Board meeting erupts in protest after St. Paul extends contract with Israeli cybersecurity company

St. Paul, MN – The Saint Paul Board of Water Commissioners, which governs the public water utility for the city and surrounding suburbs, voted on July 14 to renew Israeli tech company Waterfall Security Solutions’ contract for five years, after an hours-long public hearing. The chamber was full of people prepared to testify in what Chris Tolbert, the water board’s president, called the most well-attended meeting in the board’s history.

Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) mobilized for the meeting, and over 50 people turned up to give testimony against the contract renewal. WAMM has been organizing for over a year to oppose the Waterfall contract with call-in campaigns, petition drives and regular attendance with pro-Palestine signs at Board of Water Commissioners meetings.

WAMM opposes the Saint Paul Water Board’s contract with Waterfall because it works hand in hand with the Israeli military. The long-running Twin Cities anti-war group believes public tax dollars shouldn’t be used to do business with a company complicit in and enabling Israeli apartheid.

Zionists also showed up to pressure for the contract’s renewal. They held signs like “BDS is a special kind of hate,” “Don’t play politics with our water” and “Gaza is not a genocide.” Many pro-Waterfall speakers conflated Judaism with Zionism and claimed that canceling Waterfall’s contract would be antisemitic.

Debra Larson, a WAMM member, addressed the Board of Water Commissioners and delivered petitions. She looked at the side of the room where the Zionists were sitting and said, “They may have a few people who are pro-genocide, but these are all people who are against genocide. I also have a picture of a child who was recently killed. And I think people need to realize the reality of the murder of hundreds of thousands of children.”

After the public testimony, board members were allowed to comment. Nelsie Yang, board vice president and Saint Paul City Council member, tried to amend the Waterfall proposal to be for two years instead of five, so that the board would revisit the contract sooner. Yang, however, failed to receive a second for her amendment, so it failed.

After the contract was approved for another five years, ten protesters led chants, marched through city hall and then refused to leave the Saint Paul City Hall offices. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department was called, and deputies roughly forced the protesters out of the office into the elevator and then pushed them out of the building.

Trish Kanous, a member of WAMM stated, “This setback won’t stop us. As we determine our next steps, anyone, any agency, or institution that supports the genocide of the Palestinian people will be on our radar. We will continue the fight.”

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