Minnesotans rally against U.S. aid to Israel at Northrup Grumman

Plymouth, MN – On May 27, Minnesotans protested at Northrup Grumman, the fifth largest arms-producing and military services company in the world, to draw attention to their manufacturing and selling of the Longbow system for Apache AH64D helicopters which is used by the Israeli military to attack Gaza. In this month’s 11-day assault on Gaza the Israeli military killed nearly 250 Palestinians, including 66 children. The protest was the fifth Palestine solidarity protest in the Twin Cities area in the past three weeks.

Andrew Josefchak of the Anti-War Committee, explained the role of U.S. weapons to the crowd of 50 people standing outside Northrup Grumman in the rain, stating, “Of the $3.8 billion we send to Israel every year most of that is military aid. And that military aid has a condition – it has to be spent on weapons made here in the U.S, many of them made right here at Northrup Grumman. It’s like the government is sending a Northrup Grumman gift card, and Israel can only spend it in one place. So, our government is working hand-in-glove with these weapons manufacturers; our tax dollars are being funneled directly to the people in this facility here, which produces Hellfire missiles which are used to conduct air strikes on Gaza.”

Speakers represented activist groups like Women Against Military Madness, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Council on American Islamic Relations and faith leaders representing Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam.

At the end of the action the names of children killed in Gaza this month were read out loud and a prayer was given in Arabic and English for the children.

A coalition of local groups including American Muslims for Palestine, Anti-War Committee, If Not Now, and Jewish Voice for Peace organized the action.