Home › U.S. News › Anti-War › Minnesotans march on Senator’s office, demand end to U.S. aid to Israel

Minnesotans march on Senator’s office, demand end to U.S. aid to Israel

By Editor-in-Chief on October 11, 2023

*^{Anti-war activists rally with protest signs and deliver speeches demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel. (Photo: The Red Phoenix)}*

By Sofia D., Red Phoenix correspondent, Minnesota.

On Monday, October 8, the American Party of Labor joined in a Palestinian solidarity demonstration sponsored by the Anti-War Committee of Minnesota, American Muslims for Palestine, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, and Women Against Military Madness, and attended by representatives from many more local organizations.

The protest attracted many in the Palestinian-American community who led the crowd, chanting various slogans:

“Free, Free, Palestine!”
“Viva, Viva, Palestina!”
“Netanyahu you will learn, by the millions we’ll return!”
“One, Two, Three, Four, We don’t want your racist war! Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Israel is a terrorist state!”
“Bi-rrouh, Bi-ddamm, nafdeeki ya Aqsa/بالروح، بالدم، نفديك يا أقسى” (By spirit, by blood, we will free you Jerusalem/Al-Aqsa!)

The protest started at the office of Senator Amy Klobuchar in Minneapolis, and transitioned into an hour-long march blocking the street, circling the block, and then returning to Klobuchar’s office.

During their speeches, the organizers called for, first and foremost, the liberation of Palestine from apartheid. They emphasized the nature of the conflict, that Hamas’ attack on October 7 was not “unprovoked,” but the natural, just, and largely internationally legal response to 75 years of fascist genocide and oppression — 75 years of Nakba, 75 years of murdering Palestinians, stealing their homes, their water, and their land. This aggressive policy of expansion and fascist domination has only continued and increased in recent years, as Palestinians cannot even leave their homes lest an eager settler decides to “discover” it. As the Israeli state squeezes Palestinians out of their dwindling land, it further rations them on fewer and fewer resources, less water and less food, culminating in the total blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The organizers also emphasized the role of the progressive forces in the United States: to pressure the US government and corporations to end military aid to Israel; to pressure local and federal banks to cease funding weapons manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin; to provide aid, especially medical and life-sustaining, to the Palestinian people; and to stay organized and vigilant in squashing Zionist Israeli nationalism on American soil.