Anti-War and Militarism News

Hundreds of Bay Area residents attended an emergency protest in San Francisco organized in response to Israel's assassination of six journalists in Gaza. Israel killed four Al Jazeera staff in a targeted airstrike on August 10: correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal. Two freelancers who worked with Al Jazeera, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammad al-Khaldi, were also killed.

On July 30, San Francisco's Two Embarcadero Center building reverberated with the din of clanging pots and pans as protesters marched through the halls of the bottom floor and called out the Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) for its complicity in the Palestinian genocide. They drew an image of a starving child and "bloody" hand prints on the ground in front of the building, driving home the point. A return demonstration at BCG was held on August 9.

On July 25, the Northern California office of U.S. Senator Alex Padilla in San Francisco was the scene of a large and exceptionally noisy protest as hundreds of activists armed with pots and pans called attention to the ongoing genocide and the starving of the people in Gaza. After a rally and chalking of the sidewalk outside the building, protesters marched to join an ongoing action at the offices of BlackRock.

Demonstrators in Palo Alto blockaded the offices of data company Palantir on June 26, and returned for a similar action on July 14, demanding the company stop building surveillance systems for ICE and working with the Israeli government. Actions took place in Palo Alto frequently in the years 2016 to 2020, before Palantir moved its headquarters to Denver. Demonstrations have started up at the remaining Palo Alto office in earnest again.

Protesters in the San Francisco Bay Area mustered a half dozen demonstrations during a nationwide weekend of actions organized by the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement.  Chevron is a major economic partner of the Israeli government and fuels Israeli apartheid and war crimes. Demonstrators said that just as in the case of South Africa, international boycotts will be an important tool to bring justice for Palestinians. 

For over a decade the Anti Police-Terror Project has called for a week of action and a mass march on MLK Day to reclaim the revolutionary spirit of Dr. King. Towards the end of King's short life he had moved towards a politic rooted in Black liberation and freedom, while vociferously rejecting war, capitalism, and white supremacy. On January 20, people will fill the streets of Oakland to Reclaim King's Radical Legacy for the 11th year in a row.

"The Heart of Gaza" is a photo exhibition featuring the work of Ahmed Younis, a photojournalist in Gaza who's been documenting life during the ongoing aggression. Since Oct 2023, Ahmed has been risking his life on a daily basis to document the atrocities being committed against the people of Gaza, and show the world their experiences. Ahmed's photos will be on display through April at Shawarmaji restaurant in Oakland.

Casey Support Committee writes, "Casey is a dedicated community educator, writer, distroist, and printer who has committed their life to struggles for liberation. A federal investigation by the FBI and several other law enforcement agencies resulted in Casey’s arrest for alleged politically motivated 'crimes.' Since June 17 2024, Casey has been incarcerated at Santa Rita Jail facing federal felonies that could result in up to 20 years of imprisonment."