News and Views from the People's Struggle
By Gianna Escareno and Gio Araujo
Chicago, IL – On Monday, June 16, more than 30 students and allies rallied in front of the Sheraton Grand Hotel where the University of Illinois System was hosting “The Sustainability and Research Innovation Congress.” The students demand divestment from fossil fuels and the genocide in Palestine. This was the first time the congress had been held in the United States.
Israel’s recent missile strikes on Iran have killed over 200 Iranians in one week. Iran has rightfully defended itself, as any sovereign nation would, and has struck back with precision, raining missiles through Israel’s ‘Iron Colander’.
Denver, CO – On Saturday, June 14, over 30,000 people took to the streets in protest against the Trump administration. The protest was organized by the Colorado Palestine Coalition and was supported by many organizations including the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Aurora Unidos CSO, Denver Anti-War Action, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.
Minneapolis, MN – On June 13, over 100 protesters rallied outside the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) annual Humphrey-Mondale fundraising dinner. Despite hours of rain, picketers chanted outside the Minneapolis Hilton hotel, demanding that DFL leaders use their power to divest Minnesota funds from apartheid Israel after almost two years of U.S.– funded genocide of Palestinians. The action was organized by the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC).
Portland, OR – On Thursday, June 5, organizations Portland Contra las Deportaciones (PDXCD) and Portland for Palestine (P4P) held a joint press conference to announce the success of their campaign against politically-motivated fines levied against two vehicular support activists who helped escort an anti-deportation march back in February.
San Jose, CA – On May 17, the San Jose State University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine announced an end to their hunger strike, after ten days without food. San Jose State administration reached a working agreement with the hunger strikers, after ongoing pressure from students.
San Jose, CA – On May 22, the Sustainability Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the county divest from Chevron and all fossil fuels. Community organizers joined the commission meeting to give public comments, exposing Chevron’s environmental crimes and urging the county to divest.
Costa Mesa, CA – On Saturday, May 31, chants of “Free, free Palestine!” were heard as about 50 protesters gathered on the corner of Sunflower and Bristol in Costa Mesa. The protest was across from South Coast Plaza, which is a luxury shopping center filled with high-end stores that rakes in $2 billion per year.
Emcee Amy Parker of the Orange County Democratic Socialists of America (OC DSA) reminded the crowd that the plaza is owned by the Zionist Sergerstrom family. The family has also donated at least $40 million to the Sergerstrom Center of the Arts which was also protested earlier this year for hosting the Israel Philharmonic.
Minneapolis, MN — On May 26, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) held a press conference outside the building that houses the offices they share with the Climate Justice Committee in South Minneapolis to address an attack over the weekend that left the building’s windows smashed and local organizers looking for answers.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The English translation appeared on the Resistance News Network on Telegram.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine affirms that the occupation’s announcement of opening “humanitarian aid-distribution centers” in various areas of the Gaza Strip—run directly by the Zionist occupier and financed and sponsored by the United States—amounts to setting up collective death traps. These sites serve as arrest points and instruments for entrenching racist policies, marketed under a “humanitarian” veneer while actually forming part of the genocidal war and Holocaust being waged against our people. They come amid a continuing siege and extermination campaign that targets civilians—especially children, women, and the elderly—and function as one of the occupation’s displacement schemes.
Jena, LA – On Thursday, May 22, hundreds of protesters gathered in Jena, Louisiana, outside of the ICE detention center where the Trump administration has detained Columbia student activist Mahmoud Khalil. Protesters from New Orleans, Austin, Dallas, Houston and other nearby cities traveled for hours to join the rally as Khalil appeared before an immigration judge inside the Jena facility.
New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, May 17, New Orleans organizers and community members gathered in the Jackson Square amphitheater in New Orleans’ French Quarter, drawing attention from onlookers and tourists about the 77th anniversary of the Nakba – or catastrophe – perpetrated against the Palestinians.
Minneapolis, MN – Activists with the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) arrived at their office at 4200 Cedar Avenue on Saturday, May 23 to find two of the front plate glass windows smashed.
The AWC shares its office with the Climate Justice Committee, and the building is a well-known meeting and event space for many grassroots organizations engaged in anti-militarism, immigrant rights, anti-police brutality and environmental justice.
With nothing stolen from inside the office, the AWC told Fight Back! that it believes this act was a targeted attack on the office. Someone broke through the double-paned plate glass and broke the metal frame of windows, which were adorned with homemade signs for Palestine, Black lives, trans rights and abortion access. A picnic table was moved to get access to the window.
The incident occurred in an environment of growing attacks on vulnerable communities and progressive organizers around the country. Progressive groups have warned that the Trump administration’s rollbacks on democratic rights send a message of impunity for reactionary vigilantism.
The Anti-War Committee is no stranger to political attacks and intimidation – several members of the group were targeted with FBI raids and grand jury summons in 2010 in an attempt to halt their Palestine solidarity organizing. All targeted organizers refused to testify and publicly stood together to repel the FBI attack and continued organizing against the U.S. war machine.
“With political violence and repression on the rise under the Trump administration, it does not surprise us to be targeted,” said Committee member Gabriel Miller. Emphasizing that this goes beyond the AWC, they continued, “Standing in solidarity with Palestine, immigrants, workers and the Black Lives Matter movement, we understand that an attack on one is an attack on all. We are not deterred by this political violence. We will continue to raise our voices louder than ever in support of oppressed peoples at home and abroad.”
The Anti-War Committee will hold a press conference with community members and local leaders like Minneapolis City Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai at 4200 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, at 1 p.m. on Monday, May 25 in front of their boarded-up windows.
Tukwila, WA – On Wednesday, May 21, protesters rallied to Foster High School to disrupt a military academy ceremony. Congressional Representative Adam Smith was the host for the event. He was slated to personally hand out these endorsements to prospective military academy cadets, but, not for the first time, Smith failed to attend his own event, giving no notice to attendees. He had staffers play a video instead.
San Jose, CA – On Thursday, May 15, around 50 people gathered in downtown San Jose in front of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library to commemorate the 77th year of the ongoing Nakba.
Chants of “Free Palestine,” “BDS is our demand, no peace on stolen land” and “Stop bombing Gaza!” were heard throughout the streets of downtown.
Denver, CO – On the afternoon of May 15, in honor of Nakba Day, several dozen pro-Palestine and anti-war activists held a rally at the headquarters of Palantir in downtown Denver. The rally condemned the technology company, which develops artificial intelligence programs to assist Israel in the surveillance and mass slaughter of Palestinians.
Dearborn, MI – On Saturday, May 17, approximately 150 movement leaders, including lawyers, legal observers, community organizers and elected officials, gathered for the Legacy Dinner hosted by the Detroit chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
The fundraiser honored the work of west Michigan based Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, along with longtime movement lawyer Denise Heberle, and Detroit based audio engineers The Peoples Sound. Police misconduct attorney Andrea Ritchie, known for her work exposing state violence against oppressed nationality women, gave the keynote address.
San Jose, CA – On May 17, around 150 people gathered in James P. McEntee Plaza in San Jose to celebrate Palestinian Cultural Day. This was the 24th year that Santa Clara County has held the event, which is sponsored by the county supervisors and the Palestinian Heritage Committee. The celebration honors the local Palestinian community and its contributions to the county’s civic life, and the historical and cultural contributions of Palestinians.
Minneapolis, MN — On May 17, the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), American Muslims for Palestine — MN (AMP), and the Free Palestine Coalition held a march to remember Al Nakba. They were joined by more than 250 community members in a march that shut down several of Minneapolis’ busiest downtown arteries. The action was a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s week of action.
Grand Rapids, Mi – On Wednesday, May 14, 30 people gathered near Rosa Parks Circle. in Grand Rapids, MI, to commemorate the 77th anniversary of al-Nakba and honor the generations of Palestinians who have struggled against Israeli occupation.
77 years ago, armed Israeli settlers launched a genocidal campaign of violence which displaced over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes – committing hundreds of massacres in the process. These armed gangs quickly reorganized to become Israel’s formal military. In the decades since, Israel has built cities, national parks and public infrastructure atop of the 531 Palestinian villages ethnically cleansed in 1948.