Dozens of people gathered in downtown Detroit on Easter Sunday to protest U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and Israel’s recent invasion into Lebanon.
More than 65 protesters stood outside Detroit’s city hall on Sunday afternoon, April 5, hoisting anti-war banners and signs to passing vehicles on Jefferson Avenue and chanting slogans critical of President Donald Trump and the Israeli government. Several also carried the flags of Palestine, Iran and Lebanon.
“No troops on the ground, no bombs in the area, U.S. out of everywhere,” was one chant.
“Trump wants war, Trump wants oil, hands off Iranian soil,” was another.
The protest was said to be organized by the Detroit Anti-War Committee, with support from groups including Engineers Against Apartheid and the Freedom Road Socialist organization. There were no counter-protesters, and passing motorists occasionally honked their horns in apparent support.
One of the organizers, Jackson Robak, 26, of Detroit, said they had two primary demands: an end to the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran and divestment by the city of Detroit from defense contractors — “war profiteers” — as well as those who do business with the Israeli government.
”We see that Trump is losing,” Robak said. “We see that Americans don’t want their sons and daughters to die in this war as they talk about a ground invasion.”
The U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran on Feb. 28 and more than 1 million civilians in Lebanon have reportedly been displaced since early March when fighting intensified between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dozens gather in Detroit to protest U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran
Reporting by JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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