Portage, MI – More than 50 people converged on the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport this past Sunday to greet the arrival of Sumud Flotilla activist Khalid Jamal after his detention in the notorious Ktzi'ot Prison.

With a Palestinian flag in every hand, the crowd chanted “Welcome home Khalid Jamal! Flotilla activists, free them all!” as plane passengers made their way to the reception lobby. The energy from the crowd was electric as they anticipated Jamal's arrival. One disembarking passenger joined the celebration, exclaiming “Welcome home, Khalid! Free Palestine!” to cheers and tears from those gathered to hug the hero.

In his remarks to the crowd, Jamal stated, “This is a very small part. The occupation is still there. The fight for the liberation of Gaza, the West Bank and the Palestinian people is going to continue.”

He was also welcomed by Kalamazoo city commissioner and longtime advocate for Palestinian rights, Don Cooney, who connected their experiences facing the Zionist regime. Cooney replied “Thank you for what you've done, my brother. You give us hope – you give us strength.”

The event was organized by Kalamazoo Nonviolent Opponents of War (KNOW), of which Khalid Jamal is a founding member. This flotilla marks the second time Jamal has joined other activists from around the world to break the violent siege on Gaza.

One organizer with the group remarked on the size of the crowd and the energy in the small lobby, not expecting such a strong turnout after their No Kings success the day before.

KNOW chair Marissa Wagner thanked the gathering for their support, stating “This proves how strong our community is here and how much support Khalid and anyone who goes on future missions has.” She remarked on Jamal's hopeful energy and determination despite his experiences, saying “it motivates us all to fight harder.”

Austin Kibby, an organizer with Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, drove an hour with other organizers to see Jamal, explaining “There’s no braver nor more important action a person can take than confronting the Israeli regime head on. It was beyond inspiring to meet someone who has actually done it.”

As for Khalid Jamal, he is glad to be back. “At this moment, I really want to enjoy being back home with my friends, my family, and community. This means a lot to me,” Jamal stated, thanking the crowd for the warm welcome. After some much needed rest and relaxation, Jamal has committed to a November reportback with Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids about his flotilla experiences.

#PortageMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PSGR

Zeeland, MI – For the second year in a row, Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids rallied outside of war profiteer Woodward FST to commemorate the anniversary of the Al Aqsa flood. Over 40 people chanted to the sounds of snares, claves and cymbals as surrounding factories marked their second shift change and employees filtered into the parking lot.

Before the action, PSGR learned that Woodward sent out an all staff memo claiming organizers were being paid to protest, and cautioning employees from speaking with anyone. In their speech to the crowd, FRSO member Anthony O'Hegarty said, “We aren't here at Woodward to shame people working at this job. Most people don't know that the work going on in here is in anyway connected to this genocide.”

Organizers attempted to pass along information to Woodward employees but were rebuffed, saying they were instructed to not take anything from the protesters. A small group of employees stayed to listen, nodding in agreement that Michigan factories shouldn't be part of killing children.

O'Hegarty urged employees to question their boss’s complicity in the genocide, to question their contracts with Boeing, and to ask why Woodward has tried to downplay their military involvement by removing information from their website.

West Michigan is home to many military contractors. Machine fragments bearing Woodwards' logo were found on the ground in Gaza in late 2023. While Woodward has facilities in other states, the Zeeland location serves as a unique testing facility. Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids hopes their presence will inspire workers to question the facilities contracts and to get organized.

While reading an emotional statement by one of PSGRs founding Palestinian members, organizer Mary McQuirter stated, “our fight is not only for our land, it is for the soul of humanity itself. You do not need to stand in Gaza to resist – you need only to stand in your place with conviction and with compassion.”

At the end of the day, the only ones who were paid to be at Woodward were the employees sacrificing their time and energy to line the pockets of billionaire war profiteers. The rest – they stood with conviction alone.

#ZeelandMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #PSGR #Palestine #WeaponsIndustry

Grand Rapids, MI – On September 20, pro-Palestine protesters confronted Hillary Scholten outside of the Kent County Democratic Party headquarters during a pro-union fundraising event.

Union activist and protester Carsten Forester stated, “The recent general strike in Italy showed that even a brief demonstration of organized labor’s ability to bring the economy to a halt is enough to swiftly change the government’s policy. Unions in the U.S. need to see this and realize the power that we collectively have to pressure our government.”

As the protesters chanted, they outlined why it was important to protest the Democrat Scholten despite the fact she ostensibly opposes Trump. From 2019 to 2024 she has received just under $350,000 from AIPAC and other pro-Israel PACS – money representing the interests of a foreign government actively committing genocide against the Palestinian people. She, along with Senators Peters and Slotkin, and Representatives such as James, Stevens, Thanedar and Rivet are just some of the many Michigan lawmakers bought and paid for by AIPAC and other Zionist PACs like J Street.

“I protested Scholten because I know she's bought and paid by the Israeli lobby. She is meant to represent me. No one who votes to give money to a rogue state committing genocide can represent me – especially if they're taking money from that lobby,” stated activist Mary McQuirter. “People need to know what Hilary Scholten is doing with the fruits of their labor.”

“All of the trade unionists who approached me identified it as a genocide and that it needed to stop,” stated Jessica Plichta with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Plichta continued, “As Scholten was speaking we chanted ‘Hillary Hillary we know you, you take money from AIPAC too!’ And because of where we were positioned, Hillary Scholten left the event from the back of the building, and we were told she had to climb over wood piles to leave.”

People all around the country are demanding that our elected officials represent their constituents’ views and put a stop to genocidal Israel. People like Scholten, however, would rather run away than confront their own complicity in the genocide.

Join Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids for the October 7 National Day of Action, called by the Anti-war Action Network, as PSGR protests the military contractor Woodward in Zeeland, Michigan.

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PSGR #AWAn

Grand Rapids, MI – On June 26, more than 40 activists and organizers, led by Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids (PSGR), embarked on a spirited march of 75 miles. Over five days of walking from Grand Rapids to Lansing they successfully raised funds for Palestinian children.

Traversing narrow shoulders on busy highways and dusty country roads, through 90-degree weather and heavy rain, the group set out to raise $5000. However, by the time they reached their destination at the Michigan State Capitol on June 30, they smashed through their initial goal and raised more than $21,000.

The money goes to two groups, HEAL Palestine and Playgrounds for Palestine. Because of the overwhelming success, PSGR added a third beneficiary to the fundraiser: The Gaza Infant Nutrition Alliance.

In the end, 27 people marched all 75 miles, with more than 50 people joining for at least one day. Many expressed their regret they could not join for all five days, limited by work and family obligations. While the group initially expected numbers to drop dramatically after the first day, marchers exhibited their resilience, dedication and commitment with every step they took, uniting around the shared struggle of displacement and Palestinian liberation. Only a few walkers dropped out, and many came back after taking time to recuperate.

Despite occasional hostility, the marchers were met with unexpected care and hospitality in every city and the countryside. West of Ionia, the marchers encountered a mother and her adult daughter sitting on their front porch. Intrigued by the exhausted, neon clad group wandering their country road, they asked what was happening. When they heard that the group was raising money for Palestinian children, they quickly grabbed $120 from their wallets. “Politics doesn’t matter,” the elder mother said. “We should always help children.”

Community members drove up and down the route looking for the marchers to deliver cash donations, popsicles and frozen drinks and ice-cold water. A carful of Muslim American women wearing hijabs drove back and forth half a dozen times west of Portland, hanging out the windows and sunroof, horn blazing, triumphant cheers bringing tears to the eyes of every marcher. “That was everything I needed to keep me going,” said one marcher at the front.

The event, organized to mirror the Global March To Gaza, was put together quickly in under two months. Six coordinators managed and implemented the logistics of organizing the route, scheduling almost 30 drivers to meet walkers every couple of miles with cold drinks and snacks. They set up shelters on the side of the road to keep marchers safe from heat illness, managing medical care with doctors, nurses and street medics. The hard-working organizers also found accommodations and respite stops along the way, hauling marchers’ gear to each new city. They coordinated another 30 volunteers to bring hot meals for 27 to 50 people from Grand Rapids three times per day.

One doctor who joined the group to march said, “As a senior marcher, I have to agree that activist types are not always the most gifted in organization, and what we experienced on these five days was truly inspired and incredibly skillful organization. Kudos to everyone who helped make it run like a well-oiled machine.”

This was the group’s first attempt at organizing something of this scale and they learned many lessons on how to effectively implement a high-stress, multi-day event. The positive impact on marchers was clear.

“This has been the most impactful experience of my life,” said one marcher. Another echoed the sentiment by saying “I wasn’t expecting this to change my perspective so much.”

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PSGR

Grand Rapids, MI – In the wake of over 400 Palestinians being killed by Israel’s repeated violation of the January ceasefire agreement, on March 19 nearly 100 community members rallied at the corner of Rosa Parks Circle in solidarity with Palestine. After chants condemning the actions of both Israel and the United States, the group took to a march towards the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building.

Their anger was pointed out and they had three specific targets. First, toward Israel and its continued violation of the January ceasefire agreement, denying even basic supplies to enter the country, and its endless murder of the Palestinian people. Second, toward their own local government, which is complicit in its repression of both its pro-Palestine movement and its support of Israeli businesses. And third, toward the federal government, which continues to provide direct support for the genocide of the Palestinian people and for its acts of political repression against pro-Palestine activists across the country.

The rally comes after the arrest of both Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia on New York’s Columbia University’s campus and demonstrated a continued escalation of repression against the pro-Palestine student movement which began during President Biden’s administration.

Anthony O’Hegarty, a member of Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids (PSGR), told those in attendance, “This is nothing new for activists – In fact, the Antiwar 23, a group of activists from Grand Rapids, Minnesota and Chicago were raided by the FBI, subpoenaed to a grand jury, and accused of material support for terrorism for their anti-war activism in 2010.”

“Now Israel is promising to send ground troops into Gaza. They’ve killed 400-plus people in mere hours – What’s happening in Gaza right now is extermination. Israel has been given a blank check by the U.S. to exterminate and disappear whoever they wish,” said O’Hegarty.

The mood of the evening was not defeat and despair, but energy and determination. The organizers remained stalwart in their vows against the atrocities and injustices perpetrated by both the United States and by Israel.

In an era of ever-escalating political repression, the people of Grand Rapids are committed to continuing their fight for a free Palestine. The events were a rallying cry to all those who stand against injustice to join the long march alongside them.

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PSGR

Grand Rapids, MI – On March 5, outside of Corewell Health, the largest employer in Grand Rapids, 30 people rallied outside of the healthcare giant demanding their immediate divestment from Israeli companies and bonds.

Early this month, Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids launched its “Corewell Health Divest!” campaign in response to the horrific destruction of Palestine’s healthcare system and the company’s connection to the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator – a nonprofit which proudly states itself to be “the only landing zone in the U.S. dedicated to supporting the growth of Israeli companies” and having “hosted 100+ Israeli companies in Michigan.”

Highlighting this and bringing attention to the continued war crimes committed by the Israeli military, PSGR co-chair Emerson Wolfe stated the facts to the crowd, “Israel has completely destroyed well over half of Gaza’s major hospitals. Thousands upon thousands of drone and missile strikes against Palestinian clinics, hospitals, and ambulances have been reported by the World Health Organization. Over 1000 healthcare workers and counting have been murdered by the IOF in Gaza and in their ongoing siege of the West Bank!”

The protesters, waving a banner stating “Corewell divest” and chanting slogans such as “Israeli fundings got to go! CEO Decker has to know!” also talked to healthcare workers going in for the third shift at the hospital.

“It’s really important these folks understand that their employer is caught up in this business of preaching healthcare at home while buying into companies which support genocide overseas,” remarked one community member. “We’re not protesting these workers – in fact we need them to join us – we’re protesting those who make millions from this genocide and the decades long occupation of Palestine.”

Corewell CEO Tina Freese Decker’s trip to Israel in March of 2023 was sponsored by the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator and included other corporate elites from around Michigan. From an article detailing the trip, CEO Decker stated that she felt “inspired and energized” by the visit to the country – the same country that turned the courtyards of the Al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals in Gaza into mass graves.

“We’ve got to keep the pressure up,” said another community member stated. “Israelis have universal healthcare while people in this country go into debt for the simplest of procedures. Why is this? It’s because the U.S. government and private corporations stimulate the occupation’s economy. We need this money at home for people who are struggling.”

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PSGR

Grand Rapids, MI – On October 7, roughly 80 people in more than 25 cars drove from Grand Rapids, Michigan to protest at Woodward Zeeland, an engineering firm with locations worldwide which has been connected to the genocide in Gaza.

After the U.S.-funded attacks on Lebanon and Palestine, and the escalation of the genocide, organizers led by Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids (PSGR) launched a campaign targeting local war-profiteers that culminated in the rally and die-in outside of Woodward Zeeland.

Gathering at a church in Grand Rapids, the group painted their cars with slogans demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel, pointing out the complicity of Woodward in the genocide, and for Representative Hillary Scholten to end her support of Israel. The caravan drove from Grand Rapids to Zeeland, a small community outside Holland, Michigan. On their way the caravan passed Scholten's house, honking their horns and getting thumbs up from neighbors.

Other groups involved in the protest included FRSO Michigan, the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and Students for a Democratic Society at Grand Valley State University.

In an online statement, PSGR elaborated on why this company is a prime target: “Woodward Zeeland tests fuel spray nozzles and jet engines for combustion. This is an important connection point to other war profiteers in the state, where different military contractors work together to spread out responsibility for genocide.”

The group stayed outside the facility from 1 until 3 p.m., where they rallied, gave speeches, and spoke to workers leaving the facility during the shift change. “You deserve to feed your families without having to work three jobs. You deserve affordable rent and safe clean housing!” said Emerson Wolfe, the cochair of PSGR, directly addressing the Woodward workers. “You deserve public healthcare and education without having to pay thousands and thousands of dollars! You deserve all of this without having to build bombs.”

As the action ended, the protesters held a die-in outside the facility to directly signal Woodward’s direct complicity in the genocide and the invasion of Rafah.

Wren Burns, a Zeeland based organizer with PSGR, spoke on how the devastation of Gaza makes them feel as a parent: “How can community or family be the cornerstone of this town when places like Woodward are how we make a living? War makes the deaths of children measurable in dollars and cents. If you can’t quantify the life of your own child, how can you do that with someone else’s?”

Another community member spoke on this importance of educating the next generation about the horrors of imperialism. “My son has been coming to events with me all year and today I realized he needed to be there too, so I took him out of school early to join the rally.” She continued, “Our kids have to see and understand what this country is doing. We owe them the respect and dignity of giving them space to life their voice and come to terms with what’s happening.”

The historical significance of the date wasn’t lost on the organizers, either. Answering the Antiwar Action Network’s national call for a week of action in early October, Grand Rapids joined dozens of cities across the nation by organizing marches, rallies and direct-actions to make clear their immediate demand, ending U.S. aid to Israel now.

Outside of the Woodward facility, the assembled protesters commemorated the importance of the Al-Aqsa flood. “A year ago today, I woke up and texted my comrades and said ‘look at the news! The people of Gaza have liberated themselves,’” said Sam Tunningley, of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “It was one of the most incredible days of my life.”

A Palestinian community member stated, “This is the moment! This is the year! We will tear down imperialism from its core! By this time next year, we will see a free Palestine! We will see a free Masjid Al-Aqsa and we will pray there in safety!”

“This year of resistance – witnessing the strength and determination of the Palestinian people – is teaching us what liberation looks like,” Emerson Wolfe said, signaling at the diverse array of protesters, ranging in age from children to elders from all walks of life.

Woodward has been under fire since fragments of Boeing bombs dropped on Rafah contained identifier codes linking them back to Woodward. Direct actions outside of the Woodward headquarters in Colorado brought together 300 people late last year. In February, 33 people were arrested outside of the Niles, Illinois Woodward location for blocking entrances to the facility. After the Zeeland action on October 7, three out of the nine publicly known Woodward locations in the U.S. have been targeted by anti-genocide protesters in the past year.

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #WeaponsIndustry #PSGR #AWAN #FRSO

Grand Rapids, MI – On Wednesday, May 8, an educational event on the link between policing in the United States and the occupation in Palestine was held before a march and die-in to stand against a ground invasion of Rafah.

The event hosted by the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (GRAARPR) and Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids (PSGR) took place at the East Congregational Church.

In a presentation, Eduardo Montiel, made connections between the repression of the student encampments and the Palestinian struggle against occupation forces. The slide presentation made mention of the police delegations sent to Israel since 2004.

Montiel’s portion of the program also demonstrated similarities between how the CIA and Israel use propaganda, playing video examples, including the infamous “Humans of CIA” ad.

“Israel and the U.S. both use identity politics to try and sell you a version of intelligence agencies that is both digestible and relatable,” said Montiel.

This was followed by student Jessica Plichta giving a powerful speech on the recent developments in the student movement. Plichta spoke for five minutes and finished to a standing ovation from all attendees.

“The precedence in how we hold Israel accountable for its war crimes and genocide against the people of Palestine will dictate how all future cases of apartheid, occupation and genocide are handled in the modern era,” said Plichta.

After the presentation, organizers announced to the room a march and die-in in the front lawn of U.S. Representative Hillary Scholten’s house. They practiced and assigned roles before the march, with everyone who committed to the action grabbing a white sheet.

The rally, around 60 people, marched two blocks to Scholten’s house, chanting “Hillary Scholten, you can’t hide! You’re supporting genocide!” Upon arrival, around ten people laid on the lawn while protesters lined the corner and demanded Scholten halt her green-lighting of Israel’s occupation.

Scholten has consistently voted in support of Israel and refused to meet with Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids.

After around ten minutes at Scholten’s house, the rally marched back to the church.

Applause and cheering could be heard from the parking lot, with some participants remarking on the empowering feeling of confronting those in power who refuse to heed their demands. A few commented on the positive response from the neighborhood and the number of people who observed the protest from the street.

During the organizing debrief inside the church, the cop who had been tailing the rally entered the room to hand off a symbolic dead child left on Scholten’s porch. The organizers left the church together to ensure everyone made it home safely.

The rally marked the second time organizers marched to Scholten’s house. The representative has yet to publicly comment on either demonstration.

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #AntiWarMovement #PSGR #NAARPR #GRAARPR #Feature