Minneapolis, MN – On December 20, about 50 people protested in Peavey Plaza outside of Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis to show solidarity with Palestine, despite the 13-degree temperature outside.

The central focus of the protest was to call attention to the fact that there can be no real peace on earth during the holidays while Bethlehem, a Palestinian city in the West Bank and the birthplace of Jesus, along with the rest of Palestine continues to be under attack by Israel. MN Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) holds an annual holiday-themed protest and this year’s protest was organized to be at the plaza in conjunction with the ending of the Minnesota Orchestra’s performance of The Nutcracker.

Andrew Josefchak, an organizer with the MN Anti-War Committee explained, “We’re all out here today because after two years of ongoing genocide in Gaza, Israel has not stopped its massacres. Despite a ceasefire agreement, the bombs keep falling. 379 Palestinians have been killed and almost a thousand injured since that ceasefire went into effect, according to the UN. The same UN that just approved a deal that effectively aims to turn Gaza into a U.S. colony presided over by Donald Trump. Israeli settlers are becoming more and more brazen and violent in the West Bank, destroying homes and farms, while Israeli police raid Bethlehem.”

Josefchak’s speech reflected on the movement’s victories for this year, “The fact is that Israel’s situation, and the fight for Palestinian liberation, have fundamentally been transformed. Never again will Israel be seen by anyone with a brain as the so-called ‘only democracy in the Middle East.’ It will never again even be seen as a normal country. People around the world now are aware of what Israel really is, which is an apartheid state, a Jim Crow state, a state that lives off of the blood of Palestinians who are massacred for their land or exploited for their labor.”

Many families leaving the performance thanked the protesters for being there and gave peace signs as they left Orchestra Hall to go to their cars. The protest also had singing throughout the program led by members of the Ceasefire Choir, which called for Palestinian liberation to the tunes of traditional Christmas carols.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #MPAC #MAWC

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