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Minnesota marks 74th anniversary of Deir Yassin Massacre

By Meredith Aby

Minneapolis marchers at the Deir Yassin memorial.

Minneapolis, MN – 40 people marked the anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre on April 9 at 29th and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. April marks the 74th anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre, in the Palestinian village where in 1948 100 men, women and children were systematically murdered by Israeli commandos. Every year Palestinians across the world mark Deir Yassin and demand the right to return to their homeland. The rally featured speakers from Veterans for Peace, Northfielders for Palestine/Israel, Middle East Peace Now, American Muslims for Palestine, and the MN Anti-War Committee.

After the rally protesters marched to the local Deir Yassin memorial on the Midtown Greenway bike and walking trail where activists with Veterans for Peace Chapter 27 did a bell ringing ceremony.

Autumn Lake, a member of the Anti-War Committee, gave a rousing speech to end the protest, “The legacy of the Deir Yassin massacre is one of continued repression and violence against the people of Palestine, backed and funded by the most powerful country in the world. However, there is another legacy that I want to draw attention to. It is a legacy of resistance. The villagers of Deir Yassin put up a valiant resistance to the militias terrorizing their home, and Palestinians to this day mount valiant resistance both in and outside of Palestine.”

Lake concluded, “Likewise, we in the Anti-War Committee and the anti-war movement more broadly, are proud to share in that legacy of resistance. We are going to keep taking the streets. We’re going to keep taking a stand against the U.S.’s continued political and economic support of a devastatingly brutal apartheid state. We’re going to keep resisting and continue to fight for an end to U.S. aid to Israel. The movement will not stop until all of Palestine is free, from the river to the sea!”

The protest was co-sponsored by Veterans for Peace and the MN Anti-War Committee.

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