Chicago, IL – 100 Syrians gathered here, April 5, in front of the Turkish consulate to demand “Turkey, NATO, hands off Syria!” The group also called out their love for their homeland in Arabic, chanting “Tahya Suria!” Long live Syria!

The incident that caused this international day of protest in places with Syrian and Armenian immigrant communities is an attack on the village of Kessab in northwestern Syria. Kessab is a mainly Armenian Christian community, which was attacked by the Turkish-backed terrorist group Al Nusra Front in late March. Thousands have fled Kessab, and the fear of a repeat of the Armenian genocide has caused even Armenian American Kim Kardashian to speak out.

Mark Ahmad of the Syrian American Forum addressed the protest. “We want Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey to stop supporting and sending the terrorists to attack our motherland. Every one of you must inform your neighbors and coworkers and contact their legislators with the message that our U.S. policy should not support repeated aggression against Syria by the government of Turkey.”

Joe Iosbaker of the Anti-war Committee-Chicago addressed the crowd. “We have to oppose the U.S. and its junior partners in NATO, which include Turkey; the U.S. puppets in the Gulf States; and of course Israel, the main provocateur and biggest cheerleader for war in Syria.” Iosbaker also called for the Syrians to support the Palestinian activist Rasmea Odeh, who is facing charges by the U.S. Attorney in Detroit for her work in the Palestinian community in Chicago.

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Protesters carried signs reading, “U.S. hands off Syria” and “U.S. stop funding al-Qaeda,” referring to the U.S. and Saudi-backed rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda. Obama’s White House and U.S. intelligence agencies have spent over $1 billion on ‘rebels’ in Syria already. Another sign featured U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's quote during his attempt to drive the U.S. into another Middle East war, “They [the Syrian rebels] are becoming more moderate by the day,” along with a photo of civilians massacred by the U.S. and Israeli-backed rebels.

The rally began with several chants calling for no U.S. war on Syria and then others offered a prayer for peace. Both Muslims and Christians attended the rally, praying together and demanding an end to the U.S.-sponsored violence in Syria.

The Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun, spoke to the crowd by videoconference. Syria’s highest Muslim religious figure, Hassoun addressed the rally in Arabic, praying and calling for peace in Syria. He emphasized his desire for unity with all of Syria's religious groups, including Christians, and called on Syrians to support President Assad in fighting the U.S. and Saudi-backed rebels.

People asked Hassoun questions

Dave Schneider, an organizer with Jacksonville Against the War on Syria (JAWS), told Hassoun about the efforts in Florida to stop U.S. military intervention in Syria. With someone translating his words into Arabic, he said, “We have brought together hundreds of people to tell the politicians who make the laws in this country that we don't want war. 91% of the American people do not want war on Syria. And many of us see the courage of the Syrian people and President Bashar al-Assad in the face of U.S. intervention and the Saudi-funded rebels, and we are inspired by that courage.”

Hassoun, whose son was assassinated at a university by the so-called rebels, thanked the people of Jacksonville for their support and asked them to continue spreading the truth about Syria. He told the rally that his attempt to come and address the U.S. Congress was blocked by the U.S. State Department, which denied his visa.

Hassoun said, “When Obama was elected, he promised peace, but now he wants to deliver more war.”

Jacksonville's rally was part of a larger nationwide day of action called by the Friends of the Syrian American Forum. The organization plans to call more days of action in the future to demand “Hands off Syria” and an end to U.S. war.

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Chicago, IL – 50 people gathered in Chicago’s Federal Plaza Oct. 13 joining thousands rallying around the world in an international day of solidarity with the people of Syria. Syrians stood together with anti-war activists to tell the U.S., “No war on Syria!”

The most popular chant that was “Hands off Syria, no more arms.” The U.S. began sending weapons directly to the pro-Western Syrian rebels in early September. When U.S. missile strikes were stopped by public opinion and the Russian diplomatic deal, President Obama then announced that weapons would begin to flow to the U.S. proxy army.

The rally in Chicago and other states was initiated by the Syrian American Forum, and endorsed by the Anti-War Committee-Chicago, ANSWER Coalition-Chicago, Gay Liberation Network, U.S. Palestinian Community Network-Chicago and March 19 Anti-War Coalition.

Dr. Matar Matar of the Syrian American Forum, explained, “We want to ask the Obama administration to work in the direction of peace, not fueling war. Mr. Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the war in Iraq. By supporting insurgents in Syria he is losing his credibility as a peace achiever.”

Nancy Hammond of the Anti-War Committee-Chicago, also called on the U.S. government to end its war on Syria. “Since Vietnam, the U.S. has not stopped waging wars: on Central America, on Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and now Syria. It has to end.”

An emotional moment for the Syrians present came when Syria’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Ja'afari, spoke to the rally by telephone.

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Jacksonville, FL – Over 60 protesters stormed U.S. Senator Bill Nelson’s Jacksonville office on Sept. 12, demanding that the senator renounce his support for President Barack Obama’s proposed military strike on Syria. Nelson says he will vote yes for a U.S. war on Syria.

The protest, called by Jacksonville Against the War on Syria (JAWS), was lively with many Syrian and Arab-Americans taking part. Dave Schneider, an organizer with JAWS, explained, “Bill Nelson built a career for himself criticizing Bush for starting the war in Iraq and he’s happy to take money from progressives and the anti-war movement. But now that Obama is in office, he supports war and occupation. Senator Nelson is now a warmonger. It’s hypocritical, it’s disgusting, it’s flat-out wrong, and we’re demanding he vote no on U.S. war.”

The protesters assembled outside of Nelson’s office on the 20th floor of Riverside Tower. Carrying signs that read, “Say no to U.S. military intervention” and “Hands off Syria,” the group stood in front of the building and caught the attention of drivers in rush hour traffic. They chanted, “USA, stay away!” and “U.S., NATO, hands off Syria,” before marching inside the complex.

The protest included members from JAWS, the Friends of the Syrian American Forum, the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition, the New Jim Crow Movement, Occupy Jacksonville, several churches in the area, and students from the University of North Florida. Many of the protesters were Syrian American, for whom the threat of war is especially terrifying and personal.

“I am a Syrian,” said Sandra Ahmad, a Syrian American resident in Jacksonville, who lost a cousin to the U.S. and Saudi-backed rebels. “I can’t see America going to bomb my country and family and friends and my whole memories, and stay quiet. That’s hard. We can’t fight there but we are going to do anything we can here to help. It’s not easy to see your families killed.”

Once inside the building, the protesters ignored the requests of security guards to put away their megaphones, with one person saying, “We’re just here to speak with our senator.” As the crowd rode the escalators to the tower lobby, they continued chanting, “Senator Nelson, hands off Syria,” and “Obama, it’s not your business.”

The crowd filled into five elevators and reached Nelson’s office, continuing to loudly chant and make noise. Nelson’s staff left moments before the protesters arrived, leaving the crowd with no way to directly voice their demands.

With no one from Nelson’s office to talk with, protesters began posting up their rally signs and small cards that read, “I don’t support Obama’s strike on Syria, and neither should you, Bill Nelson,” which every person signed. Within minutes, rally signs and cards covered the entirety of Senator Nelson’s office door.

The crowd reassembled downstairs in front of the tower. Many of the Syrian Americans sang the Syrian national anthem and led several Arabic chants against U.S. intervention.

Organizers announced several call-in days to Senator Nelson’s office. After marching to a nearby park, participants drew up plans for a meeting and forum on future actions.

After the rally, Schneider commented on their protest, “Just two days after we marched on Congressman Crenshaw’s office, he came out vocally against any U.S. military strike on Syria.”

Jacksonville Congressman Ander Crenshaw said he would vote no on authorizing war on Syria. Protesters targeted Crenshaw earlier this month by plastering his front office door with rally signs, news articles, letters and petitions. Crenshaw specifically cited the actions of his constituents as a reason for his change from “undecided” to a “no” on U.S. war with Syria.

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Chicago, IL – Chanting, “Bombs won’t bring peace, U.S. Out of the Middle East,” 30 people gathered on a downtown street corner here, Sept. 12, to keep the pressure on the Obama White House. According to Hatem Abudayyeh of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network – Chicago, “Although President Obama said on Tuesday that the U.S. will now take the diplomatic plan developed by Russia, we believe that the U.S. drive to war has not ended, and our response remains the same: No war on Syria.”

The activists, which included the Syrian American Forum and the ANSWER Coalition of Chicago, also hit at the role of the military industrial complex in pushing for war in Syria. Joe Iosbaker of the Anti-War Committee (AWC)-Chicago said, “Who would benefit from this war? Weapons manufacturers like Raytheon, which makes the Tomahawk missile. The value of their stock has soared in recent weeks, because the war could include 200 to 400 of these cruise missiles.”

In recent months, the AWC has campaigned against Chicago’s own weapons manufacturer, the Boeing Company. Iosbaker points out, “The White House is planning to use Boeing's long range bombers to attack Syria. Those bombers will be loaded with “smart bombs”, made by Boeing as well.”

The protest ended with Kait McIntyre of AWC calling for everyone to attend the Midwest regional protest against war on Syria and against drone warfare on Sept. 28 in Chicago.

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