Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from by UMN SDS.

On the second day of the Halimy Hall suspension hearings there were three big takeaways.

Witnesses inside Halimy hall state they would like to see Halimy hall arrestees participate in restorative justice. When asked about restorative justice for the students, witnesses from inside Halimy Hall said they would be interested in seeing the students have a restorative justice option as opposed to further punitive punishment. This contrasts the university's multiple denials of a restorative justice proposal by the legal team, in which they claim restorative justice is exclusively used for academic cases, refusing to consider the social and historical context behind this case and firmly placing it among cases of sexual misconduct in how it can be handled.

UMN pushes ridiculous restitution onto students without proof of students causing the supposed damage or receipts for replaced items

When the restitution charges were brought up during the trial on day 2, the UMN attorney was unable to prove that any of the students did any of the alleged property damage or provide receipts of spending. Currently, they are still trying to force the students to pay for unnecessary upgrades done to doors, security systems, and electrical systems within Halimy Hall. The University of Minnesota has no right to charge students for unnecessary upgrades they wish to do to Halimy Hall under the guise of paying back property damage, which they have no proof of the students committing.

Students and legal team now await outcome of hearings

After several months the Halimy Hall students have finished their student conduct hearings. Now they just have to wait for the panel to decide the outcome. We are expecting administration to give them the results by Friday evening, right before break. Throughout the entire hearing admin has maintained complete control over the process, and has objected to every measure of transparency the students and their legal team have suggested. They have arbitrarily chosen which rules they must abide by and which policies no longer apply. Keep an eye on our social media for updates regarding the hearing.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #StudentMovement #SDS #HalimyHall #UMN #UMNSDS #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

Since last fall SDS and the UMN Divest Coalition have been demanding the UMN administration divest from Israel. After months of protests, die-ins, a campus-wide resolution that won by 75%, and continued silence on the genocide from UMN administration, an encampment was set up to pressure the administration to meet our demands. During the encampment that occurred last spring, students banded together to demand 1. Divestment from Israel and all companies complicit in their crimes 2. Ban these companies from hosting workshops and job fairs where they poach our best and brightest to run their war machine 3. Sever all ties with Israeli universities 4. Disclose all University investments and spending 5. Release a statement supporting the Thawabit, and 6. Ensure amnesty for all students and staff involved in the Palestinian liberation at the University of Minnesota. These demands were agreed to by Interim President Ettinger. It has been six months since then, and Ettinger did not follow through on his promises when he left our campus in the hands of Rebecca Cunningham.

Shortly after President Cunningham started working at our university, she and the Board of Regents held an emergency meeting, a week before students returned to campus, where they passed a policy of neutrality for the UMN endowment. Regent Jamie Meyron introduced the institutional neutrality policy declaring the University’s endowment funds “politically neutral”, effectively making it impossible for students to campaign for the University to divest from certain companies. In this same meeting, they resurrected restrictive protest policies, including banning unpermitted protests of more than 100 people and the use of more than one sound amplification device, and put size limits on signs and banners. To enforce these rules, administrators have followed any pro-Palestine protest around with clipboards, taken pictures of protesters without their consent, and repeatedly threatened students with suspension.

While any sort of speech about Palestine has been repressed on campus,  Cunningham and the board of regents have been preaching about how our university is a beacon of inclusivity in public while saying heinous things in private, supporting the genocide of the Palestinian people to appease Zionist shareholders and ultimately increase their bottom lines. SDS could not in good conscience let this continue and after months of attempted negotiations, our only choice was to escalate our actions. As we had promised during the encampment negotiations with Interim President Ettinger, we would be back.

This lack of urgency shown by the administration shows both a disregard of student voices as well as a disregard of the rapidly worsening conditions in Gaza. While we attend classes and debate policy, horrific images and stories have been coming out of Northern Gaza. Israel is now believed to be carrying out the “General's Plan” to forcefully starve the remaining population of north Gaza, according to a former Israeli National Security Council deputy director. For the first two weeks of October, the entirety of North Gaza was cut off from any aid by Israel. Aid continues to be severely restricted. As of 10/25, the last remaining hospital in Northern Gaza was raided by IDF soldiers, leaving the entire population of north Gaza without access to any medical treatment.

On October 21st, student protesters entered Morrill Hall and occupied it as a form of protest. When entering the building protesters made it abundantly clear to all those inside they were free to leave and were in no form of danger.  Our people explicitly left the central door on the west end of the building open for those who wished to leave. All others stayed willingly. Additionally, our protesters did not vandalize any property, and any damage was done either by police or in self-defense.

Once students took the building, they hung a banner renaming it in honor of Medo Halimy. Medo Halimy was a 19 year old Gazan student who was brutally murdered by Israel; he posted on social media about his ‘tent life’ and the lives of thousands of other people during the ongoing genocide. Halimy deserved an education and life just as much as the students at the University of Minnesota.

About two hours into the occupation of Halimy Hall, Safe U notifications were sent out causing fear and confusion around campus. This in combination with an exponentially heightened police presence -over 30 UMPD, MPD, State Patrol, and SWAT cars along with a helicopter- made the wider population of students uneasy, but nonetheless our protest persisted.

UMPD, in conjunction with the Minneapolis Police Department, and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, forcibly entered HalimyHall through the tunnels, using a battery ram to break through barricades, yelling, and pointing guns at protesters. They demanded them to get on the ground, and even after this order was complied with, multiple people were still physically restrained and dog-piled by police. They went from door to door until they had arrested eleven protesters and detained a member of the press who had been reporting, despite them wearing a vest clearly dictating their role; when press started taking photos of their colleague being detained, cops tried blocking the camera. Everyone was held in the basement, including members of the press, until 7:35; two hours after the police had entered the building. During this time, we were unable to determine the location of the protestors and were concerned for their safety. The belongings of the protestors inside, including those of the press, were subsequently confiscated. The press member was eventually able to collect their belongings on Wednesday, but the arrestees have not yet received their belongings and have not been given a concrete timeline of when they will get them back. This is despite the fact that some of the belongings collected are essential to their safety, including glasses, prescription medications, and house keys.

The arrestees were then brought to Hennepin County Jail. It wasn’t until 4 AM that they all were processed. They were held under a probable cause hold, which has a maximum limit of 36 hours. Protestors were held under this supposed “36-hour” hold from late Monday night until 5:30 on Wednesday when the last protestor was processed to be released. While they could have been released anytime within the 36 hours – we were hopeful they would be- the University Police did not send over the charges. There was no transparency for us or the arrestees on how long they would be kept. During this time, protesters had to endure insults from law enforcement, inadequate food, the release of dead names to the public, and were separated and put in blocks despite their gender identities. Trans women were put together in a men's cell and kept in there for 23 hours a day without knowing what time of day it was. During the 36-hour hold, arrestees were interrogated by UMPD, as well as the FBI. One arrestee’s processing was delayed by 5 hours, meaning that they stayed in custody hours after they should have been released despite not being charged. Protestors had to continually remind officers and guards that they were being kept past the 36-hour hold they were supposed to be held for. Our students dealt with these dehumanizing conditions with grace and bravery, but this suffering though could have been far shorter if the University police had sent through complete charges sooner. Instead, they dragged their feet and let their students suffer for merely for exercising their constitutional right.

While all eleven arrestees were released without bail and without charges, as of yesterday one arrestee, Robyn Harbinson, received word that they were charged with fourth-degree assault. Robyn's first court date is on November 7th, look out for a court rally for our brave protestor. Additionally, all students who were detained received an email that they had been placed under immediate interim suspension. Not only does this mean that they can no longer attend classes, but students who relied on student housing and food plans were left scrambling to find new accommodations for the foreseeable future. These emails also included blatant misinformation, citing incorrect dates of arrest stating people were arrested on September 21st instead of October, and stating that protestors had prevented staff from leaving Halimy Hall, a point that has been disproven by staff members themselves.

While our students were in jail President Cunningham sent out an email to the student body claiming our protesters caused intentional property damage and held staff in the building against their wills, statements which are factually incorrect and actively defame our brave protesters.

That leads us to our current situation where all 11 of our arrestees may still be unjustly charged for their heroic actions. We as SDS need the support of our community now more than ever to bring our brave students back to campus to receive the education they deserve. More importantly, the people of Palestine, Lebanon, and Yemen need your support more than ever as they are bombed, starved, dehumanized, and burnt alive.

They may arrest us, jail us, suspend us, and evict us but we will never stop fighting for our university to divest from Israel and we won't stop fighting until there is a free and liberated Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #UMN #FreePalestine #SDS #UMNSDS #HalimyHall #StudentIntifada #Divest #Feature

Minneapolis, MN – For the seventh year running, community members disrupted the Twin Cities Pride parade, June 30, to protest the inclusion of cops and corporations. Their inclusion comes at the expense of queer community members who want the event to honor the spirit of radical resistance Pride came out of and to continue the fight for LGBTQ liberation. This year, more than 1000 protesters marched with the Taking Back Pride Coalition for not only LGBTQ liberation, but especially for Palestinian liberation.

TC Pride is one of the largest such events in the country, drawing hundreds of thousands of people. Taking Back Pride, a coalition initiated by Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J), took the street in protest ahead of the corporate-sponsored parade.

The first Taking Back Pride protest focused on demanding an end to police presence in the parade and the festival, but organizers soon expanded their demands to address Pride’s failure to address the needs of Black, brown and indigenous community members, especially trans folks. They have long called on Pride to break ties with the corporations that dominate the parade and festival.

As TCC4J organizer Loretta VanPelt put it, “These corporations funnel millions of dollars into conservative campaigns and laws, they pollute the planet, they support war and genocide. Then once a year they throw a rainbow on their logo and think we’ll just forget all that. But we remember and we want to remind people that our rights as LGBT people are far from secure and that these corporations only care about us when we’re profitable.”

The first Pride march was held in New York City in 1970, marking one year after the Stonewall rebellion, when LGBTQ folks fought back against a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar. The confrontation lasted five nights where, with bricks and molotov cocktails, the community fought back against police terror. This was the time when the LGBTQ liberation made strong connections to other movements, from the Black liberation movement to the movement to end U.S. war in Vietnam. Cities across the country continue to celebrate Pride, but most of these events, including in Minneapolis, have devolved to a party for tourists instead of a political event commemorating the Stonewall uprising against police brutality.

Hundreds of anti-trans bills are set to pass in the next year. Black and brown people continue to be brutalized and killed by police. 40,000 Palestinians have been murdered since October 7. Taking Back Pride Coalition organizers say TC Pride is complicit in these injustices, through silence, inaction and even making space for the FBI, the National Guard, and weapons manufacturers to participate.

A statement by organizers said, “We refuse to allow this disgusting pinkwashing of genocide to continue unchallenged. We march for a free Palestine and an end to all imperialist occupations, for substantive accountability for those impacted by police brutality through community control, for our queer and trans siblings who have been stolen by violence, and for true queer liberation. We march to honor the legacy of Black and brown trans women and nonbinary people who fought for the rights and acceptance of all LGBTQ people.”

Led by Bikers Riding Against Police Brutality (BRAPB), a social justice motorcycle group, and Fury du Nord – a queer and trans motorcycle riding club, protesters marched the same route as the corporate parade, to the beat of the Yalla Drum group and the Unlawful Assembly Marching Band. The corporate parade was delayed, as protesters stopped every few blocks for speakers and performance. One powerful stop was a die-in, where the names of trans people killed in the last year were read aloud. Parade organizers and security complained about delays, but most onlookers were supportive, joining in many of the chants. Some even left the sidelines and joined the march.

The protest ended with multiple actions inside the massive Pride festival at Loring Park. First, protesters took over the Stonewall Stage. Organizer Jae Yates explained the reason for the protest, and then Levi Lake spoke in tribute to Liara Tsai, a trans DJ who was killed just the week before.

Smaller groups broke off to disrupt problematic festival vendors. The FBI and the National Guard both had booths, aiming to recruit from the LGBTQ community. Protesters blocked their booths with massive banners and addressed the crowds of people about their role in oppressing people’s movements at home and abroad. Another group disrupted the Target corporation photobooth, by displaying images of Palestinian martyrs as a protest of the U.S.-backed genocide.

In addition to TCC4J, the Taking Back Pride Coalition includes Anti War Committee MN, Bikers Riding Against Police Brutality, Climate Justice Committee, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, MN Abortion Action Committee, MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, MN Workers United, People’s Pride, UMN Students for a Democratic Society, Unlawful Assembly Marching Band, and Women Against Military Madness.

#MinneapolisMN #TakingBackPride #TCC4J #WAMM #AntiWarCommitteeMN #Pride #LGBTQLiberation #StandUpFightBack #FreePalestine #MIRAC #SDS #UMNSDS #TwinCitiesPride #TwinCities #Stonewall

Minneapolis, MN – On May 10, the UMN Divest Coalition gathered 100 people, who first rallied outside the McNamara Alumni Center and then packed the meeting room of the board of regents at the University of Minnesota, despite intimidation from campus police.

Following the seven months of genocide in Gaza being carried out by Israel with material support from the United States, the UMN Divest Coalition held a Gaza solidarity encampment on the University of Minnesota East Bank campus to protest the institution’s complicity. Modeled after the one at Columbia University in New York, the UMN Divest Coalition’s encampment put pressure on the university administration to respond to their demands of divestment, or else the encampment would remain standing during commencement ceremonies for graduating students.

After two weeks of a sustained encampment and other protests on campus led by the Coalition, including the arrests of nine activists by the University of Minnesota Police Department, Interim President Jeff Ettinger and other senior advisers held several meetings with the leaders of the Coalition. During the third meeting, he made a promise to organizers to address the following demands:

• Full financial disclosure regarding transactions with Israeli universities and other entities by May 7.
• To allow a divestment resolution to be presented to the Board of Regents on May 10 with the full support of administration.
• Biweekly meetings with administration, including incoming President Rebecca Cunningham, until full divestment from companies complicit in war crimes is achieved.
• Public support to Palestinian students starting with an email to be sent out by President Ettinger opening up the pathway to academic divestment from Israeli universities aiding the genocide of Palestinians, as well as establishing relationships with Palestinian universities via meetings with the Vice Provost of International Affairs
• Amnesty for encampment protesters and administration advocating for Hennepin County to drop the charges against the nine arrested.
• Expansion of Scholars in Exile Program at UMN to include the hiring of exiled Palestinian scholars

The UMN Divest Coalition was placed on the agenda for the May 10 Board of Regents meeting near the end of the schedule. However, members began showing up at the McNamara Alumni Center at 6 a.m. to be first in line to sign up for the public comment forum regarding Interim President Jeff Ettinger’s proposed operations budget for the coming fiscal year, which includes up to a 5.5% tuition increase for university students.

19 out of 20 speaker slots were filled by the Coalition and supporters of their campaign to give additional insight to the board regarding the use of their finances, particularly those that are invested in the apartheid state of Israel and companies complicit in human rights violations.

Co-president of Students for Justice in Palestine Donia Abu informed the board of regents of the personal toll that this issue bears on her life, stating, “Thousands of my tuition dollars and other students’ tuition dollars are invested in companies that build the bombs and machinery that are being used to kill my family.” Abu has had 12 family members killed in Gaza since October 7 and is raising money to help her other relatives evacuate.

Once the latter half of the agenda was reached, it was time for a delegate of each organization in the UMN Divest Coalition to present the proposed policy change to the board within their allotted five minutes, among these leaders from Students for Justice in Palestine, Students for a Democratic Society, Young Democratic Socialists of America, and Students for Climate Justice. They began their address by affirming that the purpose of their presentation to the board was “to raise our moral concerns with the University of Minnesota’s investments, the university’s lack of transparency in regards to their investments, as well as their known ties to weapons companies.”

What followed were suggestions for concrete steps the university could take to seriously begin the path towards divestment from companies and institutions complicit in war crimes and other human rights violations, such as Israeli universities and weapons manufacturers. The proposed actions are as follows:

“We ask that a vote be taken by the Board of Regents at the nearest opportunity to direct the Office of Investments and Banking to use all resources in their power to divest the University of Minnesota endowment from all companies complicit in war crimes and human rights violations according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, including but not limited to weapons companies such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Boeing, Honeywell, and their subsidiaries. The process and progress of divestment should be clearly communicated through regularly scheduled meetings with Students for Justice in Palestine, as a part of the University of Minnesota showing accountability and (re)building trust with the student body. We also request that the university publicly disclose the percentage of its holdings that are invested in these companies annually.”

Directly after this plea for the board of regents to recognize the humanity of Palestinians was a presentation from University of Minnesota Hillel, a Zionist community organization on campus that claims to represent all Jewish students. Hillel’s delegates spent their allotted five minutes recounting “feeling scared” for their safety on campus the last seven months, opposing divestment, and implying that members of the Coalition have connections with Hamas.

Outside of the meeting, a spirited rally took place. Gillian Rath of SDS stated, “We cannot trust the word of the university. If this administration says they're going to begin the process of divestment, give us a seat at the table, and help us gain amnesty, we need to make sure they do.”

This rally was attended by members and supporters of the UMN Divest Coalition who were barred from entering the building by campus police and building security, which has not happened in recent years.  UMN SDS has regularly attended and disrupted board of regents meetings for several years without interference upon entry. All entrances to the building were monitored by security guards and armed police officers who would allow entry of two to five people at a time at the discretion of their colleagues monitoring the board room where the meeting took place. Those who were let into the building could only take the elevator to the board room if it was operated by building staff. One University of Minnesota student was threatened with arrest if she were to enter the building to retrieve her purse she had set down before being ushered outside from the lobby.

This is only the beginning of the fight the UMN Divest Coalition and its allies are waging to divest the University of Minnesota from Israel and all companies responsible for human rights violations, to end its complicity in the decades-long deadly Zionist occupation of Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #FreePalestine #UMN #UMNDivestCoalition #UMNSDS #SDS #SJP

This emergency rally was organized by the UMN chapter of Students for a Democratic Society.

Gillian Rath, a member of UMN SDS, stated, “I want to emphasize the term 'retaliated.’ These are not unprovoked attacks. Israel and the U.S. have been launching attacks on Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Iran throughout this genocide.”

Also speaking at the rally was Sima Shaksari, an Iranian faculty member at the university and a leading member of Educators for Justice in Palestine. Shaksari expanded upon the truth of the attacks on April 13 and the reasoning behind them, stating, “I want us to be clear that when we talk about Iran’s attack on Israel, it was provocation by Israel, exactly because Israel would definitely profit from a regional war.”

UMN SDS and other student groups on campus have been organizing for Palestine and against U.S. intervention since the resistance of October 7. Pro-Palestinian forces on campus won a major victory when a student referendum calling for the University of Minnesota to divest from Israel passed with 75% of the student body voting in favor. Despite this resoundingly statement from the students opposing continued UMN investment in Israeli apartheid, university administration and the board of regents have made no statement about the referendum, nor have they met with the organizers behind it.

Despite attempts at political repression from the University of Minnesota, the anti-war and pro-Palestine forces on campus have not been deterred. The students of the University of Minnesota stand in solidarity with Iran and Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #TwinCitiesMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Iran #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #UMNSDS

St. Paul, MN – On February 28, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee organized a protest at the Eastcliff Mansion, where Governor Tim Walz currently resides. On the eve of the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) meeting, a crowd of over 100 people rallied to demand that the Minnesota governor, also the chair of the SBI, divest from apartheid Israel and weapons manufacturers.

Speakers addressed how their specific struggles relate to the state investments in Israeli apartheid. Simultaneously, 14 people participated in civil disobedience on the governor's front lawn to demand that he meet with his constituents and promise to divest.

The Minnesota State Board of Investments has $3.2 billion invested in Israeli entities and corporations complicit in Israeli apartheid. This includes weapons manufacturing companies, pharmaceutical companies, the tourism industry, heavy machinery companies and even investing $25 million in bonds directly into the Zionist state of Israel. Some of these companies, such as Elbit systems and Boeing, make cluster bombs and surveillance technology. Others, such as Caterpillar, produce armored bulldozers that are used to collapse the homes of Palestinians. The Minnesota State Board of Investments has been a political target of the Palestine solidarity movement for years.

Since the issue of funding Israel affects all Minnesota tax-payers, divestment is a unifying demand to organize around. Members of Students for a Democratic Society, AFSCME 3800, FLAGS-JP, American Muslims for Palestine, and MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee spoke at the protest.

Jasper Nordin from Students for a Democratic Society explained, “We refuse any longer to be complicit in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people! We will not allow you, Tim Walz, to continue to use our money to carry out this slaughter. We will not relent, we will not stop showing up until you listen to the people of Minnesota and you end Minnesota’s complicity in this genocide!”

As the death toll in Gaza increases every single day, the demand to divest from Israel becomes more urgent. Additionally, as the Anti-War Committee and many other organizations have been targeting Governor Walz with no response, they saw a need for more escalation. After the first speaker, , a group of 14 activists jumped the fence and began occupying the lawn of the Eastcliff mansion, risking arrest. The activists were accompanied by bloody child-sized body bags, red poppies, and a large check stating the amount Tim Walz has “made out” to Israel.

As the rally and speeches continued, the activists remained on the lawn, at times getting on the microphone and demanding that Walz “come out and face them,” drawing attention to their demands for the chair of the SBI to divest. Many state troopers and security officers came and stationed themselves right next to the activists, preventing them, some with hostility, from moving closer towards the house.

One of the arrestees, Lina Jebara from the Anti-War Committee stated, “If Governor Walz, the chair of the board, sees issue with anti-apartheid activist sitting in close proximity to his temporary home, perhaps he can find issue with the apartheid regime slaughtering thousands of refugees in their displacement camps. As Israel’s genocidal campaign on the people of Palestine is allowed to escalate, we will also continue to escalate.”

After two-and-a-half very cold hours, the 14 activists were publicly arrested with the support of chants and drums coming from observers and attendees.

The Anti-War Committee showed up to the State Board of Investment meeting the next day and plans to continue a campaign to target the board and demand for divestment from apartheid Israel.

#StPaulMN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #MNAWC #GovWalz #Divestment #MNSBI #CivilDisobedience #SDS #UMNSDS #MIRAC #FLAGSJP #AFSCME3800 #Feature

Minneapolis, Mn – On Monday February 19, University of Minnesota’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society gathered outside the U of M student union along with about 70 students, staff and faculty for a rally to demand divestment.

SDS’s main campaign right now is for the University of Minnesota to completely divest from Israel in terms of defense companies, recruiters, study abroad programs and weapons manufacturer companies. SDS also demands that all students, staff and faculty have the right to protest on campus without being repressed.

The U.S., the state of Minnesota and the university have all been complicit in the occupation of Palestine. Students for a Democratic Society stands in complete solidarity with the Palestinian resistance. As speaker Gillian Rath from the Anti-War Committee told the crowd, “Sometimes it feels like as grassroots activists here in the U.S., there isn’t a lot we can do to support those who are suffering and resisting in Palestine. But one thing we CAN do is demand divestment!”

This action was a great way for UMN SDS and UMN Students for Justice in Palestine to talk about the new petition that was recently started to get a referendum question about investment on the student election ballot. As a part of the Campus BDS Coalition, SDS is working with other student groups towards getting the 1000 signatures needed to get the question on the ballot. SDS had fliers explaining the petition to hand out at this event, and there are already about 700 signatures,

There is a long history of powerful student activism here in the United States, and particularly at the U of M. The movement must continue this mobilization, especially now, because student power makes a difference. “We cannot wait for the system and corrupt political leaders to help us free Palestine. We free Palestine on Palestinian terms,” said a member of UMN Students for Justice in Palestine.

After the speakers, SDS moved the rally inside of the student union to have a die in. Die-ins are a powerful tool of protest used in times of mass slaughter. It felt excruciatingly appropriate for students to be participating in a die-in to bring attention to the 30,000 and counting Palestinians who have been murdered.

Moving inside the student union, rally attendees spread out across the floor, laying down and blocking the front entrance to the building. Chants were led for about 20 minutes as this very busy space was occupied. Students studying in the building sat and listened to these chants until the rally was over. Not only was the die-in very visually symbolic but it also was very successful at stopping business as usual on campus.

#MinneapolisMN #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement #International #Palestine #MiddleEast #SDS #UMNSDS #SJP

The panel speakers included Mira Altobell-Resendez from SDS, Jae Yates from the Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar, Steff Yorek from the Climate Justice Committee, and Andrew Josefchak from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee. All four are also members of FRSO and specifically analyzed the Israeli occupation of Palestine with a Marxist-Leninist lens.

The panelists strongly emphasized the Palestinian people’s status as an oppressed nation and their fight as a national liberation struggle. They made clear FRSO’s absolute solidarity with the cause of Palestinian liberation and the importance of participating in that struggle here in the United States, pointing out that the cause of freedom for Palestine is the cause of the international working class.

Altobell-Resendez, speaking as a member of SDS on the role of student organizing in the fight for Palestine stated, “For student organizers, this means looking into our universities’ investments and programming that supports Israel in any way – be it through monetary funding, study abroad programs, partnerships with Israeli universities, or the presence of weapons manufacturers and military branches that recruit from campus – and saying that we will not stand for ethnic cleansing to be carried out using our tuition money. We must refuse to let our education be turned into an instrument of violent settler colonialism.”

SDS is currently part of a coalition with other student groups on campus campaigning to pressure the University of Minnesota into divesting from Israel.

The panelists all made clear that the people of the world stand with Palestine in their struggle against occupation and genocide – from the Gaza Strip to Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #UMNSDS #MNAWC #FRSO #TCC4J #MNCJC