Three separate actions were held in various parts of New York City over the weekend opposing Trump’s criminal war aggressions against Iran. On the evening of January 3rd, activists with the Democratic Socialists of America gathered in Brooklyn at Prospect Park, voicing their objections to the war. The next morning, activists from Veterans For Peace, Brooklyn for Peace, US Labor Against the War, CODEPINK, the New York State Communist Party, and others rallied together in Times Square, and marched down to Herald Square where they conducted a speak out in front of the Macy’s building. One young Argentinian activist spoke about how memories of the US-backed military regime in the country of her origin, which murdered countless leftists in the 1970s, including members of her own family, have left many traumatized and in fear of participating in working class and democratic struggles. Bronx Assemblymember Michael Blake also spoke about how the ruling class in the United States uses poor, working class, Black and brown youth to fight wars that profit the rich.

Later that afternoon, various groups organized in support of Bernie Sanders called for a community gathering event at Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights, Queens, where a diverse group of working class community members came together to give speeches, chant and sing, and devote themselves to a struggle against the war. Tiffany Caban, a recent candidate for District Attorney in Queens, spoke about the need to call attention to the impact of war on people’s lives and people’s bodies. State Senator Jessica Ramos was present as well. Members of the New York State Communist Party led in a chant saying, “Tax the Rich, House the Poor, Money for Jobs, not War!” and handed out fliers encouraging attendees to participate in the Move the Money campaign, a broad coalition of Labor, racial justice, environmental, and women’s organizations working to pass a resolution in the NYC Council calling on the federal government to cut the military budget and fund community needs. Actions against a war on Iran were also held in various other parts of New York State, including Syracuse, Buffalo, and elsewhere.

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