Minneapolis, MN — Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited Minneapolis on June 6 to speak at a banquet for the Center of the American Experiment, a right-wing think tank based in the suburb of Golden Valley. Around 100 people initially gathered to protest the visit and by the end of the night 300 protesters were outside the Depot. Five people were arrested for reportedly spray painting the street.
Unicorn Riot heard from a Palestinian organizer during the protest outside the private event and documented event attendees flipping off protesters.
Activists opposed the private event because of Bennett’s past actions in the Israeli government and continued statements against Palestine. Bennett, who served as prime minister for a year during 2021-2022, was born in Haifa, Israel in 1972 to American-Jewish parents who had moved to Israel a month after the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel captured the West Bank, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula, and the Allon Plan was initiated to displace Palestinians from their homelands and build colonial Israeli settlements.
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After becoming a multimillionaire for selling a software company, Bennett transitioned to politics in 2006. For two years Bennett was chair of the Yesha Council, which oversees Zionist settlement projects in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. During this time, he became infamous for leading Zionist Wikipedia editing courses and saying “we want to be the guys who influence what is written there, how it’s written, and ensure that it’s… Zionist in nature.”
Protestors at the Depot criticized Bennett’s response to a 2013 prisoner deal. Acting as Israel’s Minister of Economy, Bennett stated, “If you capture terrorists, you simply have to kill them.” After National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror told him that this is illegal, Bennett replied, “I already killed lots of Arabs in my life, and there is absolutely no problem with that.”
A decade ago, Bennett was called out by the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS) who asked the U.S. and European Union “to impose visa restrictions and to freeze [his] foreign assets.” Launched by Palestinians in 2005, BDS seeks to put pressure on companies and governments around the world that support and profit from Israel’s violation of Palestinians’ rights.
Bennett published an Op-Ed in the New York Times, stating the BDS movement is a “new enemy” of Israel and called activists “enemy soldiers.” During his time as Prime Minister from 2021 to 2022, Bennett increased funding to “fight against BDS” which he called “Jew hatred.”
Sana Wazwaz, the president of the Minnesota chapter of American Muslims for Palestine, was among the organizers of the rally. She expressed how Bennett’s reign is analogous for the ongoing war on Gaza, “His reign as a leader in Israel represents the ruthless tyranny and prosecution of the Palestinian people.”
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Wazwaz said that the goal of the rally was to send a message to the City of Minneapolis, American Experiment, and Bennett, telling Unicorn Riot that “he is not welcome here, and he is not welcome in our city.”
The protest comes amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza that has killed at least 37,337 Palestinians, injured over 85,200 since the surprise attack on Israel by militants that left over 1,100 dead and 8,700 injured.
Israeli Rescue Operation Massacres Hundreds of Palestinians, Top Military and Political Leaders Resign
Sabry Wazwaz, usually seen leading rhythmic chants with a drum, informed people and the on-duty police officers guarding the entrance to the Depot of how the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) trains police the U.S. on restraint techniques “similar to the one against George Floyd’s [neck].”
For decades, Israeli-U.S. police partnerships have grown. A 2018 report entitled Deadly Exchange (pdf) examined the exchange in practices of surveillance, suppression of public protests with force and justifying racial profiling.
Recently retired Anoka County Sheriff James Stuart is among the thousands of law enforcement officers who’ve reportedly been flown into Israel from states like Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Georgia, and Washington. Stuart was the vice-president of the National Sheriffs’ Association (currently the executive director of the Minnesota chapter) and currently on the executive committee for the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) sponsored Stuart’s trip in 2019.
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Sabry Wazwaz protesting outside the Naftali Bennett event.
American Experiment called their dinner gala “a huge success,” that was attended by “more than 600 Minnesotans” and that the “smattering of protesters outside did not diminish the excitement and fun of the event.”
Attendees were seen flipping off the pro-Palestine protesters. In particular, a man with the nametag “Mark Ritter” came out several times to antagonize the crowd. The attendee shouted curse words, as well as “God bless Israel” repeatedly before entering the banquet.
Niko Georgiades and Dan Feidt contributed to this report for Unicorn Riot.
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A United Airlines flight bound for Minneapolis from Chicago was reportedly diverted after an “unruly passenger” tried to breach the cockpit late on Friday.
The FBI and police responded to reports of a security concern with the passenger, who was detained by police at the Dane county regional airport in Madison, Wisconsin.
The flight continued its journey to Minneapolis, landing early on Saturday morning, according to FlightAware data. There were no reported injuries among the 147 passengers and six crew members onboard the flight.
A United spokesperson said flight 2005 “landed safely in Madison … to address a security concern with an unruly passenger”.
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The FBI in Milwaukee said the agency was notified of the flight’s diversion, and its agents, along with local law enforcement, responded to the airport.
“A subject was detained by the [local] sheriff’s office, and afterwards passengers resumed their flight,” an FBI spokesperson said.
In air traffic communications reported by NBC News, personnel onboard the plane could be heard discussing the attempted cockpit breach with ground control.
“I do not believe they ever cuffed him, but they were able to finally get control of him after multiple attempts to try to breach the cockpit,” a member of the crew said. “I believe at this point he is seated in a seat and flanked with law enforcement officers on either side.”
Aircraft hijackings are almost unheard of in the US since the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, when four aircraft were taken over by Islamic extremists, including two that crashed into and destroyed New York’s World Trade Center.
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But between 1968 and 1972, known as hijacking’s so-called golden age, more than 130 US planes were hijacked. Many of those hijackers demanded to be flown to Cuba.
CHICAGO (WLS) — A United Airlines flight that left Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Friday was diverted due to an unruly passenger, officials said.
United flight 2005 from Chicago was headed to Minneapolis but landed in Madison, Wisconsin.
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“United flight 2005 from Chicago to Minneapolis landed safely in Madison, Wisconsin to address a security concern with an unruly passenger,” the airline said in a statement. “The flight is expected to continue to Minneapolis later on Friday.”
An ICE agent facing several assault charges in connection with a January shooting involving two Venezuelan people in Minnesota has been arrested in Texas, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.
Christian Castro was charged earlier this month with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime.
CNN is working to determine whether Castro has an attorney and has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Castro faces those charges in connection with the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man shot in the leg through the front door of a Minneapolis home. The incident took place during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement blitz in the Twin Cities.
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Originally, Sosa-Celis and his cousin Alfredo A. Aljorna were facing federal charges after DHS said they had attacked an agent, prompting him to fire a defensive shot.
But the Justice Department dropped the charges in February, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement said two of its agents, who made false statements about the incident under oath, were placed on administrative leave.
