Minneapolis condemns Sen. Klobuchar's support for genocide

Minneapolis, MN – On July 29, over 150 protesters gathered outside U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s new office in downtown Minneapolis. The event was called by Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, in response to Israel’s manufactured famine imposed on Gaza, and to call out Klobuchar’s complicity in this starvation campaign.

Nadiyah Salawdeh, a member of United States Palestinian Community Network Minnesota, spoke about the mass starvation in Gaza, as well as the horrific actions taken by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

“The U.S. and Israel designed a famine meant to starve people to death and to make them desperate enough to go to their own deaths for scraps of food,” stated Salawdeh. “For months, we’ve been seeing people argue that they need to block UN aid because Hamas was going to steal it. There was never any evidence of this and, in fact, Palestinians in Gaza were telling us that it wasn’t happening.”

Maysoon Wazwaz, a volunteer for American Muslims for Palestine Minnesota, spoke of a viral video where a little girl in Gaza is asking why there isn’t any food for her to eat.

“She was saying to her dad ‘Why don’t we get aid?’” said Wazwaz. “And the dad replies ‘Because we can’t; they’re going to shoot us.’ And she says a three letter word that shook everyone to their core: ‘Why?’ How do you tell a little girl, who barely understands the difference between certain animal groups, between colors, shapes and letters, that you are a demographic threat, all because you are Palestinian?”

Klobuchar has repeatedly voted to continue U.S. funding for Israel’s genocide. On July 24, 2024, when Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, addressed a joint session of Congress, she can be seen in the front row giving a standing ovation. As late as July 9, a group of 14 senators, both Democratic and Republican, posed for a photo-op with Netanyahu, and Klobuchar was included in this exclusive meeting.

Netanyahu has been charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including using starvation as a weapon of war.

Mike Madden, a member of Veterans for Peace, stated, “By providing offensive weapons to Israel, blocking UN Security Council Resolutions intended to restrain Israel, and hosting rather than arresting the criminally indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the United States is itself complicit in genocide.”

To conclude the demonstration, participants created a display made of empty pots and pans, signifying the empty stomachs of the people of Gaza, just outside of Klobuchar’s office.

Andrew Josefchak, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, told the crowd, “Our politicians, who for two years have run cover for the genocide, are beginning to think about how history will view their inaction. Klobuchar, who until now has voted in favor of every single arms package to Israel, just yesterday felt compelled to vote yes on a bill that would halt all arms shipments to Israel. To be clear, this wasn’t out of any moral clarity, but a way to pretend that she has always been on the right side of history. Our politicians are feeling the heat, but we have to keep up the momentum.”

The Anti-War Committee has campaigned to demand that Minnesota divest its tax dollars from companies that have facilitated this genocide.

“Every single person in Gaza is deserving of life and dignity and liberation” continued Nadiyah Salawdeh. “We will remember all of those that we have lost, all of our martyrs. We will also remember the names of all of the people who stayed silent until now, all of the people who are still silent just as much as we will remember the war criminals who were allowed to carry out a genocide because of their silence. When Palestine is free, we will never let them forget what they did. They will all be held accountable for their part in this genocide.”

Speakers at the protest represented grass-roots organizations including the Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Veterans for Peace (VFP), Healthcare Workers for Palestine (HCW4P), Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), and Food Justice Minnesota.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #MNAWC

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/minneapolis-condemns-sen-klobuchars-support-for-genocide?pk_campaign=rss-feed