Good turn out for Iran Peace rally July 9th, made National News

[annm4peace]

Several local news channels were there and interview people there but I didn't see anything on TV.

** a group of MiddleEast journalist happened to be traveling with a State Depart Official and were touring the State Capitol. To their surprise here was this rally in support of no sanctions or attack on Iran. The Middle East Journalist interviewed a Veteran who also happened to be Jewish and spoke at the rally. He gave a very passionate speech of being Jewish and American and firmly opposed America or Israel from attacking Iran. (see the article below) He is firmly against AIPAC and it's influence over elected officials.

I was told there were about at least 5 news coverage from other media that the group knows of.

Here was one from City Pages blog site: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/07/antiwar_protest.php


.... More than 100 peace activists—by and large conventional-looking, older folks—assembled today on the south steps of the State Capitol Building to hear clergymen and civic leaders wax-critical on the Iraqn War.

Starting at noon, a dozen speakers took the podium one-by-one, including Pam Costain (director of the Minneapolis School Board), Roxanne Abbas (co-chair of Women Against Military Madness), and Isaiah Ellison (son of Rep. Keith Ellison), who read an address penned by his father.

Nearly every speaker focused on the Bush administration’s saber rattling with regards to Iran. More specifically, they lambasted Senate Resolution 580, which calls for sanctions and a naval blockade against Iran— acts that would almost certainly be construed as a declaration of war.

“We need to realize that AIPAC does not reflect the peace sentiment of the Israeli people, nor does it reflect the peace sentiment of the Jewish community,” Veterans for Peace member Andy Berman, himself Jewish, told the crowd.

..... Perhaps the biggest name on the bill was Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, who lost his bid for the DFL senate endorsement to Al Franken last month. The academic-turned-politician blasted America’s post-9/11 foreign policy in no uncertain terms.

“ is moving forward because the Military-Industrial Complex benefits from war and because oil companies benefit from high prices,” he said to scattered applause. “There’s an effort to lead us to another unjust and unnecessary war and the people of Minnesota must say, ‘No!’ ”

Activists disappointed at Klobuchar’s support of Resolution 580 plan to stage a rally outside her Minneapolis office (1200 S Washington Ave.) Friday, Aug. 1 around noonish.
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from Afterdowningstreet.org

Minnesota for Peace
Submitted by davidswanson on Wed, 2008-07-09 22:59. Media
By Jay Kvale, Hopkins, Minnesota, Twin Cities Campaign for Peace

Today (July 9) a press conference was held at the state capitol in St. Paul to put Minnesota political and religious leaders on public record opposing a U.S. military attack on Iran.

About 150 people attended and heard speakers including Iranian-American Dr. Omid Mohseni, Andy Berman (Veterans for Peace), Pam Costain (Minneapolis School Board head), state rep Alice Hausman, Rev. Gwin Pratt, and former Senate candidate Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer describe the folly of such an attack, the terrible human toll it would exact, the need for citizens to act since our leaders in Washington are failing us, and the decline of our country due to misguided policies of military empire.