Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

palestine

By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Students Against Genocide.

Bozeman, MT — Students Against Genocide (SAG) is a student-led campaign by Montana State University members and Bozeman residents. We are united in our opposition to the U.S. sponsored Israeli genocide in Palestine and the use of mass surveillance technologies that enable war crimes, repression, and state violence. We are proud Bobcats and Montanans who are committed to ensuring our university’s actions match its stated values.

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By Sonja Tomasko

Protest at Saint Paul Water Board meeting demands end of  contract with Israeli cybersecurity company. |Kim DeFranco/Fight Back! News

St. Paul, MN – On Tuesday, January 13, about 20 protesters attended the Saint Paul Board of Water Commissioners meeting to demand that the city cut its contract with Waterfall Security Solutions, an Israeli cybersecurity company with direct ties to the IDF.

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By Layna Crandell and Peter Kellner

Minneapolis banner-drop demands a free Palestine.

Minneapolis, MN – On January 11, over 50 people rallied to demand an end to state terror from Minneapolis to Palestine.

Attendees waved Palestine and Venezuelan flags in the busy intersection of Hennepin Avenue and Oak Grove on the corner of Loring Park and displayed a banner on the pedestrian bridge over I-94 reading “Free Palestine: End ethnic cleansing.”

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following January 12 statement from the Dallas-Fort Worth Anti-War Committee.

Pete Hegseth is not welcome in Dallas-Fort Worth!

Today, Pete Hegseth, the so-called Secretary of War, came to Fort Worth because DFW produces the weapons of war and genocide. From the Lockheed Martin F-35 factory in Fort Worth that Hegseth visited today to the Repkon bomb factory in Garland, our metroplex’s taxes, resources, and labor are being used for imperialist bloodshed.

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By Lucy Blick

Colorado protest at new Palantir headquarters.

Denver, CO – On December 21, protesters gathered at the Cherry Creek Financial House in Denver for a noise rally to protest at the new headquarters of Palantir. The tech and AI surveillance company has plans to move into the new Cherry Creek location after months of community organizing have made their downtown headquarters untenable.

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By Elinor Keener

Protest demands Illinois divest from apartheid Israel.

Chicago, IL – Over 60 protesters gathered on the frigid morning of Friday, December 19 outside of the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI) quarterly meeting. Protesters demanded the board divest from all corporations complicit in Israel’s genocide and occupation against the Palestinian people, and that State Treasurer Michael Frerichs (ISBI’s vice chair) divest from Israel Bonds. 

This action marked the one-year anniversary of protests targeting ISBI and Frerichs co-led by Anti-War Committee Chicago (AWC-Chicago) and BDS-Chicago—a project of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN). In the last 12 months, the campaign has grown into a network of over 55 organizations throughout Illinois. 

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By staff

Protest demand Minneapolis end its contract with Zencity, an Israeli tech company that specializes in surveillance on people.

Minneapolis, MN – After a year of community pressure, Minneapolis cut funding for its contract with Zencity, an Israeli tech company whose surveillance technology emerged from Israel’s military intelligence center, Unit 8200, notorious for development of surveillance and phone hacking technology.

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By Meredith Aby

Palestine solidarity rally in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis, MN – On December 20, about 50 people protested in Peavey Plaza outside of Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis to show solidarity with Palestine, despite the 13-degree temperature outside.

The central focus of the protest was to call attention to the fact that there can be no real peace on earth during the holidays while Bethlehem, a Palestinian city in the West Bank and the birthplace of Jesus, along with the rest of Palestine continues to be under attack by Israel. MN Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) holds an annual holiday-themed protest and this year’s protest was organized to be at the plaza in conjunction with the ending of the Minnesota Orchestra’s performance of The Nutcracker.

Andrew Josefchak, an organizer with the MN Anti-War Committee explained, “We’re all out here today because after two years of ongoing genocide in Gaza, Israel has not stopped its massacres. Despite a ceasefire agreement, the bombs keep falling. 379 Palestinians have been killed and almost a thousand injured since that ceasefire went into effect, according to the UN. The same UN that just approved a deal that effectively aims to turn Gaza into a U.S. colony presided over by Donald Trump. Israeli settlers are becoming more and more brazen and violent in the West Bank, destroying homes and farms, while Israeli police raid Bethlehem.”

Josefchak’s speech reflected on the movement’s victories for this year, “The fact is that Israel’s situation, and the fight for Palestinian liberation, have fundamentally been transformed. Never again will Israel be seen by anyone with a brain as the so-called ‘only democracy in the Middle East.’ It will never again even be seen as a normal country. People around the world now are aware of what Israel really is, which is an apartheid state, a Jim Crow state, a state that lives off of the blood of Palestinians who are massacred for their land or exploited for their labor.”

Many families leaving the performance thanked the protesters for being there and gave peace signs as they left Orchestra Hall to go to their cars. The protest also had singing throughout the program led by members of the Ceasefire Choir, which called for Palestinian liberation to the tunes of traditional Christmas carols.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #MPAC #MAWC

By Yossi Aharoni

International Human Rights Day marked in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis, MN – On December 14, a freezing cold Sunday, over 100 activists, protesters and community members gathered for an indoor rally at Salem Lutheran Church on Lyndale Avenue to commemorate International Human Rights Day in Minneapolis.

Historically this event has been a protest or march organized by the MN Anti-War Committee, but unfortunately the weather this year, nearly 0 degrees, made being outdoors nearly impossible so event organizers made the last-minute decision to hold it indoors.

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By Lina Jebara

Minneapolis, MN – On December 6, around 30 people gathered at the Lucy Parsons Center for a political prisoners panel and letter writing workshop organized by the Minnesota chapter of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN). The panel took place amidst an increasingly repressive political climate in the U.S.

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By staff

Community teach-in at Revolutionary Grounds bookstore and coffee shop on December 6.

Tucson, AZ – The members of the Tucson Anti War Committee (TAWC) joined in the national campaign against Howmet Aerospace. Howmet is a manufacturer of parts for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet. F-35s purchased by Israel are used in the genocidal war against Gaza and recently missile strikes in the West Bank.

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By staff

Human Rights Day march in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, December 7, the Milwaukee Anti-War Committee (MAC) hosted a commemoration of International Human Rights Day, answering the national call for a week of action by the Anti-War Action Network. International Human Rights Day, observed annually on December 10, marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations in 1948.

The event began with a march, followed by a program portion featuring a panel of local organizers, a keynote speaker, and the presentation of the 4th annual Lucille Berrien Humanitarian Award.

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By staff

Jacksonville FL – On Saturday, November 29, the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) marched in commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The crowd first rallied at Memorial Park, marched through the Riverside area, and met again at Riverside Park for a second program of speakers from various other organizations. About 40 people attended, with chants of “No more genocidal cargo, we demand an arms embargo” echoing throughout the area.

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By Maddy Schwartz

Protest at Governor Tim Walz’s mansion to protest  the State Board of Investment’s \[SBI\] complicity in Israel’s genocide in Palestine. | Fight Back! News

St. Paul, MN – On a cold Sunday, November 30, Palestine advocates held a rally at Governor Tim Walz’s mansion to protest his and the other members of the State Board of Investment’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Palestine. The SBI manages the pension funds of Minnesota public employees and invests $5.6 billion of public assets in entities complicit in or profiting from Israeli apartheid and genocide.

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By staff

Dallas, TX – On November 18, Texas Governor Greg Abbot signed a proclamation declaring Council on American-Islam Relations (CAIR) a terrorist organization under Texas state law. This designation allows the state to add enhanced criminal charges when prosecuting those it deems CAIR members and removes the ability of CAIR affiliates to own property in the state.

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By Cole Hamilton

Dearborn, MI – On November 18, 20 protesters met at the Arab American Museum in Dearborn to confront a hate march put on by right-wingers who called for end to “Islamification.” Islamophobic marchers managed to gather a group of 30 people. The march was initially spearheaded by Anthony Hudson, an “America First” gubernatorial candidate who tried to recant his claims that Dearborn was under “Sharia law” – only to still face the protest anyways.

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

“We affirm our absolute rejection of the UN Security Council’s decision on the Gaza Strip, considering it an attempt to impose guardianship through the so-called “Peace Council,” which has been granted transitional and sovereign authorities that reproduce the occupation in a new form, sideline the Palestinian role, and strip the UN of its mandate.

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By staff

San Jose, Clifornia protest demands divestment from fossil fuel corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid.

San Jose, CA – On Thursday, November 6, dozens of people attended the Santa Clara County Finance and Government Operations Committee (FGOC) meeting in support of an ethical investment policy that would bar the county from investing further into fossil fuel companies.

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By Angel Naranjo

Chicago students take their demands to the board of trustees.

Chicago, IL – In the early morning of Thursday, November 13, dozens of student and union activists demonstrated outside of the UIC Dorin Forum in Chicago to demand that the University of Illinois (U of I) System Board of Trustees increase funding for cultural centers and divest from the genocidal state of Israel. The U of I System encompasses three universities – the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and University of Illinois Springfield.

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By Wyatt Miller

Press conference in Minnesota Capitol rotunda hails wins in forcing state government divestment from apartheid Israel.

St. Paul, MN – Palestine solidarity advocates vowed to press ahead with demands for Minnesota divestment from Israel’s crimes after the State Board of Investment (SBI) released data showing it held just one remaining Israel Bond after a series of bond sales and non-renewals. At a Monday, November 10, press conference at the State Capitol rotunda, speakers from local organizations explained the significance of the disclosure and outlined next steps for divestment.

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