Twin Cities communities gather to protest two years of genocide in Gaza, celebrate resistance

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, October 7, protesters from across Minnesota converged outside the federal courthouse to protest Israel’s unceasing bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

About 2000 protesters joined the rally, draped in keffiyehs and flags and raising their voices toward the collective dream of a free Palestine.

The Minnesota Anti-War Committee (AWC) organized the demonstration in collaboration with the local chapters of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) in response to the Anti-War Action Network’s call for a National Day of Action marking two years of genocide.

“Two years ago, I stood before you just one week after October 7, 2023,” said AWC member Yossi Aharoni from the bed of the pickup truck serving as a podium. “Israel had already begun its indiscriminate bombing campaign, dropping over 7000 bombs in seven days [and] killing over 700 children while its leaders openly stated that they would cut off all food, water and energy to Gaza.”

“Today,” Aharoni said, “I stand before you in disbelief, two years into an ongoing holocaust. 730 days of blood and death. Israel is attempting to employ its final solution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and forced starvation.” Aharoni framed the resistance and resilience of the Palestinian people as the movement’s compass, declaring, “When I see the people of Gaza, I see their hope, I see their faith, their resilience, their ingenuity. I see an unbreakable spirit of sheer will and determination to resist their own extermination. The people of Palestine will never stop resisting.”

To a crowd carrying signs and handmade poppies, Dr. Christine Harb of the USPCN criticized the Western states that have recognized Palestinian statehood symbolically without undertaking the material action necessary to protect and realize Palestinian statehood.

“We will not exchange our homeland for artificial sovereignty in a ghettoized state,” Harb said. In contrast to the “support” of states like France and the United Kingdom, Harb celebrated principled resistance work, from the “Italians [who shut] down their economy to protect the Global Sumud Flotilla” to Yemen’s military intervention, “doing what every country should do to put an end to this genocide,” to “the resistance in Gaza, still fighting despite two years of constant bombardment, mass starvation and unimaginable death.”

In the final speech of the rally portion, Meredith Aby of the AWC declared, “I want to end here today by reminding us that we will see a free Palestine. Israel is a country living on stolen land and borrowed time. When I went to Palestine in 2002, I saw firsthand a people [who] will not give up their righteous demand for national liberation. We are here in the belly of the beast to do our part to challenge U.S. imperialism, but the real heroes are the Palestinian people who refuse to leave their homes, refuse to give up the right of return, who refuse to be negotiated for, talked over, imprisoned, or starved.”

As cries of support rang out from the crowd, Aby encouraged the crowd to transmute their grief and rage into the energy necessary to continue fighting for a free Palestine.

With the guidance of a well-coordinated team of marshals from many local organizations, the protesters marched toward Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office to call out her complicity in genocide. Klobuchar has regularly voted in favor of war, in Palestine and elsewhere, throughout her tenure as a senator. Upon reaching Senator Klobuchar’s office, New Arab American Theater Works’ Yalla Drum ensemble performed a composition that celebrated Palestinian musicians’ resilience.

Families, labor organizers, religious leaders and college students all joined the march as the sun began to dip below the skyline. The crowd held large handmade signs that spelled out the words “Fight 4 Gaza,” which were illuminated by lightbulbs so they could be read after sunset.

Protesters departed the march feeling energized and indebted to the resistance of the Palestinian people.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine