensMovement #InternationalWomensDay

Philadelphia, PA – On Tuesday, February 18, dozens of Philly activists gathered outside city hall to rally against Rwanda’s escalation of the war against the Democratic Republic of Congo. The evening rally, organized by Free Congo Philly, included the support of groups like Drexel Palestine Coalition, Black Alliance for Peace, All-African People’s Revolutionary Party, the Philadelphia Alliance Against Imperialism, and others.

The mineral-rich Congo has been subject to U.S. and British-funded aggression and plunder at the hands of the Rwandan government, under the regime of current President Paul Kagame. Today, eastern Congo, a site of the country’s reserve of natural wealth in rare minerals such as gold, coltan and copper is still embroiled in violence from the aftermath of the Second Congo War (1998-2004), particularly at the hands of the Rwanda-backed M23 militia, who have led the most recent incursion into Congo. Starting with the capture of the key economic trading city of Mavisi on January 21, M23 has continued to take over Congo’s eastern region, capturing Goma, Bukavu, and more, leaving thousands of dead and displaced Congolese in their wake.

Uniting all the organizations were the demands for Rwanda to leave Congo, and an end to all military aid to Rwanda.

Chants of “Free, free Congo” and “Vive le Congo, vive Lumumba!” attracted the broad attention of those passing by as the crowd marched a circuit around city hall.

Musa Bey, representing the Philadelphia Alliance Against Imperialism, delivered a fiery speech, calling out the imperialist interests at the heart of the conflict, stating, “This is not just war, it is neocolonialism in its most brutal form. Rwanda has acted as a puppet of global powers that seek to keep Congo weak, divided, and bleeding. The same nations that preach democracy and human rights stand by while Rwanda commits crimes against humanity. The same corporations that profit from Congolese minerals turn a blind eye to the bodies buried beneath the mines.”

As of February 19, M23 forces continue to push deeper into Congolese territory, threatening to take Uvira, another city of strategic importance.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #International #Congo

Philadelphia, PA – On a chilly November 2 afternoon, nearly a month after off-duty homicide detective Christopher Sweeney shot and killed Robert Jones, activists and community members joined the friends and family of Jones at City Hall to demand justice and march on the Philadelphia Police Department headquarters.

A month before, on October 3, Robert Jones, a 54-year-old Black man and roadside assistance operator, stopped his car when he saw off-duty homicide detective Christopher Sweeney pull over in his personal vehicle and stop in the middle of a turning lane. Believing that the driver needed help, Jones, in his high-visibility vest, left his vehicle to check in on the stopped driver. As Jones approached unarmed, Sweeney, still seated, opened fire on Jones through the car window, hitting Jones at least four times. Jones died shortly after the paramedics arrived.

Since the murder, Christopher Sweeney has not been fired nor arrested, only placed on administrative leave as the Philadelphia Police Department “investigate” the incident. Images and information about Sweeney have been scrubbed from the internet. The Philadelphia news media, in the few articles published about the killing, initially misaligned Jones as a “car-jacker,” much to the anger and disbelief of Jones’ family.

The event included speakers from the Philadelphia Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and Jews Against White Supremacy, as well as Robert Jones’ aunt, brother and other outraged friends and family members. All speakers were united in demanding the firing and arrest of killer cop Christopher Sweeney and for city officials to recognize and speak on the injustice.

After the speeches, the protesters took the streets to march up North Broad Street to the current location of the Philadelphia Police headquarters. Chants such as “Say his name: Robert Jones,” and “Cell blocks for killer cops,” garnered many sympathetic honks from the stopped traffic.

At the police headquarters, more family members took the mic and began addressing the police directly. “I don’t understand,” Derek Jones, Robert’s brother, said to the police just outside the building, “how y’all can sit out here and support a fucking murderer! We’re hurt, we’re mad, we’re fucking angry, we want answers! And y’all are sitting there – how can y’all sleep at night?”

As the sun began to set, Simon Miscenich of PAARPR delivered the final speech of the day, saying, “I need to tell you all to expect to be asked back out again. Because even if we get something we want from this system we will have to organize and fight because they will only give us what we fight to take and cannot give us what we need to end this cycle.”

Miscenich continued, “What we need, needs to be made ourselves, from the fighting people. We need to organize ourselves into a new way of life based in community control, real democracy for the people that really make up this society.”

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #InjusticeSystem #NAARPR #PAARPR

Philadelphia PA – On October 16, over the objections of students, Temple University Beasley School of Law adopted anti-protest policies mandated by the American Bar Association. In the spring of 2024, the American Bar Association (ABA) adopted a mandate forcing all law schools to adopt policies designed to prevent the student protests that have taken place since October 7, 2023.

While the student movement has recently surged as a part of the broader pro-Palestine movement, law student protests that have raised concern from the ABA also include the pro-choice and LGBTQ rights activism following judicial attacks on women and LGBTQ people in the courts.

This encroachment on the right to protest is couched in language about protecting free speech and diversity of thought, with the ABA calling this new mandate a protection for the free speech rights of reactionaries who have been the target of student protests. The Bar Association mandate demands that law schools pass policies banning “disruption” and setting strict and indefinite acceptability standards.

For instance, Temple Law has changed its policy in order to keep accreditation away from a standard that only banned unreasonable disruption to one that bans “substantial” disruption and puts a blanket ban on students from acting contrary to orders given by administrators. Further rules have been adopted by Temple Law to comply with the new ABA rules about acceptable places for protest, including restricting protests at “common areas and public events.” Where before there were objective tests of the reasonableness of a disruptive protest and the appropriateness of the location and time, now the rule is against protest itself.

Supporters of Temple Law Students for Justice in Palestine wrote comments against the new policy. The Temple University Student Bar Association rejected the policy, returning it to the rule makers for review. Rule makers have refused to revise the new conduct code and like law schools around the country, Temple Law has adopted the ABA’s anti-free speech rules.

#PhiladelphiaPA #PA #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement #Palestine #FreeSpeech