Seattle, WA – Approximately 120 protesters rallied at Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle on January 3 to condemn the U.S. military’s illegal bombings of Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro.

The rally program included speeches from Seattle Against War (SAW), the International League of People’s Struggles (ILPS) Seattle/Tacoma, Veterans for Peace (VFP) Daniel Ellsberg chapter, 350 Seattle, Capybara Colectiva, BAYAN Washington, bil-Yad, the National Lawyers’ Guild, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

Rae Lee from Seattle Against War opened the program condemning the bombings and kidnapping of Maduro as criminal acts. They went on to describe the similarities between the U.S. war on Iraq and the attacks on Palestinian people, both motivated by oil. Lee described their recent visit to Venezuela, where they visited communities governed by locally elected councils and exercising autonomy in local governance, a far cry from the U.S. media description of a dictatorship. Lee then led the crowd in chants calling for “No U.S. war on Venezuela!” and to “Free President Maduro!”

A member of bil-Yad, a local Palestinian solidarity organization told the crowd, “Imperialist powers demand that the oppressed hand over their land and resources, and that the oppressed should just accept whatever crumbs are left over after the oil and resources are taken, after the environment is destroyed, and after the people are reduced to landless and impoverished masses.”

“It’s not about drugs, it’s about the oil! U.S. off Venezuelan soil!” chanted Mary Paterson from 350 Seattle, who condemned the attacks as a clear imperialist power play for U.S. interests in Venezuelan oil. She highlighted the need for environmental-focused organizations to oppose U.S. imperialist interests and stand in solidarity with the people of Venezuela, Palestine and the Philippines.

Representing the National Lawyers Guild, Marti Schmidt stated, “U.S. violations affect the entire international legal system, undermining respect for the U.S., causing fear and chaos, and spawning disinclination to rely on law.”

A Venezuelan immigrant member of Comunidad Sin Fronteras and Capybara Colectiva said, “The people who are best suited to control the future of Venezuela are the Venezuelan people themselves!” She went on to condemn the longstanding U.S. sanctions against Venezuela that has caused thousands of Venezuelan immigrants to migrate to Washington state where they’ve been forced at times to live in horrific and inhumane conditions made worse by the cuts to social security.

“This is the most unpopular war in U.S. history; over 70% of Americans do not want this,” said Izzy McCabe, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, “But we live in a dying empire, ruled by decaying pedophiles who march step over step towards their own graves, and as they realize their reign is coming to an end they flail, they kick, they scream in a desperate attempt to take the whole world with them.”

Describing having met community leaders in communes on her recent trip to Venezuela, McCabe said, “they have created real people power, participatory democracy, social programs, communes, neighborhood assemblies. In Venezuela the people rule, and for that the United States has declared them an existential threat.”

McCabe continued “When we fight we are not just fighting against a single war, we are fighting for the environment, we are fighting for freedom for immigrants, we are fighting for the national liberation of Black and Chicano Americans, we are fighting for indigenous sovereignty. And in this fight, it is important that we unite around action. In the Freedom Road Socialist Organization our strategy is to build the broadest possible united front against our common enemy.”

#SeattleWA #WA #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #SAW #ILPS #VFP #BAYAN #FRSO

St. Paul, MN – On August 12, the Saint Paul Board of Water Commissioners meeting was adjourned just minutes after it started when Nathan Phillips, an anti-Zionist Jew with the Palestine Solidarity Committee of WAMM, stood up and loudly proclaimed, “I am Jewish, and I stand with the Palestinian people! There’s no time to be ‘reasonable’. Gazans are being starved and massacred!”

At first the board tried to ignore Phillips and carry on with business as usual. But Phillip’s voice only grew louder as he chastised the board for its failure to act on the request to terminate a contract with the Israeli cyber security firm, Waterfall Security Solutions.

When Phillips could no longer be ignored, the chair warned the audience that further disruption would result in adjournment of the meeting. That seemed to suit the crowd just fine as they then began to chant “Free Palestine! Free, free Palestine!” The meeting was adjourned, and the members of the Board of Water Commissioners left the room.

Palestine solidarity activists then marched through City Hall chanting “Board of Water Commissioners you should know, Waterfall has got to go!” as their voices echoed through the atrium.

Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) organized for over 30 supporters to pack the Board of Water Commissioners meeting to show their opposition to Saint Paul’s contract with Waterfall Security, a company based in Israel. WAMM has organized multiple call-in days this summer to show its opposition to Waterfall’s contract. Activists also attended the last water board meeting on July 15 with signs reading, “Cut the contract.” No activists were allowed to speak to the board.

Waterfall Security is an Israeli tech company which secured a contract with Saint Paul last year for $74,000. The international Palestine solidarity movement is championing boycott, divest, sanctions (BDS) as the main tactics to challenge Israel’s apartheid and genocide. WAMM members want the city of Saint Paul to secure contracts with companies that do not facilitate or profit from human rights abuses.

The BDS Movement says the “tech sector is a pillar of the apartheid economy that feeds Israel’s war chest, making up 20% of Israel’s GDP (in 2023) and 53% of its exports (2023). In addition to being a pillar of the Israeli economy, tech companies knowingly provide Israel with weaponized technologies of oppression (including spyware) used to commit grave human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.”

The Waterfall contract, despite pressure from the Palestine solidarity movement, was automatically renewed by the board to continue for another year.

Members from Veterans for Peace (VFP) tried to get on the board’s agenda for the August meeting but were denied. VFP member Dan Wall approached the commissioners’ table and asked if testimony on the Waterfall contract would be taken from the audience. When told it would not, he asked “Why?” The chair gave the unsatisfactory answer, “It’s not the way it’s done.” Wall insisted on a better answer. The official gave a couple more non-answers before settling on “It’s not on the agenda.”

Activists have not been given any way to get to give public comment at the public Water Board Commissioner meetings.

At the end of the meeting, the Palestine supporters gathered outside the Saint Paul City Hall and committed to continuing to call and to give public testimony, regardless of whether it was allowed, on the need to cut the Waterfall Security contract.

#StPaulMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #WAMM #VFP

Portland, OR – On Memorial Day Monday, May 26, Portland anti-war activists gathered to rally against U.S. imperialism and the glorification of war. The event was organized by Portland for Palestine, in collaboration with Veterans for Peace Chapter 72.

The focus of the rally was on redefining Memorial Day, denouncing its current glorification of the U.S. military and instead advocating that it honors all victims of imperialism, at home and abroad.

Dan Shea, President of Veterans for Peace Chapter 72, declared, “We must win the hearts and minds of the people with a message for peace and social justice over the narrative of hate and violence.” Shea added, “To honor the fallen, we must pledge to end the brutality of war, of imperialism, of deportations, and of genocide.”

“We will not allow Memorial Day to be used as a smokescreen for the empire. We will not let mourning be manipulated into militarism.” Said Kacey DeSantis, an organizer with Portland for Palestine, “We shall not let the billionaire-owned media outlets peddle their propaganda telling us the only way forward is to fuel the war machine and line the pockets of the ultrarich.”

The rally was held near the Portland Rose Festival CityFair, which has a history of collaborating with and promoting the U.S. military. The Army was showing off a “mechanical dog” on Memorial Day weekend, the Marines have a booth the following weekend, and Fleet Week, the showcasing of Navy ships, is happening during the third and final weekend of the festival.

Kacey DeSantis explained, “These are PR stunts directed at the many children that attend the fair every year, and are only one example of the U.S. military’s long history of predatory recruitment tactics. We can’t let this continue!”

In the days after the rally, all mentions of the Army and Marines have been removed from the Portland Rose Festival website.

There were attempts by a small group of Zionist counter-protesters to disrupt the rally, but they were ineffective. Powerful chants of “Free free Palestine!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” drowned out all attempts by the Zionists to spread their bigoted messages, and their presence only invigorated the crowd more.

This event marked the second year Portland for Palestine has organized a rally for Memorial Day, and the organization is intent on continuing to make it an annual event going forward.

#PortlandOR #OR #AntiWarMovement #VFP #MemorialDay

St Paul, MN – On March 1, at the weekly Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) bannering, 70 community members stood with Palestine and the people of Gaza who have endured over 145 days of relentless, genocidal U.S.-funded and backed Israeli attacks. Over 32,200 people have been slaughtered, mostly women and children and those still alive face a deadly shortage of food, safe water, medicine and stand on the abyss of famine due to Israel’s total blockade, siege and bombing.

The day before the protest, over 112 Gazans waiting for bags of flour were mowed down by the Israeli occupation forces, with hundreds more injured. This war crime quickly became known as the “Flour Massacre” by an outraged international community. Aaron Bushnell, an active duty Air Force serviceman, in an “extreme act of protest” lit himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC the previous weekend, engulfed in flames he chanted “Free Palestine,” long beyond what seemed humanly possible.

After holding signs and banners and chanting to the unending honks of heavy rush hour traffic, supporters heard from several speakers representing several peace and justice organizations, such as Veterans for Peace (VFP) Chapter 27 and Students for a Democratic Society at the University of Minnesota. Dave Logdson, president of VFP Chapter 27 led a bell ringing in honor of Bushnell's life, regarding him as a hero for the Palestinian liberation movement.

Director of WAMM Robyn Harbison spoke to how all concerned humans deal with the grief of this genocide, stating, “We must take [this struggle] as seriously as Aaron did. Even with the pain of this grief, we need to keep fighting because it is life and death for all of us, not just for the Palestinians. Despite everything, organization allows us to grieve together. We are never alone in this.”

WAMM will be joining the Free Palestine Coalition next weekend to commemorate International Women's Day with a march on March 9, at 1 p.m. in St Paul.

#StPaulMN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #WAMM #VFP #SDS

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, October 3, more than 20 people gathered outside the office of Minnesota State Senator Amy Klobuchar to demand an end to U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine. The event was a response to a national call by the Peace in Ukraine Coalition and the United National Antiwar Coalition for activists all across the country to unite in demanding an end to U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine and U.S. Interference in negotiations.

Protesters held a banner reading “No to NATO! No to war!” and waved signs with slogans of “U.S. hands off Ukraine” and “No war with Russia! No war with China!”

Drake Myers of the Anti-War Committee opened the rally by explaining why Klobuchar's office was chosen as a target. “Klobuchar has been a supporter of war in Ukraine as far back as 2014,” Myers stated, describing her trip to Ukraine in that year, where she stood in support of a violent U.S.-backed coup was in the process of unseating Ukraine's elected government. “When Russia invaded Ukraine, Klobuchar said, 'This is going to be a long war,'” Myers said. “Why does she get to decide that? The U.S. should not decide that!” Klobuchar has continued to be a voice for increased U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine, fueling the war and delaying negotiation.

Sarah Martin of Women Against Military Madness spoke about the role of NATO as a tool of imperialism, detailing how NATO, under leadership of the U.S., waged “so-called 'humanitarian wars'” in Yugoslavia, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan that have left these countries “dismembered and impoverished.” She drew attention to the role that NATO played in stoking the current war in Ukraine, saying “Even Jens Stoltenberg, military head of NATO and war hawk if there ever there was one, recently admitted at an EU Parliament meeting that Putin went to war to prevent NATO, more NATO, close to his borders.”

Minnesota Anti-War Committee representative Andrew Josefchak spoke at the close of the rally, focusing on how U.S. interference has prolonged the war in Ukraine and resulted in greater death and destruction. “All wars end in negotiation,” said Josefchak, “But the U.S. and NATO, of which it is the de facto head, have done everything they can to sabotage negotiations. Every time Ukraine and Russia have been ready to go to the negotiating table – which they have been a number of times, the idea that Russia refuses to negotiate is a lie spread by the media – the U.S. has stepped in with yet another mountain of weapons and yet another false promise of total victory for Ukraine. We are here to demand that the U.S. stop blocking peace talks, stop all weapons shipments, and that when negotiations do begin, the U.S. keeps its blood-soaked hands out of it.”

The rally was hosted by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), joined by Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) and Veterans for Peace Local 27.

The event ended with chants of “Fuck you NATO and your war, we won’t take it anymore!” and “What’s the biggest threat to world today? NATO and the USA!”

#MinneapolisMN #Ukraine #NATO #AWC #WAMM #VFP #UNAC