Sana Wazwaz, the chapter lead and education coordinator for American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) Minnesota, told MEE the Palestinian community had been trying for months to arrange a meeting with the governor to talk about the devastating losses in Gaza and their demands for an arms embargo on Israel.

When they did manage to arrange a meeting with the governor for early July through the Council on Islamic American Relations (Cair), it was cancelled even before it began.

Wazwaz says when the six-person contingent, made up of activists and representatives of families who had lost relatives in Gaza, made their way to the governor’s office on 9 July, they were first asked to meet with his staff.

When they explained to the governor’s staff that they had come to discuss “material solutions” with the governor and not merely to narrate “sob stories” about the loss of their loved ones - given that it was now almost a year since the war on Gaza began - the two staffers abruptly got up and returned 15-20 minutes later to inform them the meeting had been cancelled.’

Anti-war and pro-Palestinian activists in Minnesota have been routinely calling for divestment and an arms embargo on Israel.

Moreover, activists have been calling on the state to repeal the anti-boycott legislation installed in 2017. But Walz has shown little to no intention to repeal the law.

Pro-Palestine activists have also been urging the state of Minnesota to divest from its financial stakes in Israeli companies and bonds, said to be an estimated $119m.