Chicago, IL – On March 13, over 150 students, staff and faculty members at the University of Illinois-Chicago rallied in front of their administration building to protest budget cuts which threaten five majors, non-tenured faculty, and cultural programs. The emergency protest was called to demand funding for education and a “chop from the top” model, as inflated admin salaries were called to attention. The protest had support from a broad collection of student organizations, faculty and local activists.

Speaking on behalf of Student for a Democratic Society at UIC, Jeremiah Munoz kicked things off by stating, “Instead of cutting out classes, cut the bloated administrator salaries, not our education! Don’t play with our future for that bloated salary. Stop funneling money into police while students struggle to afford tuition. Invest in our cultural centers, our language programs, our communities—not in executives who do nothing but approve cuts to education while collecting a premium salary.”

Next was Liz Rathburn, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, who stated, “UIC can find the money to advertise its diversity, it can find the money to raise the salaries of its admin, it can find the money to fund its own police force and it can even find money to buy new real estate, but when students and faculty need support, when it comes to funding what actually makes our university great, admin pleads poverty.”

Ending the rally on behalf of Students for a Democratic Society at UIC, April Rogers stated, “UIC is probably paying a lot to bring military recruiters on campus. They are probably paying a lot to have the CIA, the FBI, and even the State Department come to campus, as has happened multiple times since the start of the 2024-2025 academic year. UIC also gives millions of dollars to companies involved in the Israeli occupation of Palestine, including Boeing and Caterpillar. In 2023, this alone amounted to $21 million. Instead, UIC goes after cultural and language studies.”

Speakers from the Italian Club, Eastern European Student Association and Housing Staff United made it clear that the budget cuts are targeting the entire student body, and a cultural performance during the rally demonstrated the importance of preserving cultural studies and programs at UIC.

Although UIC administration forced the protest to move locations at the very last minute, students, staff and faculty remained undeterred. Despite the change in location, over 150 people marched through the campus chanting, demanding proper funding for education.

The protest was endorsed by Anakbayan, Sokoly, Housing Staff United, Eastern European Student Association, Italian Club, New Students for a Democratic Society. Students for Justice in Palestine, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#ChicagoIL #StudentMovement #SDS #Anakbayan #Sokoly #HousingStaffUnited #EasternEuropeanStudentAssociation #ItalianClub #SJP #FRSO

Richardson, TX – On March 18, community members gathered to protest in front of the Raytheon company’s building in response to Raytheon’s complicity in the Israeli genocide in Palestine. The Dallas chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement called the emergency protest after Israel broke the recent ceasefire agreement and continued bombing the Gaza strip.

Raytheon, second to Lockheed Martin, is one of the world largest weapons manufacturers, and has been targeted by anti-war activists in north Texas. Aside from Raytheon, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has seen protests and actions against local Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics plants.

Hundreds of community members shouted chants, “No more ships, no more cargo, we demand an arms embargo” and “Ron, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” The demonstration lasted from 3 to 6 p.m. Volunteers were out and about helping community members and directing people towards the front of the Raytheon building.

Omar Suleiman, a local imam serving at the Valley Ranch Islamic Center stated, “We know that this evil will come to an end inshallah, we know that it is a matter of time. We know that the days of the oppressors are numbered.”

It has been 17 months since October 7 and countless Palestinians continue to lose their lives. Just within the first 12 hours of the breaking of the ceasefire, over 400 were murdered; of those, over 170 were children.

Besides Palestinian Youth Movement, the action was endorsed by many community organizations such as the Dallas Anti-War Committee, MAS Peace, Dallas Palestine Coalition, as well as Dallas chapters of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Jewish Voices for Peace, Democratic Socialist of America, and multiple Student for Justice in Palestine chapters.

#DallasTX #TX #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #AWC #PYM #DPC #JVP #SJP

Minneapolis, MN – On March 11, over 300 people protested in front of the Federal Building downtown Minneapolis to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil and an end to the Trump administration’s criminalization of the pro-Palestine student movement at U.S. The protest was a part of Student for a Democratic Society’s call for a National Day of Action in solidarity with Khalil.

On the evening of March 8, the Department of Homeland Security detained Palestinian Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil. This was the first detention after Trump ordered the State Department to deport students for pro-Palestine activism. Khalil is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., a green card holder, and his arrest is an unlawful violation of freedom of speech and immigration laws.

Trump’s Executive Order 13899 requires “the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with each other […] report activities by alien students and staff relevant to those grounds and for ensuring that such reports about aliens lead, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to investigations and, if warranted, actions to remove such aliens.”

On February 28, The Department of Justice announced that a federal task force to “Combat Antisemitism” would visit ten college campuses that “experienced incidents of antisemitism.” Trump’s administration conflates antisemitism with anti-Zionism and criminalizes students, staff and faculty who have protested a deadly genocide that has killed over 48,000 people in Gaza. This is a discrimination against Muslim, Palestinian and Middle Eastern students, faculty and staff. Columbia University and University of Minnesota are among campuses under investigation.

Crista Ocampo, an organizer with the MN Immigrant Rights Action Committee, spoke to the crowd, “We condemn this egregious case of political repression at the hands of ICE. ICE officers have terrorized communities across the country for far too long and now they are being used as a tool by Trump to further repress the Palestine movement. Shame! We won’t let them get away with this. Just look at the hard fought battle SDS put up and won against their administration to get the suspensions dropped for the Halimy Hall students. When our oppressors’ attacks become more blatant, it only makes it easier for us to unite with each other on the path to justice. We will never stop fighting because we know that that’s how we win.”

Lina Jebara, an organizer with the MN Anti-War Committee, closed out the protest, “These acts of political repression – of plucking community leaders from movements, of threatening organizers with unconstitutional deportations or with phony felony charges, as we’ve seen here in our community – are not new for this country. These are deliberate actions taken to make us fear retaliation for standing up against depraved injustices, to push us towards acquiescence. We’re out here today, after witnessing months of harrowing genocide in Palestine carried out by Israel on our dime, to say that these tactics do not and will not work on us.”

The protest was organized by the MN Anti-War Committee, UMN Educators for Justice in Palestine, UMN Students for a Democratic Society, and endorsed by UMN Students for Justice in Palestine, Minnesota Immigration Rights Action Committee, Jewish Voice for Peace, and American Muslims for Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement #PoliticalRepression #Trump #SDS #MNAWC #SJP #MIRAC #JVP #AMP

New York, NY – On February 25, over 20 NYU students, faculty and workers picketed the board of trustees meeting demanding they disclose and divest from all companies supplying Israel in its genocidal occupation of Palestine.

In addition to disclosure and divestment, the NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition demanded the closure of the NYU Tel Aviv campus, built upon stolen Palestinian land, and the reversal of all suspensions and probation charges of Palestine student activists. The coalition’s demands aim to cut the university’s ties to the state of Israel.

As board of trustee members were escorted into their meeting by campus security officers, they were confronted by picketersdemanding that they disclose and divest. As the meeting went on, picketers chanted “Trustees pick a side, justice or genocide” and “We want justice you say how! Answer our demands now!”

The picket was called for by the NYU People’s Solidarity Coalition, which consists of the NYU Students for a Democratic Society, NYU Students for Justice in Palestine, Shut It Down NYU, NYU Graduate Student Workers Union – UAW, and several other organizations.

The participating organizations vow to continue their fight against NYU, no matter what repressive tactics are thrown their way. They will continue struggling until they win all their demands.

#NewYorkCityNY #NewYorkNY #NYC #NYU NYUPSC #SDS #NYUSDS #NYUSJP #SJP #BDS #UAW #NYUGSWU #FreePalestine #Disclose #Divest

Chicago, IL – On Tuesday, February 11, over 70 students rallied and marched at the University of Illinois at Chicago to defend immigrant rights after a rise in ICE raids.

The protest was called by New Students for a Democratic Society at UIC (New SDS at UIC) in coordination with the emergency national week of action called by National New SDS. Some of the endorsing campus organizations included Anakbayan, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Mexican Students de Aztlán (MeSA), Jewish Student Collective (JSC), Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and Radical Public Health (RPH).

John Emiliano of Anakbayan at UIC spoke of how the ICE raids have been impacting the Filipino community, stating, “Our own Chicago Consulate of the Philippines have reported that ‘no Filipinos have been affected by the ICE deportations in Illinois’. But we know as people on the ground, having to see and live these conditions every day, what the truth is. We’ve heard many cases across the country and locally of the cruelties of detentions and deportations.”

Emiliano continued on how Filipino groups and communities have been fighting back, “Tanggol Migrante Chicago has been stepping up its know-your-rights information campaign and has been dropping off the KYR cards in Filipino stores and restaurants around the city. We have created mutual help clusters, support groups, and rapid response teams so we can follow up to protect and prepare our people.”

A member of SJP at UIC spoke out about the fear following the attacks by the Trump administration, stating, “These actions have affected major communities near us, in many places where people who are trying to just get by with whatever money they make that day. They struck fear into many business owners in places like Pilsen, Little Village, and countless other neighborhoods where Black and brown people are fighting to build a better world.”

Speaking on behalf of the FRSO, Giotl Araujo stated, “U.S. monopoly-capitalism has treated places in the global south, like Latin America, where it can exploit the locals, loot the resources, and destroy their political life, like its backyard. U.S. imperialists have destroyed the livelihoods of various peoples of Latin America, at the expense of fattening their pockets.”

After the program, despite the freezing cold, students marched around campus, and past the University Hall, making their chants loud and clear. “¿Que queremos? ¡Legalización!” (What do we want? Legalization!) and “¡Trump, escucha, estamos en la lucha!” (Trump, listen, we are in the fight back!) echoed throughout campus.

Threats of the reactionary Trump agenda are seeping their way into even the most self-described “progressive” universities, like UIC, which have already shown itself in the first three weeks of Trump’s administration. Earlier this month, word had spread around UI-Health, quietly enforcing Trump’s ban on gender-affirming care for youth and students under age 19. This was then backtracked after students and youth protested this outrageous decision.

While the university has stated that it will not work with ICE to deport immigrant students, UIC police have been used as the buffer to deal with any attempts ICE makes at deportations. Students have made it clear they want a sanctuary campus with no ICE agent stepping foot on campus. New SDS at UIC and progressive students will mobilize to pressure the University of Illinois Chicago to not comply with the Trump agenda!

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #StudentMovement #SDS #SJP #MeSA #JSC #FRSO #Feature

New York, NY – On January 24, over 50 NYU students gathered at a rally called by the NYU Students for a Democratic Society (NYU SDS) to protest against Trump’s backwards agenda for his second term as president. The rally took place at Garibaldi Plaza at Washington Square Park, a popular rallying spot for NYU student organizations. 

Students chanted, “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA!”, “Racist, sexist, anti-gay Donald Trump go away” and “Trump hear us loud and clear, immigrants are welcome here!” Hundreds of people walked by the rally, stopping for brief moments to take photos and videos or to catch parts of it. 

Speakers from the NYU SDS, NYU Queer Union, NYU Students for Justice in Palestine (NYU SJP), NYU Black Student Union and the NYU Young Democratic Socialists of America (NYU YDSA) brought attention to the various attacks that Trump had already launched or plans on launching on the American people, including the NYU student body. 

In response to these attacks, speakers called on the people to unite, build community and fight back. 

“We must continue to support efforts for diversity, equity and inclusion. To combat white supremacy, to fight against a world that only recognizes heterosexual attraction, to oppose a world where the gender binary is the only reality, we must be louder and more forceful,” said the speaker from the NYU Queer Union. 

The speaker for NYU YDSA, said “Let me tell you we cannot fall into this world of despair, misery and belief that all we can do is stand by as conditions get worse hoping that will wake people up on their own. The work starts now. To educate, agitate and organize for the better world that each and every one of us deserves.”

After the speakers, protesters marched by the NYU campus. As they marched, campus security officers ran to set up barriers by NYU Gould Plaza. Gould Plaza used to be a public space that anyone was able to enter. However, after the first encampment at NYU, the administration had walls and a checkpoint constructed, restricting access to the plaza to only NYU students. As protesters marched, they chanted “The students united will never be defeated” with hundreds of NYU students looking on and making way for the crowd. 

The march ended at Schwartz Plaza, the site of the NYU second encampment from last year. Schwartz Plaza is next to the John A. Paulson Center, named after a billionaire hedge funder who donated millions to the Trump campaign. Campus security rushed to put up barriers in front of the plaza to prevent protesters from entering it. 

Ebtesham Ahmed, the emcee and a member of NYU SDS, ended the rally by saying, “We will be here to resist. We will be here to fight back. No matter how much they try to repress our movement, they will fail. Because we are daring to struggle and daring to win! And from the bottom of my heart, I believe that we will win.”

#NewYorkCityNY #NYC #NYU #NYUSDS #SDS #NYUQueerUnion #NYUSJP #SJP #BSU #NYUBSU #NYUYDSA #YDSA #Trump #Inauguration

New Orleans, LA – During a visit to New Orleans, Dr. Rabab Abduhadi held an evening talk addressing students, community members and activists about the dangers and impacts of institutional Zionism and ways to combat it in academia and beyond.

On January 11, at the University of New Orleans, Dr. Abdulhadi shared her decades-long experience battling institutionally embedded Zionism, its various modes of operation, and tactics it uses to repress Palestinian activism.

The event was hosted by New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP), University of New Orleans Students for a Democratic Society (UNO SDS), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and Palestinian Youth Movement New Orleans. Alongside Dr. Abdulhadi were NOSHIP, SJP, and SDS’ own student leaders who have tirelessly built a strong, local student movement over the past year.

As the founding director and Senior Scholar of the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies Program at San Francisco State University, Dr. Abdulhadi’s past and present work is dedicated to fostering critical conversations about Palestinian oppression, resistance and liberation.

Despite the university administration’s unjust cancellation of her Teaching Palestine course, Dr. Abdulhadi successfully held the course on her own accord with over 500 participants. “Zionism is most powerful in university administration,” said an SDS student who spoke of his own repression on a New Orleans campus. “As Dr. Abdulhadi mentioned, the administration is the enemy of the students and their allies. When we want divestment or any other progressive demand, we need to be organized and willing to take it.”

Dr. Abdulhadi is a lifelong organizer and public intellectual. She has co-organized delegations to Palestine, and her leadership in various coalitions and boards has been instrumental to advancing the BDS movement on a national and global scale. Inspired by Dr. Abdulhadi’s experience and steadfastness, SJP student activist A’ishah Abdallah shared insights about divestment efforts on UNO’s campus.

“UNO is a powerful organizing house for Palestinian students and their activities,” said Abdallah. “Although we might still face some restrictions, UNO is a public university which gives us some freedom to organize.”

“I don’t lose hope,” said Dr. Abdulhadi towards the end of her talk. “I’ve been a student organizer; I went to my first demonstration at the age of eleven. I believe people will always be able to win. The leadership in the student movement and encampments in this country has been very impressive. I am happy to talk about the past, give the history, but the students will move us forward. You got it, and I tip my hat to you.”

“We are here tonight not just to listen but to strategize, to learn from history, and to leave with a renewed sense of purpose,” said NOSHIP’s Maya Sanchez. NOSHIP, alongside several pro-Palestine organizations in the city, will be leading a Palestine solidarity contingent on January 20 for a citywide march commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr, day, which coincides with the inauguration of President Donald Trump. A broad coalition of various local movements will convene on this day to advance various demands against Trump’s racist agenda, including an end to racist policing, end to attacks on immigrants, end to U.S. aid to Israel, and defending the right to unionize and strike.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #SDS #NOSHIP #SJP

Madison, WI – In a show of student power, nearly 50 protesters marched into the UW board of regents meeting Thursday, December 5, to put Palestine and divestment on the Finance Committee agenda.

This latest militant action comes after a large-scale administration failure to uphold the Madison and Milwaukee encampment agreements on disclosure and divestment from apartheid Israel.

Despite the freezing temperatures, the students opened with a rally outside the event hall. During the rally, SDS and Freedom Road Socialist Organization member Kayla Patterson told the crowd, “The simple truth is that the board of regents stands on the wrong side of history. 13% of the over $1 billion in ‘UW managed funds’ is hidden from the public, hidden from the students that make up these campuses. But the UW system’s investments in crooked companies like Palantir, Lockheed Martin and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank are no secret. Those in power at our universities choose to represent the ruling class and their bank accounts over real human lives under siege in Palestine.”

Shortly after the “Business and Finance” portion of the meeting began, protesters moved inside to occupy the room with signs and banners. After a few minutes, Gabo Samoff of Madison Young Democratic Socialists stood at the front of the room and confronted the board for its refusal to divest from genocide and its failure to deliver after promising transparency.

Once Samoff began speaking, the meeting facilitator, Regent Ashok Rai, turned off the meeting’s recording to prevent the student’s statement from being on file. Samoff said, “We will not accept this total lack of transparency and lack of willingness to even listen to students.” Campus administrators quickly tried to silence the students, calling in police reinforcements, but it was in vain. The students refused to allow business as usual and began chanting “Free free Palestine!” while police tried to shove and drag them out of the room.

UW-Madison police descended on the crowd to push and grab people indiscriminately. Many were simply holding signs when cops wrongfully detained them, with one student even being dragged out by their neck. The disruption continued throughout these police assaults, and students began chanting “We won’t leave!”, refusing to be silenced by the police. Once detained, protesters showed their resolve further during police processing, stomping and chanting “Palestine is our fight! Students of the world unite!”. Defiantly, the students disrupted the meeting for 30 minutes.

In total, 19 were arrested from both the Madison and Milwaukee campuses for showing solidarity with Palestine. Many students were released with bruises and even bleeding from the zip ties. The police repression couldn’t shake the students from their cause.

Organizations coordinating the action involved the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Young Democratic Socialists (YDSA) at UW-Milwaukee, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and YDSA at UW-Madison, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization-Wisconsin.

After demanding the police release all the arrested activists, the crowd outside celebrated as each protester was released one by one. Milwaukee student organizer Cedar Lehman best summed up the energy post-action, stating, “Despite mounting political repression, we came to show the board of regents that no matter where in Wisconsin they hold their meetings, business as usual will not continue while they maintain their policy of 'neutrality’ toward genocide. We refuse to be intimidated by the administration's crooked cops that treat protest as justification for abusing and injuring their own students and community members.”

#MadisonWI #WI #StudentMovement #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #SDS #YDSA #SJP #FRSO #Feature

Milwaukee, WI – On November 21, the UWM Popular University for Palestine (PUP) Coalition took bold action to rename the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Golda Meir Library. As part of the National Students for Justice in Palestine’s International Strike for Palestine, students hand-delivered a petition signed by over 500 students, alumni, faculty and community members. The petition, denounced UWM’s dehumanizing language and policies toward Palestinians, and was brought to Chancellor Mark Mone’s office. The protest ended in a banner drop at the campus library, and a call for renaming the building to Electa Quinney Library.

Coalition member organizations including Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) Muslim Student Association, and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) - led the campaign to put an end to UWM’s continued financial and academic ties to the genocidal state of Israel and to challenge the ongoing repression of Palestinian and pro-Palestine students on campus. 

Fed up with repeated dismissals of their demands by the administration, students taped the petition to the chancellor’s office’s doors at Chapman Hall before continuing their march to the library. The banner drop came after months of frustration with UWM administrators, who repeatedly dismissed student demands against the admin’s support of Israel as it carries out an ongoing genocide. Students also decried the library being named after a Zionist former prime minister of Israel, Golda Meir. 

The PUP coalition demands that UWM rename it to the Electa Quinney Library. Electa Quinney is Wisconsin’s first public schoolteacher and an indigenous woman from the Stockbridge-Munsee band of Mohicans. The demand represents the future that students want for UWM, “Just as countless institutions have removed the names of figures tied to oppression, UWM must take responsibility and rename the library,” said student organizer, Ameen Atta.

Over the last year, Muslim, Palestinian and pro-Palestine students have faced attacks for standing with Palestine, while the university administration does nothing but pay lip service. 

“Over the past year, UWM has undermined the safety of its Palestinian and Muslim students, and in many instances, put us directly in harm's way. Having a library named after someone who's basically denied the existence of Palestinian people only puts us in even more danger,” said Students for Justice in Palestine president, Waleed Nassar. “We’ve attempted literally all conventional means of communication with admin to address this issue of student safety, but all we are met with are empty promises and words of ‘sympathy.’” 

Despite the constant repression faced on campus, students and allies remain steadfast in their demands. The PUP coalition continues to fight for UWM to sever all ties - academic, financial, and social - with the state of Israel.

#MilwaukeeWI #UWM #SJP #SDS #UWMSDS #PUP #YDSA #InternationalStrikeForPalestine #GoldaMeir #FreePalestine #BDS #CulturalBoycott #AcademicBoycott #Israel #ElectaQuinney #NativePower #IndigenousPower #Mohican

New Orleans – On October 7, students walked out of classes at three campuses in New Orleans to protest their universities' ties to Israel. Chapters of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organized demonstrations for students at Loyola University of New Orleans, Tulane University, and the University of New Orleans. Rallies of about 20 people took place simultaneously outside of Tulane and Loyola campuses at noon.

By 12:30, the rally led by Tulane SDS marched around their campus to join the rally outside Loyola. Students from the two schools combined forces with local allies like New Orleans Stop Helping Israel’s Ports (NOSHIP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Together the crowd of 40 sat in on Saint Charles Avenue, a major road in the area. The students chanted and read the names of Palestinians killed by Israel since October 7 while blocking traffic. The sit-in successfully held the street for over an hour. During the sit-in, students celebrated one year of global resistance to Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.

“Palestinian liberation won’t happen on a college campus. No liberation movement will. But the Boycott Divest Sanction National Committee is calling on us to fight for divestment!” said Silas Gillette, speaking for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Loyola students carried a large puppet depicting their university’s president Xavier Cole. Cole, who, according to students at Loyola, has refused to meet with them about their demands. Loyola student Juleea Berthelot joined the sit-in on Saint Charles, wearing a red “Popular University for Palestine” t-shirt. They described being fired from their job earlier this year for protesting.

“Two students were fired, and our school newspaper wrote about it, but my boss lied,” said Berthelot. “Those students chose to leave their jobs. I sat in her office and begged for my job because I loved it. But she fired me.”

Another Loyola student, Nour Saad, joined the celebration of the resistance in a black Palestinian Youth Movement shirt. “I honor our warriors in Palestine because I know what it feels like to have the world against you when you’re just trying to fight for your freedom.”

Students at the University of New Orleans (UNO) also walked out in solidarity with the axis of resistance. Students from Xavier University joined the action on UNO's campus. The action was led by both the Palestinian Youth Movement and Students United, a chapter of national Students for a Democratic Society, who demanded an end to weapons manufacturers on UNO's campus. General Dynamics, one of the largest weapons manufacturers in the country, has an IT development center on campus.

“Human rights organizations repeatedly say General Dynamics is a pivotal company in the violation of human rights and war crimes,” said Lucas Harrell, an organizer with UNO Students United. Further confrontation is guaranteed as General Dynamic's role in the Gaza genocide is unfolded to the students.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #NOSHIP #SJP

Philadelphia, PA – On October 7, an energetic coalition of university students and community members gathered at Drexel Square Park in Philadelphia to commemorate one year of resistance against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The march attracted a sizable crowd of a couple hundred passionate participants, united in their call for justice and solidarity with the Palestinian people. As the group made its way towards the University of Pennsylvania’s “Pennovation Works” research facility, chants for liberation echoed through the streets, reinforcing the message that the struggle for Palestinian rights continues unabated.

At the forefront of the action was a collective condemnation of military technologies developed by educational institutions and used by the Zionist occupation, particularly those manufactured by Ghost Robotics, a company located at Pennovation Works. Founded in 2015 by Penn graduate students Avik De and Gavin Kenneally, Ghost Robotics has emerged as a leading supplier of four-legged robot “dogs” outfitted with lethal weapons known as the Vision 60 units, which have been sold to the IDF and deployed in Gaza. 

After a two-mile march from Drexel’s campus, students and community members blocked the gates of the complex. Students from various local universities spoke about the urgency of dismantling systems of oppression, calling for accountability from institutions that profit from the suffering of Palestinians. As the march concluded, the community's energy was palpable, reinforcing that the fight for a free Palestine will continue.

The newly-formed Philadelphia Students for Justice in Palestine Coalition organized the event, which was supported by many local organizations, including Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#PhiladelphiaPA #Drexel #SJP #FreePalestine

New York, NY – Thousands took to the streets to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Palestinian resistance Operation Al Aqsa Flood. The people of New York have been marching militantly throughout the weekend, and on October 7 the last wave went block by block to mark the momentous event of resistance.

Protests began at 12 universities. Chapters of Students for a Democratic Society and Students for Justice in Palestine organized walkouts and rallies on their campuses. The students, many who had been involved in the encampments walked out of class chanting in support of the demands: disclosure and divestment from all companies aiding Israel in its genocide, cutting ties with all Zionist institutions, NYPD off their campuses, and protection of pro-Palestinian speech on campus with amnesty for all students who have been punished for their rightful activism.

Eb Ahmed of NYU SDS said during their speech, “We the students cannot sit around while our university maintains its ties to genocide. We must remain united and steadfast and resilient. We must take on this fight, for our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We must dare to struggle and dare to win.”

At noon, demonstrators began gathering at Wall Street where Within Our Lifetime called the action Flood New York to commemorate the day. Thousands gathered around a massive Palestinian flag and began marching. Within Our Lifetime had planned a total of seven stops where they would pick up protesters as they took over the city.

The students who had walked out of their classes had gathered at the third stop of the day – Washington Square Park. The park is right near NYU.

Led by multiple chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and SDS, the students drowned out Zionist counter-protesters, who were protected by the NYPD.

Chants of “Disclose, divest we will not stop we will not rest” and “Say it loud and say it clear, we don’t want no Zionists here” could be heard from all corners of the park.

A speaker from Kingsborough Community College stated, “We are here not just to express our sorrow and our outrage but to amplify the voices that have been continuously silenced.”

When massive wave of protesters from Wall Street arrived at Washington Square Park, the student contingent joined in their thousands.

They marched with Within Our Lifetime and hundreds of other organizations throughout Manhattan, dispersing once they reached Columbus Circle. Student organizers have promised that they will be back. They promised to continue the struggle until they win their demands and Palestine is liberated.

#NewYorkNY #NY #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #SDS #WOL #SJP

Chicago, IL – On Wednesday, August 25, the New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS at UIC) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP at UIC), alongside other progressive student organizations at the University of Illinois Chicago, ended the month strong on campus by organizing a hands-off Lebanon demonstration following not only the terrorist cyberattack/bombings against Lebanon but the deploying of U.S. troops to the region.

Angel Naranjo of SDS started off the rally talking about the fast escalation of the U.S. backed Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Starting with Israel’s cyberattack, Naranjo informed the crowd, “Just last week the Zionists launched a cyberattack against the people of Lebanon that injured more than 3000 and murdered dozens – including four children. In order to carry out this attack Israeli intelligence agents put explosives inside pagers and walkie-talkies that then blew up all at the same time. Among the two children were an 11-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl named Fatima Abdullah, she had just begun the fourth grade.”

Naranjo continued, “On top of that, not only did U.S. officials acknowledge that it was Israel who was behind the attack, but reports show that U.S. intelligence agencies knew that Israel was planning this attack for years!”

The crowd responded, shouting “Shame!” Naranjo made it clear that the Biden/Harris administration is not only complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people, they are outspokenly supportive of it and are responsible for the aid Israel receives to attack nations like Lebanon. He spoke about the victims as “everyday people who were in their homes with their families, out walking on the streets, in stores buying groceries, doing regular everyday activities like you and me.”

Abdal Alfawaqa, a member of SJP told the crowd, “Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in Jenin. Paramedics were being blocked in by IOF military vehicles. The bulldozers flattening homes, and tearing streets apart are Caterpillar bulldozers which UIC is currently invested in. UIC continues to ignore Palestinian voices on campus, even as they demand divestment from corporations that continue to make the genocide possible,” adding, “While our universities continue to refuse divestment, turning their backs on their Palestinian students and their allies who pay tens of thousands of dollars in tuition each year, Israel runs a genocidal ethnic cleansing campaign using Caterpillar bulldozers specifically made with the IDF in mind.”

Liz Rathburn, speaking for Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) came out to express the organization's support for the united Palestinian and Lebanese resistance against Israeli terrorism and U.S. imperialism. The United States’ desperate need to hold control of the Middle East through its support of the apartheid state of Israel shows its hypocrisy when it talks about democracy.

Rathburn stated, “Where was the Biden administration when the IOF kidnapped and tortured Palestinian Americans in Gaza and, or when, they assassinated a Turkish-American activist in the West Bank? I’ll tell you, they were on the news defending ‘Israel’ and excusing their crimes, they were welcoming Netanyahu into Congress and shipping another load of bombs to Gaza.”

Rathburn continued, “So when I hear them say that U.S. troops are going into Lebanon to defend Americans, I call bullshit! This government doesn’t give a damn about the working and oppressed peoples in this country because it is not our government, it belongs to corporations, Wall Street and the one percent.”

Finally, Erin Boyle, also a member of SDS, stated, “They know that what they’re doing is deeply unpopular and that people won’t swallow their lies. They talk differently about what they’re doing – they feel the pressure of a ceasefire – and we can tell from their duplicity that they are afraid. Afraid of the power of our generation. Afraid of the student intifada. Just look at an interview Hillary Clinton gave this week on CNN. She once again denounced the student protests over Palestine as dangerous.”

Boyle continued, “Just this week our own UI System banned SJP at UIUC! And in Florida, took away the degree of my friend and fellow SDSer Victoria, because she led an encampment! The same sort of encampment that DePaul sent CPD [Chicago Police Department] to violently break up. But the harder they repress us, the harder the student movement will fight.”

Students marched past the Engineering Research Facility and Science And Engineering South (SES) buildings, where UIC corporations like Boeing and Caterpillar, in collaboration with UIC, make the bombs and weapons used by the apartheid state of Israel against Palestinians, possible. Student chants roared around campus and on to the road, “UIC it is time! Stop funding war crimes!”

Students stopped by the ROTC to remind everyone of the threat the United States military has been to oppressed peoples around the world, not just in the past, not just now, but in the future if it is not stopped.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Lebanon #Palestine #SDS #SJP

Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday, September 18, over 700 protesters rallied outside Northrop Auditorium as the new University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham was inaugurated inside. As university workers prepped the Northrop Mall for the massive celebration set to begin in just two hours, students walked out of class, joining the rally to demand that the University of Minnesota divest from Israel.

As the crowd chanted, “Neutrality is a lie! You’re supporting genocide!” nervous low-level administrators fidgeted with their clipboards and took photos of the protest. The rally was a campus-wide effort, called for by the UMN Divest Coalition, AFSCME 3800, and Educators for Justice in Palestine.

The UMN Divest Coalition, consisting of the local chapters of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), spent the summer having biweekly meetings with administrators and attempting to work towards the passage of their divestment resolution through the board of regents, none of which would have been possible without the encampment movement at the end of last spring semester.

In response, President Cunningham pushed a “Neutrality Agreement” through the board of regents the week before students returned to campus to effectively block students' ability to campaign the University for divestment now and in the future. In addition to this, her administration has been actively working to strip away academic freedom from faculty and has begun enforcing anti-protest policies on campus to justify political repression, including rules that limit protests to 100 people and sound amplification to one bullhorn.

Despite this, the UMN Divest Coalition doubled down on its demands for divestment from Israel, calling for a massive walkout on the day of Cunningham’s inauguration.

“The board of regents' and President Cunningham's cowardice is not only a clear rejection of student’s voices but also an overt violation of international human rights.” stated SDS member Freyja Wolfe. “Silence is not and never has been neutral and investing thousands of dollars into Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers that make the bombs that kill Palestinians and destroy their hospitals, mosques, universities and homes certainly isn’t neutral either.”

While the administration hoped that the rally would die out before the outdoor celebration began at 4:30, by 4:15 the rally had only grown in size and energy when 30 students, staff and faculty poured out from inside Northrop Auditorium, having disrupted the inauguration ceremony. Just moments before, inside the inauguration ceremony, as Cunningham walked up to the podium to address the crowd, the students, staff and faculty members stood up, and a Palestinian student shouted: “President Cunningham, Vice President Croson, and the board of regents: You are all complicit with the Israeli state’s genocide in Gaza! We will not stop protesting until you meet our demands!” They then read off the following demands, reprinted here:

1. Divest from weapons manufacturing companies that are complicit in the genocide of the Palestinians.

2. End Investment in Israeli companies, banks and government bonds

3. ⁠Disclose all private investments.

4. End study abroad programs and all relations with complicity Israeli universities.

5. Fully fund 12 undergraduate students from Gaza.

6. Establish an ongoing relationship with Birzeit University.

7. Stop discriminating against Palestinian and pro-Palestine job candidates.

8. Stop criminalizing protests and respect academic freedom.

9. ⁠Respond firmly to hate violence against Palestinian, Muslim, and Middle Eastern students, staff, and faculty.”

The vice president of student affairs began to threaten suspension and legal action against the protesters should they continue, so they started to make their way out while chanting. Security then grabbed ten of the students, all but one being Muslim, and told them they were being suspended. The ten students were brought over to UMPD officers before a professor intervened with the help of a National Lawyers Guild lawyer, after which the threat of suspension was dropped.

Soon after, as students flooded Northrop Mall to receive free food from the outdoor inauguration celebration, three SDS members dropped a large banner from the scaffolding in front of Coffman Student Union that read: “Cunningham and the board of regents: you have blood on your hands! Divest UMN from Israel!”

The protest was still going strong when Calvin Phillips, vice president of student affairs, issued two dispersal notices threatening student protesters with suspension and arrest if they didn’t clear the Northrop stairs so that the board of regents members and Cunningham could have their scheduled photo-op. Despite these threats, shortly afterward, when Cunningham exited Northrop Auditorium to take photos on the mall students followed her chanting, “Cunningham you can’t hide! You’re supporting genocide!”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #SJP #Feature

Milwaukee, WI – On Wednesday, September 4, the UWM Students for a Democratic Society led a protest of 70 students endorsed by the UWM Popular University for Palestine Coalition. The student organizations rallied defiantly in the face of their wrongful suspensions in front of the library named for Israeli war criminal Golda Meir.

The protest set the tone for the year on the second day of classes by relaunching the SDS campaign to change the name of the library and cut all ties with Israel. Instead of welcoming students, UWM administration sent multiple emails in the days before the start of school to the entire student body, attempting to intimidate students away from attending the protest. The UWM administration sent an email titled “Free Speech and its limits”, but in reality, they listed nothing but repressive anti-protest policies targeted at progressive students, shown with three SDSers facing suspension on top of all five UWM4Pali Coalition organizations having been suspended on July 31.

Cedar Lehman, a member of UWM Young Democratic Socialists of America, pointed out the University administration’s hypocrisy, stating, “Where was this response when, in 2019, an admitted Nazi was promoting antisemitic statements? Do you know who was punished as a result of this? The student who ripped up this Nazi’s sign.”

After over 330 days of the intensified genocide in Palestine, UWM administration had continued to repress pro-Palestine students, allowing for its corporate shareholders to hold sway. Still, the UWM4Pali Coalition hasn’t backed down. Calling out the heads of the university, Allux Arellano-Metoxen, member of UWM SDS, said, “Who should have the biggest say in how our tuition dollars are spent and how our education is handled? Not racist rich white board members and sponsors. Not soulless corporate shareholders. The students! Because what is a university with no students?”

To close out the protest, amidst echoes of “Long live the intifada!”, members of SDS spoke about the National SDS Walkout for Palestine to take place on October 7, commemorating a year of genocide, but more importantly, a year of struggle and resistance.

The walkout will be part of the Anti-War Action Network call for protests from October 5 to 7. UW -Milwaukee's impending walkout to protest the university’s refusal to cut ties with Israel will give the administration a taste of what’s to come if they don’t concede to the student’s demands.

A day after the September 4 protest, the UWM administration rescinded the interim suspension of all five student organizations stemming from a pro-Palestine Instagram story in July. This was due to the UWM4Pali Coalition waging a vigorous fightback. This included protests and the successful self-defense by all five organizations in two bogus, misguided investigations by the UW-Milwaukee Dean of Students Office and the Office of Civil Rights.

Eventually, after five weeks, the student organizations got the suspensions overturned. However, despite the sanctions being lessened by a year as a result of this case, UWM SDS is still suspended until September 2025, in addition to probation until December 2026.

The campus response to this deliberate targeting of SDS after a year of militant struggle is evidence that the student movement at UWM is landing blows and showing no signs of slowing down. Keep up with the student movement in Milwaukee on Instagram: @uwm4palicoalition, @sds_uwm, @sjpmilwaukee, @msauwm, and @uwmydsa.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #SDS #SJP #StudentMovement #YDSA

Although this is the first week of school, the UMN board of regents has already passed a resolution making the university endowment “politically neutral” in a bid to avoid accountability for their actions. Along with this resolution, new UMN President Rebbecca Cunningham introduced new protest policies which severely limit free speech on campus.

As students return to campus, protests and political repression will continue. But as Fae Hodges, a junior and member of SDS, said in their speech, “We will not be told when, where, and how we can speak on our own campus, especially when all we are saying is to stop funding genocide.”

After chanting, calls for divestment, and a speech from Dr. Sima Shakhsari of Educators for Justice in Palestine, the crowd marched from the board of regents meeting space and down Washington Avenue toward Morrill Hall, the building which houses the president's office.

Once at Morrill Hall, people laid down on bloodied sheets in silence, holding a die-in to represent the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have died in the last 11 months and the blood on the hand of the UMN’s administrators for their continuation of the funding of this genocide.

The protest ended with speeches from AFSCME 3800, Students for Justice in Palestine, and chants calling for the divestment from Israel and for victory to Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #SDS #AFSCME #SJP #Feature

Chicago, IL – On Thursday, August 29, New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) started the week strong with a demonstration on campus, with about 90 students, demanding U.S. hands off Lebanon, an end of U.S. aid to Israel and to stand strong with Palestine.

Speakers from other progressive student organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at UIC, and Anakbayan at UIC, also spoke. The rally strengthened the students’ message of funding for education – such as cultural centers and student resources – not for genocide, war and occupation in Palestine.

Jeremiah Munoz, a member of SDS, told the crowd, “Here at UIC, complicity in genocide is nothing new. The institution allows military recruiters on a campus supposedly dedicated to education; the same military who will not hesitate to bring on a major war in the interests of corporations.”

Munoz continued, “UIC receives millions of dollars from the Department of Defense to fund weapons research used to bomb people in Palestine. This university allows ROTC to operate, continuing to train a generation that will carry out agendas of suffering abroad on behalf of a military that has been engaged in warfare against the Third World for the majority of its existence.”

Munoz called for students to mobilize against the university’s support of Israel and for complete divestment from apartheid Israel.

Sathvik Gowda, speaking for SJP at UIC, stated, “This past week Israel has raided and attacked countless villages in southern Lebanon. On July 31, Israel struck and assassinated the Palestinian resistance leader, Ismail Haniyeh, within the capital of Iran. Irael has deliberately assassinated the main ceasefire negotiator of the Palestinian resistance.”

Gowda also pushed for the mobilization of students and the continuation of the student intifada here in the United States.

Gowda stated, “As students in the U.S., it is our obligation and duty to not only hold our government accountable for genocide, but also hold our universities accountable for aiding and abetting this genocide. SJP has tried for close to a year now to meet with administration around these investments; however they continue to refuse to,” adding, “It is clear, the students at UIC overwhelmingly support divestment. Now the question is to UIC admin, will they stand for genocide or liberation?”

Liz Rathburn, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), gave a fiery speech on the power of the Palestinian resistance, stating, “The Al Aqsa Flood of October 7 was a shot heard around the world, one that has shattered the myth of the invincibility of the Israeli occupation forces.”

As the Palestinian resistance and people’s movement continue to build their unity and strength against the occupation, they’ve shown more and more a future reality of a liberated Palestine. In Gaza, the United States, and all around the world, the racist state of Israel continues to be pushed to defeat. And in reaction, it has intensified its genocide and its brutality against the Palestinian resistance.

Rathburn stated, “Now the Zionists are invading the West Bank and bombing south Lebanon. The U.S. and Israel have assassinated political leaders all over the region and have engaged in illegal acts of war by bombing Yemen, Iran, Syria and Lebanon. It is clear that it wants to start a wider war and bring in their patron, the U.S. empire.”

After the program, students marched around campus, with others joining the march as it went along. The march was also able to loop around UIC’s University Hall, where it was in sight and sound of the administration.

This first demonstration shows the continuation of the student movement here at UIC. It is still strong and daring to struggle, despite repression against the movement intensifying.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #Lebanon #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #FRSO #SJP #Anakbayan #Feature

Minneapolis, MN – On August 30, 150 University of Minnesota students, staff, faculty and community members rallied and marched from Morrill Hall to McNamara Plaza in response to the Board of Regents vote that happened earlier this week.

The Board voted on a resolution that would impose political and institutional neutrality on the university’s endowment fund. This vote was pushed by new University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham. It effectively makes any sort of divestment from Israel, or weapon manufacturers and other entities complicit in war crimes and human rights violations, impossible. It takes away any accountability that administration has to its students, to its staff, or to its faculty.

The protest was led by the UMN Divest Coalition, made up of Students for a Democratic Society, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and Young Democratic Socialists of America.

Since launching the divestment campaign last October, thousands of students have demanded that their university take action and divest from companies that are complicit in the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Instead of standing with its students, even after 75% of students voted in favor of divestment, the University of Minnesota ignored the demands of divestment in favor of arresting and using cops on their students last spring.

As the UMN Students for Justice in Palestine president said during her speech at the rally, “We are not asking the University of Minnesota for charity; we are demanding an end to the complicity in genocide. Is profiting off of genocide politically neutral?”

At the same meeting as the neutrality vote, President Cunningham introduced a new policy that would effectively make any sort of protest on campus illegal. Students would have to apply for permits two weeks out if there’s to be a crowd over 100, are only allowed one bullhorn, and cannot have any signs or banners larger than 14 by 22 feet. The SJP president stated, “You can try to restrict our right to protest and not let us use our voices but let me tell you, you will lose [to the people] every time!”

The neutrality vote and protest policy were in direct response to the University of Minnesota encampment and its wins earlier this spring. As students go back to school, universities across the country are imposing harsher protest guidelines on their students. The University of Minnesota is doing the same.

The UMN Divest Coalition and UMN community will not stop and will not rest till we win divestment and a free and liberated Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #StudentMovement #SDS #SJP #YDSA

Chicago, IL – On August 19, hundreds of students from across the country traveled to Chicago to march on the Democratic National Convention. Wrapped in khaffiyehs, holding banners, signs and Palestine flags, they gathered as early as 8 a.m. at Union Park for the noon rally and march.

At 10 a.m., protesters of the student contingent stood at the pre-march press conference.

Victoria Hinckley of Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, said, “Come fall, we’re hitting the ground running, ready to defend student protests for Palestine and demanding divestment. We refuse to let our universities get away with funding a genocide and punishing students for standing against this genocide.”

Earlier this year, Hinckley became the first student in Students for a Democratic Society to be expelled for her involvement in the encampments for Gaza movement in Spring 2024. Since June, she has ever since been campaigning for the reversal of her expulsion and for the end of international student Joseph Charry's suspension, which puts his visa at risk.

Then at noon, the rally began in earnest. Representatives from various organizations, including student organizations, came onto the stage.

“Guess what? The student intifada lives on!” stated a leader of National Students for Justice in Palestine to thunderous applause. “We are returning stronger than ever before as we head into the fall semester! And as long as our administrations continue profiting off the genocide of our people, of Palestinians, we will continue to confront them, just as we are confronting the complicit Democratic Party today.”

“On our campuses, we see the administration cut student services, put admin greed over student needs, and are always there ready to increase tuition,” Khalid Hamu said, on behalf of National Students for a Democratic Society. “Admin squeezes all the money they can from us and invests it in the genocide of the Palestinian people. Admin arrests, suspends and expels students for doing what's right and for standing with Palestine. Our detriment as students leads to the detriment of the Palestinian people, and by isolating any administrators who stand with genocide, we can do something real for the people of Palestine.”

Students then marched with over 20,000 protesters to gather across the venue hosting the Democratic National Convention, the United Center. Within sight and sound of the delegates to the DNC, several of whom were delayed as the commotion held up the arrival of several buses, the protesters chanted for a free Palestine and for the Democrats to end their backing of the genocide in Gaza.

#ChicagoIL #StudentMovement #DNC2024 #SDS #SJP #Palestine

St. Paul, MN – On Friday, August 2, the Free Palestine Coalition held a rally on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge and marched to Governor Tim Walz’s residence to commemorate 300 days of genocide in Palestine and to demand a permanent ceasefire, an end to the occupation, and a free Palestine from the river to the sea.

As hundreds of cars drove by, crowd of over 150 people gathered on the bridge despite the 90-degree heat, chanting and holding signs calling for the arrest of Netanyahu, demanding Minnesota divestment from Israel and an end to the genocide.

The crowd then marched to the governor’s temporary residence at the Eastcliff Mansion. Walz is a potential vice presidential candidate pick. Gathering at the mansion, speakers from organizations such as Ceasefire Choir, Students for Justice in Palestine, the MN Anti War Committee, and the Palestinian community all talked about what the last 300-plus days of genocide by the terrorist state of Israel has looked like.

This last week has been particularly brutal, seeing Palestine officially declaring a polio epidemic as a result of the genocide, Israel bombing Beirut, Israel assassinating Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh (the main negotiator for the ceasefire) in Tehran, and assassinating a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon. The last was as a result of Israel making unsupported claims that Hezbollah was responsible for a rocket attack on July 27 on a soccer pitch in the Golan Heights, an occupied territory in Syria.

As one of the speakers at the rally, Trent Fast from the MN Anti-War Committee stated, “It is crystal clear that these are the desperate actions of a dying power lashing out amid its death throes, hoping to start a regional war so that its primary sponsor, the U.S., is forced to come to its rescue or risk losing its attack dog in west Asia.”

Meredith Aby from the MN Anti-War Committee explained her feelings about the action, “It was particularly powerful to march to Governor Walz’s mansion, because he’s being considered for Kamala Harris’ running mate and, despite our call-in days, protests, testifying, and even civil disobedience, he has remained a barrier to getting Minnesota to divest from genocide.” As protesters marched and rallied outside the mansion, a state trooper car was stationed on the governor’s lawn and two police cars trailed behind the march.

One of the speakers, Muhammed Jallad, shared a heartbreaking story of his mother’s experience of Israeli military in Palestine and witnessing the death of her friends and neighbors when she was only five years old. He shared how much it means to him to see so many people showing up and fighting for Palestine.

Aby stated, “It was important for Minnesota to be represented this weekend as people across the world stood up for Palestine as we hit 300 days of genocide in Gaza. We have over 100 people from Minnesota planning on going to Chicago to protest for Palestine at the DNC in two weeks. Regardless of who is on the ticket we have the same demands. We demand the U.S. stop supporting Israel’s genocide campaign on Palestine!”

The Anti-War Committee’s Sabry Wazwaz said, “The people across the Twin Cities, despite the extreme heat, came out and we will never stop coming out until we not only end this genocide but the brutal military occupation by Israel as well.”

This crowd let it be known that they are not giving up on Palestine, they are still counting each day that goes by in this genocide and that they will not stop until Minnesota divests from Israel and Palestine is free.

#StPaulMN #Palestine #FreePalestineCoalition #CeasefireChoir #SJP #MNAWC