Tucson protests 200 days of war on Iran outside Howmet Aerospace
Tucson, AZ – Nearly 30 community members joined the Tucson Anti-War Committee (TAWC) on September 19 to protest 200 days of U.S. war on Iran outside of Howmet Aerospace, held as part of the Anti-War Action Network’s (AWAN) nationwide call to action.
TAWC connected the war to their local campaign to demand that Howmet Aerospace cut their contract providing parts for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jet program, which allows them to profit from genocide and war.
TAWC collaborated with local anti-war organizations for the event, including Common Defense, Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance, Nuclear Resister, Veterans for Peace, Tempest, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Communist Party USA, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
TAWC organizer Noel Todd led with chants exposing strife such as, “Howmet, Howmet, shame on you, the planes you make kill children, too!” “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more jets for Israel’s crimes!” and “Trump wants war, Trump wants oil, hands off of Iranian soil!” Passing cars honked in support of signs which read “Money for human needs, not war!” and “U.S. out of Iran, U.S. out of the Middle East, U.S. out of everywhere!”
Melissa Cordero from Common Defense shared her story as an Air Force combat veteran and how veterans have not yet received relief from previous U.S. wars, suffering abuse while deployed and suicide while at home. Cordero expressed how the U.S. military “brainwashes” soldiers and “made [her] believe everyone had a bomb strapped to them.”
Kaliana Venet of the Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance emphasized that 200 days of U.S. war is, “200 days of war crimes, committed by our government, in our name, with our tax dollars, with weapons being built right here on our streets.”
Venet continued, “This war has always been a war against resistance, a war against anyone who dares to challenge the genocidal status-quo of the U.S.-Israeli regime, but we also know that this war was started because they are terrified of resistance, and in that same way, they are terrified of us.”
Jack Cohen-Joppa from Nuclear Resister discussed the expansion of neighboring weapons manufacturer Raytheon as part of a land grant in Tucson, and their complicity in the U.S.– Israeli missile strike on an elementary school in Minab earlier this year.
“Our friends and neighbors are stuck with those kinds of jobs,” Cohen-Joppa said, “And that’s why we go out and vigil every month at Raytheon, just to remind the workers there that it’s the product – it’s not them – that we object to, and we want better for our community than this kind of job.”
Maria Sohn Hasman of the TAWC demanded an end to U.S. aid to Israel and asked that money go towards human needs instead of war, while TAWC organizers held a banner reading “Howmet Arms Genocide!”
“Trump immediately claimed this war would be over in weeks, he loves to lie,” said Sohn Hasman, “The reality is that Trump is not in control. Israel can still not claim victory. This week, the cost of this war hit $38 billion dollars and Trump approved another $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel. While we are struggling to afford rent and groceries and our bills, Trump and the U.S. are using our taxpayer dollars to fund war and genocide.”
TAWC organizer and emcee of the event, Duncan Sohn Hasman, thanked attendees and closed out the action by listing the organization’s upcoming events, including a letter-writing workshop for President Maduro and First Lady Flores on October 3, and a protest to commemorate three years of genocide in Palestine on October 7.