Resist!
Strategic direct action and civil disobedience such as strikes, sit-ins and occupations can expose injustice, slow down or stop harmful practices and win specific demands. Below is an archive of articles covering resistance groups in the United States and internationally. If you are inspired by a campaign, perhaps you will join or support it. If you like the tactics being used, you can adapt them for your own struggle. Check out our Resources Page for links to tools that may be helpful in your resistance.
This morning, the House Ways and Means Committee passed their tax bill granting the Secretary of Treasury the ability to accuse any nonprofit of being a “terrorist supporting organization” without basic due process. Defending Rights & Dissent joined over 200 organizations on the following statement condemning the provision:
“Charities that feed the hungry, churches and faith communities that comfort the grieving, veterans’ groups that care for our heroes, and countless other service providing organizations are at risk today because of this legislation.
“Nonprofits are on the front lines of meeting every community need. Instead of supporting those who serve our neighbors, this bill would hand any president’s administration the power to cast them as potential enemies of the state if they happen to disagree with their political agenda.
Indiana State Officials Sued For Blocking Media Access To Executions
May 18, 2025
Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter.
Resist!
Criminal Justice and Prisons, Executions, Indiana, Journalism, Media, Press Freedom
The state of Indiana has a law that blocks journalists from observing executions at the Indiana State Prison. But on May 5, a coalition of media organizations filed a federal lawsuit that seeks to overturn the law as unconstitutional.
In the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) sued Indiana state prison officials on behalf of the Associated Press, Gannett, the Indiana Capital Chronicle, TEGNA, and WISH-TV.
“Indiana’s total prohibition on access for the press to attend and witness executions is an outlier among death penalty states and the federal government and severely limits the ability of reporters and news organizations, including Plaintiffs, to exercise their First Amendment rights,” the lawsuit declares.
Panama’s Indigenous And Civil Movements Under Siege
May 17, 2025
John Ahni Shertow, Intercontinental Cry.
Resist!
Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Panama, Public Services, State Repression
A wave of protests across Panama has led to the widespread use of chemical agents, and growing calls for international oversight.
The catalyst is Law 462, a recent reform to the country’s Social Security Fund. The government says the law is necessary to fix a system under financial strain. But many Panamanians see it as a threat to healthcare access and economic security—especially for workers, students, and Indigenous communities.
Protesters have been organizing for weeks with teachers, unions, students, and Indigenous peoples forming a broad coalition. They argue Law 462 reflects a deeper pattern of cuts to public services and the erosion of democratic rights.
Arsenal FC Face Legal Action For Firing Staff Over Pro-Palestine Posts
May 17, 2025
Hamsa Yusuf, Mondoweiss.
Resist!
Palestine, Retaliation, Solidarity, United Kingdom (UK), Worker Rights
Arsenal Football Club is facing legal action after sacking long-serving kit-man Mark Bonnick after he expressed solidarity with Palestine on social media.
With assistance from the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC), 61-year-old Bonnick has filed a legal claim for unfair dismissal. A lifelong Arsenal supporter, he had officially worked at the club for 12 years, and an additional 10 years as a contractor, amounting to 22 years of service, before being abruptly sacked on Christmas Eve 2024.
His dismissal followed a coordinated online smear campaign by pro-Israel Twitter accounts that accused him of antisemitism for posts opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Mark’s dismissal is part of a wider crackdown on lawful political expression and a disturbing pattern of political purges in the workplace.
Strike Halts New Jersey Transit
May 17, 2025
Joe DeManuelle-Hall, Labor Notes.
Resist!
New Jersey (NJ), Strikes, Transportation, Unions, Worker Rights
Four hundred and fifty train engineers at New Jersey Transit walked off the job overnight, after years of fruitless negotiations with their employer.
These workers drive the state-run commuter trains that serve 350,000 daily riders in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. As of late Thursday night, NJT train service was completely shut down. The transit system is running additional buses as an alternative, but it’s extremely unlikely that they can make up the difference.
“I take pride in what I do,” said one longtime engineer on the picket line, who didn’t want to give his name for fear of retaliation. “It gives me great joy taking my commuters to and from work every day.
REI Members Reject All Three Board Candidates In Election
May 17, 2025
Alice Toomer-Mcalpine, Co-operative News.
Resist!
Cooperatives, Democracy, REI, Worker Rights
Members of US outdoor retail co-op REI have voted to reject board candidates following a worker-led campaign. The election result was announced yesterday at REI’s online annual member’s meeting.
The three candidates, made up of two incumbents up for re-election and one new director, had been selected by REI’s existing board, and were running unopposed, meaning members were given the choice to vote either for or against the candidates.
A campaign led by the REI union had encouraged members to vote ‘no’ to the co-op’s slate of candidates, after REI refused to include two union-backed candidates on the original election ballot, despite the nominees receiving over 10,000 signatures of support.
Swedish Dockworkers’ Union Leader Sacked For Gaza Solidarity Action
May 16, 2025
Arthur Neslen, Equal Times.
Resist!
Dockworkers, Gaza, Palestine Solidarity, Sweden, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs
Security is a funny elixir. The more of it that you have, the less there is for someone else… or that’s the conventional wisdom anyway. Erik Helgeson’s experience, however, proves otherwise.
Erik, 42, is the vice-chair of the Swedish Dockworkers’ Union and he cared deeply for the security of his members – and also for the safety of Gazan civilians, some of whom have been killed by weapons which may have passed through the port of Gothenburg, where he has worked for 20 years.
Erik cared so much in fact that in February of this year, he led a symbolic six-day blockade of 20 Swedish ports against military cargos destined for Israel. His employer – DFDS – responded by sacking him, claiming that he had broken Sweden’s Security Protection Act.
A West Virginia Coal Miner Just Saved NIOSH’s Black Lung Program
May 16, 2025
Kim Kelly, In These Times.
Resist!
Black Lung, Coal Miners, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), West Virginia
In a rare occasion of good news for the nation’s coal miners, a decision this week in a lawsuit brought by one of their own will reverse at least some of the damage done when the Trump administration eviscerated the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) offices in Morgantown, W. Va., in April.
That’s when hundreds of those workers had suddenly found themselves out of a job thanks to a slapdash “reorganization,” as the Elon Musk-directed wreckers in DOGE termed it.
As a result, the NIOSH Respiratory Health Division and the Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP), whose ongoing research and health screenings are critically important in addressing the black lung epidemic stalking Appalachia’s coal miners, were left unable to function.
Extinction Rebellion Sink Lamborghini At Fossil Fuel/Insurance Love-In
May 16, 2025
The Canary.
Resist!
climate crisis, Extinction Rebellion, Fossil Fuels, Insurance Companies, United Kingdoms
On Wednesday 14 May, environmental groups including Extinction Rebellion met delegates at Europe’s largest insurance brokers conference in Manchester Central with a colourful and dramatic protest. They were there to demand the industry stops backing fossil fuel projects.
And what better way to call out flush fossil fuel financiers than to put a sinking Lamborghini at the event’s front door? A new report by Boycott Bloody Insurance shows that there are 33 British insurance companies active in large fossil fuel projects. Just five companies had invested $6.5bn. In April, campaigners in Manchester celebrated the decision by Chubb to rule out backing the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
Senior UN Official: ‘It Will Be Too Late’ To Rule It ‘Genocide’
May 15, 2025
Consortium News.
Resist!
Famine, Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel, Israeli war crimes, Palestine, United Nations (UN)
The U.N.’s humanitarian affairs chief held nothing in reserve on Tuesday at the U.N. Security Council as he unloaded on the State of Israel for deliberately starving the civilian population of Gaza.
“The ICJ is considering whether a genocide is taking place in Gaza,” Tom Fletcher said, “It will weigh the testimony that we have shared. But it will be too late.” With the Israel and U.S. representatives sitting opposite him, he demanded:
“What more evidence do you need now? Will you act – decisively – to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law? Or will you say instead that ‘we did all we could?’”
Video: 20min, 12sec. Below is the full transcript of Fletcher’s remarks
Courts Force Release Of Detained Students; Campus Activism Reignites
May 15, 2025
Michael Arria, Mondoweiss.
Resist!
California, Columbia University, Hunger Strikes, Israel, Mohsen Mahdawi, Palestine, Rumeysa Ozturk, Trump Administration, Tufts University, Victory
Since the last installment of this newsletter, two students detained by the Trump administration have been released on bail.
Mohsen Mahdawi, the Columbia University student who was kidnapped by agents during a citizenship interview, was released from a Vermont correctional facility on April 30.
“The two weeks of detention so far demonstrate great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime,” said U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford.
Mahdawi addressed a crowd of supporters and reporters upon his release.
“For anybody who is doubting justice, this is a light of hope and faith in the justice system in America,” Mahdawi told a crowd outside the courthouse after his release.
Activists Rally And Die-In At Local War Manufacturing Conference
May 15, 2025
Fight Back! News.
Resist!
Die-in, Genocide, Israel, Palestine, Weapons Maker, Wisconsin
Pewaukee, WI – On the afternoon of May 13, dozens of anti-war and pro-Palestine activists held a rally outside the Wisconsin Defense Industry Council (WDIC)’s inaugural conference at the Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee, a suburb of Milwaukee. The rally spoke out against the WDIC’s stated mission, to increase the influence of defense manufacturing in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Defense Industry Council was founded in December 2023, mere months after the genocide ramped up in Palestine – and just in time to capitalize and profit off the mass deaths of the Palestinian people. This timing has not gone unnoticed in Wisconsin.
Palestine Action Target Elbit’s Accountants And Investors
May 15, 2025
Palestine Action.
Resist!
Direct Action, Elbit, Genocide, Israel, Nakba, Palestine, United Kingdom (UK), weapons
In the early hours of Wednesday 14th May, activists from Palestine Action targeted Edwards Accountants in Birmingham and JP Morgan at Victoria Embankment in London. Both firms were covered in red paint, and the front glass doors of JP Morgan were completely shattered.
Both firms directly enable the operations of Israel’s biggest weapons producer, Elbit Systems. Edwards Accountants are the listed accountants for Elbit Systems UK and its subsidiaries, whilst JP Morgan hold Elbit shares worth over $22million in the Israeli weapons maker. On 12th May, financial reports showed JP Morgan had reduced their investment in Elbit Systems by over 53%.
Drop The Charges And Full Amnesty For Brooklyn College Protesters
May 15, 2025
Carmin Maffea, Left Voice.
Resist!
Campus Movement, Genocide, Higher Education, Israel, New York City (NYC), Palestine, Repression, Student Activism
Fourteen pro-Paelstinian student protestors were arrested at Brooklyn College following a brutal police raid where students were beaten up, dragged, and tased. Those students, who were entirely peaceful , were viciously attacked by police at the command of the CUNY administration and now seven face charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing and risk punishment from Brooklyn College.
The Brooklyn College administration recklessly endangered all of their students, staff, and faculty, protesters and non-protesters alike, by bringing cops on campus to protect a genocide and attack the right to protest. The cops, in the name of genocide and as enemies of democratic rights, punched, kicked, and tased students for practicing their right to speak out.
Stanford Students And Faculty Launch Hunger Strike For Gaza
May 14, 2025
Stanford Hunger Strikers For Justice In Palestine, Mondoweiss.
Resist!
Gaza, Genocide, Hunger Strikes, Israel, Palestine, Palestine Solidarity, Stanford University, Student Activism
Yesterday we began our hunger strike. In every slowed minute we remember the children of Gaza, now surviving on boiled weeds and muddy water. It is now day 584 of the genocide in Gaza, and more than 60,000 Palestinians have been murdered by the Zionist entity. Just last week, at least four separate massacres have occurred in Gaza, leaving hundreds murdered and wounded. Two months have passed since Israel’s total siege of the strip on March 2nd, completely blocking all food and aid from entering Gaza. Israel has completely weaponized food; aid convoys remain blocked, grain silos stand empty and parents barter wedding rings for flour that never arrives.