report on the rally
This Tuesday, on May 7, almost 70 folks braved yet another cold and windy Duluth evening to turn out in protest. This time they turned out to protest the brutal Israeli military offensive being waged against the Palestinian people.
links to sponsoring organizations of the Palestine Solidarity Rally Committee:
Students Against War
Duluth Area Green Party
Lake Superior Socialist Action
Youth for Socialist Action
links to sites with lots of information on the Palestinian struggle:
Al Awda - the Palestine Refugee Right to Return Coalition
Palestine Alternative Information Center
The event was titled �Palestine Solidarity Rally� and it was held under the slogans of �Stop All U.S. Aid to Israel Now!� and �Self-Determination for the Palestinians!� Banners and placards held by protesters were emblazed with �Free Palestine!� and �Justice for the Palestinians!� and the chant that went up was �No Return, No Justice, No Justice, No Peace!�
The rally was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Rally Committee, which was a coalition effort between Students Against War, Youth for Socialist Action and the Duluth Area Green Party. For more info on the committee you can check out their website at
Several speakers addressed the crowd, among them was Zakia, who is a Palestinian-American living in northern Minnesota. She told of how Israel has stripped her of her citizenship and banned her from returning to her homeland. Also speaking was Rick Tenold of Students Against War & Amnesty International, Rob Welsh of Socialist Action and Joel Sipress of the Green Party. Joel, who is a Jewish-American, urged people to remember the tragedy of the holocaust and to commit to �never again� allow such violence to occur, be it by Israel or anyone else.
Many of the speakers focused on the role that U.S. imperialism plays in backing up Israel, and why it�s so important to demand that the U.S. end all aid to that country. They explained why it�s important to fight against not only Israel�s war on the Palestinians, but also against the U.S.�s so called war on terrorism, which are very much connected. It was also pointed out that a crucial part of the struggle against capitalism takes place at home here in the U.S., and that�s it�s very important to support struggles by workers here in the U.S. against their bosses. The ongoing struggle of Duluth�s hotel workers to get a union was used as an example.
This event was the first explicitly pro-Palestinian rally to ever take place in Duluth, MN. As a result, unfortunately, a lot of controversy surrounded the rally, as many people on both the left and the right took the position that the Palestinian cause was unworthy of support. Despite much talk of a right-wing pro-Israeli counter-rally, it failed to materialize on the day of the event. The fact that the rally went on, in spite of the opposition to it, was a powerful testament to the growing support that the Palestinians have among workers and young people in this country. This support comes in spite of the biased media coverage and the controversy that the Israeli/Palestinian struggle is often cast in, controversy which seeks to incorrectly suggest that the Palestinians are just as responsible, if not more so for the violence that is occurring.
Following up on the connection made between the Israeli war on the Palestinians and the U.S. war on Afghanistan, organizers of the event urged folks to turn out again on Juneteenth (June 19) in Duluth for a march against war & racism. For info on this upcoming event you can contact Students Against War at (715) 394-6660 or by checking out their website at
by Adam Ritscher
