November 2022

Dear Supporters,

2022 has been a busy year for the Anti-War Committee. We’ve led protests against US intervention across the globe, including in Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, Ukraine, and Venezuela.  We have maintained our focus on Palestinian freedom and have stood in solidarity with the Minneapolis educators’ strike, the movement for Black lives, and with the movement for women’s and reproductive rights.

Free Palestine!

We have continued to center Palestinian freedom as our main campaign. We have worked alongside local groups like American Muslims for Palestine and Students for Justice in Palestine to organize street demonstrations, marches, and educational events, such as our yearly Nakba Day protest, which drew hundreds to take the streets in Uptown Minneapolis on May 14th. We have begun a concerted campaign to pressure Minnesota’s State Board of Investment (SBI) to divest from its extensive holdings in Israeli government bonds, Israeli weapons companies, and Israeli banks that fund the expropriation of Palestinian land and the construction of illegal Israeli settlements. We have held rallies to raise awareness of Minnesota’s financial investment in apartheid, begun attending SBI meetings to voice our demands, and presented the State of Minnesota with the signatures of thousands of constituents who demand an immediate end to the financing of occupation and apartheid.

No US Proxy War with Russia in Ukraine!

Minneapolis has had the largest anti-war protests nationally during this year to protest the US efforts to fan the flames of nuclear war.  We organized these protests with the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition to call for the US to support negotiations, to disband NATO, and to stop sending weapons to Ukraine. In the spring and summer we passed out hundreds of copies of a magazine we wrote in order to educate people about the militaristic role of NATO, the racism of US refugee policy, and the catastrophic potential of a war between the US and Russia. We know from past examples in Afghanistan and Libya the dangers of the US using “human rights” as a pretext for NATO intervention and will continue to call for the US to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine. We maintain that the surest way to bring peace and stability to the Ukrainian people, involving the least loss of Ukrainian lives, is negotiation, not an escalation of the war. 

Hands off Venezuela!

We have been proud to continue our Venezuela solidarity work this year by hosting Dozthor Zurlent, a longtime activist, journalist, author, political advisor, and anti-imperialist this fall. Zurlent traveled from his home in Caracas to meet with the Anti-War Committee and speak at a Q&A seminar, where he educated Minnesotans about the real struggles going on in Venezuela today, the impact of US imperialism on his country, and what we can do to help.

Money for Human Needs, Not for War!

As parents, educators, union members, and community members we find it outrageous that the US continues to conduct “humanitarian interventions” around the world while our rights are infringed at home. We were proud to participate in the Minneapolis Teachers’ Strike last spring.  We walked the picket line, brought coffee, and went to rallies to demand better working conditions and teachers for educators.  We have also been proud to increase our involvement in the fight for reproductive rights by participating in the founding of the Minnesota Abortion Action Coalition, a grassroots group that demands increased abortion access in Minnesota and an end to the public funding of so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” fraudulent anti-abortion institutions masquerading as reproductive healthcare centers. You can follow this new coalition on social media at @MN_AAC.

Your Continued Support has an Impact

The Anti-War Committee is a grassroots, entirely volunteer-run organization, and your tax-deductible donation will go wholly towards our local effort to build the peace movement. We would not be able to do the work we do without your support. You can mail your contribution to us at 4200 Cedar Ave. S. #4, Minneapolis, MN 55407 or you can donate online here.  Thank you for your continued support!

Peace with justice,

Anti-War Committee