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Chicago, IL – Chanting, “Hands off Syria! No new wars!” a rally of 600 people gathered in Federal Plaza on Sept. 7 to demand that Congress vote no on U.S. military intervention. The Anti-War Committee-Chicago called the event, joined by the ANSWER Coalition of Chicago and the Syrian American Forum. The crowd also heard passionate speakers from U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Iraq Veterans Against the War, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2858 and the American Friends Service Committee.

Congress has not voted on military intervention, but a resolution supporting war passed in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While the Obama administration drums up military momentum, a wave of anti-war rallies is sweeping the country and the world, with mass protests in New York, Washington D.C., London and Tunis.

Since April, the Anti-War Committee-Chicago has been mobilizing against American intervention, organizing downtown demonstrations with the patriotic activists of the Syrian American Forum (SAF). Speaking as a member of SAF, Kousay Ahmad emphasized, “the solution to this conflict must be Syrian – by Syrians for Syria.”

As Federal Plaza filled with chanting people, unions took up the cry of “Money for jobs – not for war!” Elijah Edwards from AFSCME Local 2858 denounced the cutbacks in community healthcare, saying, “Instead of using taxes to support the services of the people, the government is using them to support war.”

Zakiah Muhammad, a long-time community organizer against police brutality, decried the hypocrisy of the Obama administration. “We haven’t forgotten when our government dropped Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people,” she said, calling this action “chemical warfare.”

Alejandro Villatoro brought a moment of moving reflection to the crowd as he remembered how, as a young soldier, he supported the war in Iraq. He realized he had been lied to about the pretext for invasion when, “we didn’t find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.”

Syrian Americans came out in full force to oppose the war. Family members young and old joined in, waving flags and carrying banners, as the Syrian contingent led the protesters on a march through Chicago’s busy shopping district. The lively marchers took the street for a period, until they were blocked by the police and forced to continue on the sidewalks. The rally regrouped outside the Chicago Tribune building as speakers condemned the newspaper’s pro-intervention editorials.

Chicago’s anti-war movement sent a clear message to Congress, Sept. 7: The American people are overwhelmingly against an attack on Syria and will keep up the pressure for Congress to vote no.

Jacksonville, FL – More than 130 protesters, including more than 70 Syrian Americans, gathered in Jacksonville’s Memorial Park and marched on Congressman Ander Crenshaw’s office to demand “Hands off Syria” on Sept. 7. Organized by Jacksonville Against the War on Syria (JAWS), the protest demanded that Crenshaw and Congresswoman Corrine Brown vote no on authorization for President Barack Obama’s proposed military strike on Syria.

Members of the Syrian American Forum, Veterans for Peace, the North Florida Central Labor Council, Occupy Jacksonville, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the New Jim Crow Movement, the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition and Gainesville Students for a Democratic Society attended the rally, along with many concerned residents from the Jacksonville community.

“I am against any intervention because, first of all we will be defending, arming and fighting alongside al-Qaeda – the same al-Qaeda we have supposedly been fighting against in other countries,” said Angela Abdulnour, a student at University of North Florida. “Second of all, the U.S. should spend the billions this attack would cost at home where it is more needed. It’s important to rally and have our voice heard because if we don’t, we will be allowing our leaders to make decisions that are only in their own interests and not in the interests of the American people and the Syrian people.”

The rally started midday at Memorial Park, in the Riverside neighborhood. Carrying Syrian flags and rally signs reading, “No authorization for war on Syria,” the energetic crowd listened to a diverse stack of speakers who talked about the negative effects of U.S. war on the Middle East.

“Are we spending money on education in Syria?” asked Wells Todd, an organizer with the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition and a Vietnam-era veteran. “Are we spending money on health care for Syrians? No! We’re spending money to kill Syrian men, women and children, just like we did in Iraq.”

Protesters carried Syrian flags, some with pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and a group of Syrian American students from University of North Florida wore shirts with Assad’s image. Loud chants of “Hands off Syria!” and “We want peace! U.S. out of the Middle East,” energized the rally as protesters set out on the quarter-mile walk to Crenshaw’s office.

When the protesters reached Crenshaw’s office, which was located in a dentist’s building, they gathered around the glass door entrance. With no one from Crenshaw’s office present to hear the demands, people began taping their signs to the doors and windows. JAWS organizers passed out small cards reading, “I do not support President Obama’s strike on Syria. Neither should you, Rep. Crenshaw,” which each person signed and taped to the door. One sign featured red hand prints, symbolizing the blood on Congress’ hands if they approve Obama’s strike on Syria. Within minutes, rally signs and signature cards covered the entire entrance.

The protesters then marched to Five-Points, an intersection of five streets in the heart of Riverside. Within minutes, they covered all five corners of the street block, and four people climbed onto the center stoplight to hang banners and the Syrian flag. They chanted, “Obama, it’s not your business,” and “U-S-A, stay away!”

Dozens of cars drove by and honked and a few stopped to shout their support from the car. Customers at nearby restaurants came outside to see the rally and voice their support, with about 15 new people joining the protest.

When the police showed up, the protesters refused to back down and continued chanting at the street corners.

After more than 30 minutes at Five-Points, the protest marched back to Memorial Park and heard several other speakers. George Samara of the Syrian American Forum talked about traveling on Sept. 9 to Washington D.C. to protest the proposed military strike.

Many protesters voiced cautious optimism that Congress would not authorize Obama’s proposal. “If Obama is saying he wants to attack and has the authority to attack even without the support of the Congress, wouldn’t he be a dictator?” asked Abdulnour.

JAWS also announced a statewide call-in day to Senator Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio demanding no authorization for war on Syria, in conjunction with the Miami-based People’s Opposition to War, Imperialism and Racism (POWIR).

Tampa, FL – As President Obama seeks approval from Congress to attack Syria, protests have been spurring up all over the country. Over 150 protesters gathered in Tampa to demand “U.S. hands off Syria.” Protesters gathered at an intersection, Sept. 7, chanting and waving signs while motorists honked in support. This protest had grown in size from last week, with many more Syrian Americans attending.

Different organizations came out, including the Friends of the Syrian American Forum, St. Pete for Peace, Students for a Democratic Society, Veterans for Peace and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

For several hours the protesters chanted in both English and in Arabic, while waving signs and Syrian flags. Towards the end of the protest, a protester called the office of Florida Senator Bill Nelson, a pro-war Democrat. The entire protest was put on speaker-phone and then recorded a message to the Senator – “Hands off Syria!”

At the end of the rally Matt Hastings of Students for a Democratic Society said, “We hear the U.S. government tell lies about WMDs, but we know that it is, in fact, the U.S. government that has and uses weapons of mass destruction. It was the U.S. who dropped nuclear bombs on civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, dropped depleted uranium bombs in Yugoslavia and used napalm to terrorize in Vietnam. Under Obama’s presidency, the U.S. has used drone strikes to terrorize and cause mass destruction in numerous countries. This must come to an end.”

Currently President Obama wants congressional approval to attack Syria. Students for a Democratic Society in Tampa are planning to protest Florida Senator Bill Nelson. Since day one, Nelson has been one of the biggest war hawks, urging the Democratic Party to back military action against Syria. Protesters plan to come back to the intersection with more people to hold a presence.