Fight Back News Service is circulating the following February 9 statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. This English translation is reprinted from the Resistance News Network, which is available on Telegram.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine confirmed that the recent statements by the American President, war criminal “Joe Biden,” regarding Gaza are false, deceptive, and have electoral dimensions, reaffirming the involvement of the American administration in the Zionist genocidal war waged against our people in the Gaza Strip.
Tacoma, WA – A group of about 30 people disrupted the Tacoma city council meeting Tuesday, February 6, demanding the city issue a statement of support to the Palestinian people and an end to U.S. aid to Israel.
The crowd gathered outside the Tacoma Municipal Building as the council meeting was beginning inside. Demonstrators chanted “Gaza Gaza you will rise, Palestine will never die!” and “Israel bombs, USA pays, How many kids were killed today?” while informational fliers were handed out. The fliers highlighted how over $300 billion in U.S. aid has been sent to Israel since 1948, and that money has been used to kill hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Of those killed in these attacks, 40% were children.
Minneapolis, MN – As students came up the escalator for the College of Science and Engineering job fair on Tuesday, February 6, they could look upon the great values that the University of Minnesota holds itself to. Courage, pride, equity and “Weapon companies off campus!”
Oak Creek, WI – On Friday, February 2, the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) and around 30 supporters gathered at Drexel Town Square in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek, and marched through the town center to the headquarters of Astronautics Corporation of America.
Astronautic, founded in Milwaukee in 1959, is a defense corporation contracted with the U.S. military and has direct ties to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Protesters’ voices ringing out in the street and echoing off of apartment buildings, the passionate crowd chanted, “Astronautics you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!”
St. Paul, MN – 200 people packed the Saint Paul city council meeting on February 7 to send a message to the city council that the residents of Saint Paul want them to take a stand against genocide.
Their signs stressed the importance of Saint Paul having a ceasefire resolution. The signs read, “Take a stand against genocide” and “Palestine is a local issue!” All of the signs also demanded, “Pass a ceasefire resolution now!”
Saint Paul, MN – 300 demonstrators led by the Twin Cities’ Free Palestine Coalition gathered outside Saint Paul City Hall on Tuesday, February 2 to demand that Saint Paul adopt a city council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Palestine and an end to U.S. aid to Israel.
Minneapolis city council has already put forward a strong resolution condemning Israel’s genocidal crimes in Palestine, thanks to political pressure exerted by the Free Palestine Coalition’s street actions. The Minneapolis resolution is up again on Thursday, February 8 to overturn a veto by the mayor.
New Orleans, LA – On February 7, New Orleanian activists held a banner drop over a busy Interstate 10. The massive banner read “End U.S. aid to Israel”.
The organizations involved were Students for Democratic Society chapters from Loyola, Tulane and the University of New Orleans, along with New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP).
Minneapolis, MN – The Minneapolis city council voted, February 8, to override Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of their ceasefire resolution.
Palestinians and Palestine solidarity activists are celebrating the victory across the country. They are excited that Minneapolis is joining cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and Detroit in calling for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Palestine.
Sana Wazwaz, a leader with American Muslims for Palestine-MN, explains the significance of the vote, “Our victory signals a radical shift in what is considered acceptable criticism of Israel. We are the first city in the U.S. to pass a resolution to call for a complete end to U.S. aid to Israel; a measure that was once ‘too radical’ is now becoming normalized. Minneapolis has broken that barrier, and we believe that our city will set the precedent for cities across the U.S. to continue pushing that boundary, for language to become more and more progressive. To override Mayor Frey's veto is to send the message that principles win over politics – that Minneapolis stuck to their strong language, and didn't back down despite pressure to conform to ceasefire resolution norms.”
Meredith Aby, an activist with the Anti-War Committee, explains the next steps for the Free Palestine Coalition: “We have started attending Saint Paul city council meetings and pressuring them to join Minneapolis in calling for a ceasefire and an end to the U.S. support for genocide in Palestine. We want to keep this momentum growing so that we can end U.S. aid to Israel.”
St. Paul, MN – 200 people packed the Saint Paul city council meeting on February 7 to send a message to the city council that the residents of Saint Paul want them to take a stand against genocide.
Their signs stressed the importance of Saint Paul having a ceasefire resolution. The signs read, “Take a stand against genocide” and “Palestine is a local issue!” All of the signs also demanded, “Pass a ceasefire resolution now!”
San Salvador, El Salvador – On Sunday, February 4, right-wing Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele illegally ran for reelection even though the country’s constitution doesn’t allow presidents to serve two consecutive terms. With extreme irregularities throughout the year leading up to the election and systemic chaos bringing ballot counting to a halt on election night, Bukele still declared himself the winner of the presidency, and his party the winner of 58 out 60 Legislative Assembly seats. Opposition parties stated that Bukele’s claim that his party had won 58 of 60 Legislative Assembly seats was wildly inaccurate.
Los Angeles, CA – Hundreds of spirited demonstrators took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles on February 4 to send a clear message that business will not go on as usual while Israel continues to savagely attack Gaza and the West Bank.
Multiple organizations, including Palestinian Youth Movement and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), organized and led the march in a successful effort to disrupt the Grammys, which were being held at the nearby Crypto Arena. The demonstrators were full of energy as they chanted “Israel, Israel go to hell!” and “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!”
Pompano Beach, FL – On January 28, over 100 vehicles drove as a caravan across Fort Lauderdale at minimum speed to show solidarity with Palestine. The “Car Rally for Palestine” demonstrated the pride and solidarity of those in the South Florida community feel towards Palestine’s resistance during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns the massive airstrikes unleashed by the U.S. on Syria and Iraq. The Biden administration say this bombing campaign is just getting started. It should be opposed by everyone who wants peace with justice.
The Biden administration justifies its criminal attacks as some sort of legitimate “retaliation.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that the U.S. has military bases in Iraq that Iraqi people want gone. The U.S. is also illegally occupying portions of Syria. The Syrian government has told the U.S. to leave its soil on many occasions. An unwelcome invader of the other people’s homes, the warmakers of Washington, D.C. play the aggrieved party when resistance forces try to end these occupations. The hypocrisy of empire is unbelievable.
Minneapolis, MN – On February 1, 400 people gathered across from the Minneapolis City Hall to protest Mayor Jacob Frey’s veto of the ceasefire resolution that the Minneapolis city council had passed the previous week.
The Free Palestine Coalition organized the protest to urge the city council to override Frey’s veto. The original resolution passed with nine votes, enough to override the mayor’s veto if all nine stay united behind the original resolution.
Detroit, MI – Supporters of Palestine gathered in metro Detroit, February 1, to protest a visit by President Biden for his complicity with the genocide in Gaza. Biden was in Michigan to meet with officials of the United Auto Workers. The protest is one of many that have occurred at Bidens appearances around the U.S. A major demonstration is set for the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following February 1 statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Together with the Filipino people, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns the US military and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for planning to hold another round of large-scale war exercises in the Philippines that trample on the country’s national sovereignty and further drag the country into military and economic conflicts of the big powers.
New Orleans, LA– On January 29, students, faculty, staff and community members attended a vigil for Palestine at Loyola University to mourn over 27,000 Palestinian martyrs.
After months of back-and-forth struggle with the Loyola University New Orleans administration, students were finally able to hold a vigil honoring all of the martyrs in Palestine since October 7. The vigil allowed attendees an opportunity to hear from Palestinian voices and other perspectives, and allowed them the space to stand together, mourn together, pray together and cry together.
The government of India has declared January 22 as a holiday in several states on the manufactured occasion of “Pran Prathistha Diwas” or consecration day of the Ram Temple. This is relevant because the ones in power in India – the Bhartiya Janata Party – has an ideological strain of an extremist right-wing Hinduism, otherwise known as Hindutva. This ideological strain has proven be a bane for India in its entirety, for poor people, for the working class, for farmers, for journalists, for students, for Muslims, for the so-called lower castes, for the tribals, for women and everyone in opposition to this extremist government.
The U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR), and National Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) call for a week of action against the U.S./Israeli genocide in Gaza from February 5 to 11.
The call for the week of actions comes at a time when President Biden states the U.S. is going to step up its military intervention in the Middle East.
Tallahassee, FL – On Tuesday, January 30, more than 300 people rallied at the Florida Capitol building in support of Palestine and against proposed Senate Bill 470/ House Bill 465. The bill is a blatant attack on pro-Palestine students.
If passed, the bill would mandate schools report the information of pro-Palestine students to the Department of Homeland Security, could take away visas for international students studying in Florida, and would make domestic students ineligible for financial aid, scholarships, and grants.
Detroit, MI – Supporters of Palestine gathered in metro Detroit, February 1, to protest a visit by President Biden for his complicity with the genocide in Gaza. Biden was in Michigan to meet with officials of the United Auto Workers. The protest is one of many that have occurred at Bidens appearances around the U.S. A major demonstration is set for the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
