[News] A Snapshot of Support for Palestinians Across America

[Anti-Imperialist News]

nytimes.com
<https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/04/us/protests-israels-gaza.html>
A Snapshot of Support for Palestinians Across America
The New York Times - November 4, 2023
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Marches in Washington, D.C., Ohio, Utah and California, with tens of
thousands of protesters, reflect the many different groups calling for a
cease-fire and lifting of the siege in Gaza.
[image: A crowd of people cover a street in Washington, with a police van
surrounded by protesters in the center. Several people are waving
Palestinian flags.]
At a pro-Palestinian march in Washington on Saturday, the streets swelled
with demonstrators, and the crowd was dense. Credit...Amir Hamja for The
New York Time

Bearing flags and united in fury, tens of thousands of demonstrators
crowded the streets of American cities on Saturday to denounce the scope
and scale of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza in response to last month’s
terrorist assault by Hamas.

The day’s protests, within sight of the seats of American power in
Washington but also in places like New York, Nashville, Cincinnati, Las
Vegas and even Orono, Maine, extended and amplified demands for a
cease-fire and an end to the siege in Gaza. The demonstrations came a week
after vast protests in Asian and European capitals, and a day after the
Israeli government appeared to rebuff the United States’ call for
“humanitarian pauses” in the bombardment.

But Saturday’s demonstrators demanded far more than that, their chants in
Washington thundering along Pennsylvania Avenue, their protest signs filled
with messages like “Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living” and
“Let Gaza live!” Beyond a swift end to the siege that is exacting a
swelling human toll, they also sought a shutdown of American aid to Israel,
blending policy demands with anguish and ambition.

Some of the chants, most especially “From the river to the sea!” have been
condemned as an antisemitic call for Israel’s destruction, though many
protesters have defended the slogan as a cry for freedom.

The protests in the capital and elsewhere unfolded as public opinion
surveys show support for Israel in its military campaign against Hamas,
which the United States government considers a terrorist organization, but
rising concern for Palestinian civilians.

Saturday’s demonstrations also reflected the constellation of causes and
groups that have long connected themselves to the Palestinian cause,
including Black activists, student organizations, labor unions and antiwar
and environmental groups.

Here is a snapshot of who took to the streets in four cities.

*— **Alan Blinder* <https://www.nytimes.com/by/alan-blinder>* and **Kayla
Guo* <https://www.nytimes.com/by/kayla-guo>*, in Washington*
Cincinnati

The city’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, settled by German immigrants in the
1800s, was transformed into a swath of Palestinian support, with several
hundred marchers clogging roads, shutting down intersections and chanting
pro-Palestinian slogans under the watchful eye of a heavy police presence.

The rally and march brought together a disparate group of people. The event
was organized by the Cincinnati Socialists, but it was heavily attended by
Muslims, Black activists, college students and peace advocates.

Yasmeen Allen, 49, a Muslim who moved to Cincinnati from Iraq 26 years ago,
said that the city’s Muslim population represented a diverse cross-section
of countries, but there was one thing that united them: support for
Palestinians. “The Muslim population has grown significantly in the 26
years I’ve been here, and it has grown more diverse,” Ms. Allen said.

Another common theme at the rally: cratering support for President Biden
for his support for Israel, and demonstrators’ calls for an immediate
cease-fire. “He has made me so angry. I have not felt this rage towards
anyone in a long time,” Ms. Allen said.

Zaid Monam, 55, an engineer who moved to Cincinnati three years ago from
Australia, said he appreciated Cincinnati’s diverse Muslim diaspora.
Originally from Egypt, Mr. Monam said Cincinnati’s Muslim community was
made up of North Africans, Uzbeks, Arabs and others from the former Soviet
Union — and that people's views reflect the shifting demographics.

“American society is changing in the way people are thinking,” he said.
“The new generation is much more knowledgeable and informed.”

*— Kevin Williams *
San Francisco

Thousands of protesters, many of them union members, including teachers and
health care workers, filled Civic Center Plaza in front of City Hall. Many
waved Palestinian flags and left mementos and flowers at an altar spread on
the pavement to honor the thousands of Palestinians in Gaza who have been
killed in the ongoing war.
[image: An altar honoring the thousands who have died in Gaza is adorned
with flowers, candles and signs. Several people are standing around it,
holding signs in support of Palestinians.]
At the Civic Center in San Francisco, protesters bring offerings to a
community altar commemorating the thousands who have died in
Gaza.Credit...Rachel
Bujalski for The New York Times
[image: Protesters at the pro-Palestine rally at the Civic Center in San
Francisco, California.]
Credit...Rachel Bujalski for The New York Times
[image: Protesters at the pro-Palestine rally at the Civic Center in San
Francisco, California.]

Becca Rozo-Marsh, who teaches humanities to juniors and seniors at Coliseum
College Prep Academy in Oakland, attended with her wife, who is the
assistant principal at her school, and her 9-year-old son. Ms. Rozo-Marsh’s
union, the Oakland Education Association, sparked controversy last month
when it posted a statement on social media accusing Israeli government
leaders of using “genocidal rhetoric and policies” against Palestinians.

Some teachers and parents in the school district strongly objected to the
statement, but Ms. Rozo-Marsh, 36, said she is half-Jewish and that it was
important for Jewish people to condemn what she views as Israel’s “war
crimes” in Gaza. She added that it was important for educators to teach
their students about current events, media literacy and how to “grow up and
be good people.”

“The idea that political involvement is different than education is
fundamentally incorrect,” she said.

Nearby, Yoongi Tom, a 34-year-old family medicine doctor at San Francisco
General Hospital and a member of the union Committee of Interns and
Residents, wore light blue sunglasses that matched her scrubs. She said it
was essential for health care workers to speak out against Israel’s
bombings of Gaza.

“We all took an oath to do no harm, and what’s happening right now is a
crime against humanity,” she said.

*— **Heather Knight* <https://www.nytimes.com/by/heather-knight>
Provo, Utah

The group of more than 200 demonstrators that gathered in front of the
Provo City Library comprised a wide range of races, including Muslims, Arab
Americans and immigrants. Many of them dressed in the green, white and red
colors of the Palestinian flag.

In Provo, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are
prominent, and many of them took part in the protest.
[image: Participants listen to speakers during the “Utah County Stands with
Palestine” rally at the Provo City Library on Sat. Nov. 4, 2023 in Provo,
UT.]
Credit...Kim Raff for The New York Times

[image: Jill Ashtawy, whose husband is from Gaza, participates in the “Utah
County Stands with Palestine” rally with her family at the Provo City
Library.]
Credit...Kim Raff for The New York Times

One of the protest organizers, Augustin Diaz, 38, who goes by Tino and is a
member of the church, criticized church leadership. “The church has taken
up its own stance by simply not speaking out on these things,” he said. “My
personal values, I would argue, fully align themselves with being
pro-Palestine.”
[image: A man wearing a bright vest and a face mask stands in front of the
Provo City Library and next to a flag that says “Utah Stands With
Palestine.”]
Tino Diaz waves to cars passing by, standing next to a flag that reads
“Utah Stands with Palestine” at the Provo City Library on Saturday.Credit...Kim
Raff for The New York Times

Emily Collyer, a 22-year-old member of the church and a student at Brigham
Young University, attended the rally with a friend. “I think it’s easy for
people outside of Utah to view Mormons as a monolith,” she said. “In my own
experience, there are definitely differences in points of view.”

Like many who attended, Ms. Collyer said that the conflict cannot be
reduced to a Muslim versus Jewish issue. “I think it is important to
understand the fact that Jewish people have historically been discriminated
against, but that doesn’t justify the killing of innocent Muslim people in
Gaza,” she said.

*— Ben Grenaway*
Washington

The streets in the capital swelled with demonstrators, and the crowd was
dense. Some protesters sat on a ledge outside the White House Visitor
Center, their message to President Biden clear. “Stop U.S. military aid to
Israel” and “You lost my vote,” their signs read.

The rally united participants and groups from all over the country. One
notable tie involved Black activists. The link between Black activists and
Palestinians stretches back decades but was reinvigorated in the wake of
the 2014 Ferguson protests and the rise of Black Lives Matter. Many
Palestinian activists connected the police killing of unarmed Black people
to the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. During the George Floyd
protests of 2020, it was common to see “Free Palestine” signs.
[image: Several people wearing keffiyeh are on the street holding signs in
support of Palestinians.]
The Saturday rally in Washington united participants and groups from all
over the country.Credit...Amir Hamja/The New York Times

Credit...Amir Hamja/The New York Times

Credit...Amir Hamja for The New York Times

Those ties were evident once again at Saturday’s demonstration. At the
rally, several of the evening’s speakers sought to make common cause with
other social movements on the left, sometimes calling for reparations,
universal health care and climate justice. Others used symbolic language to
convey Black solidarity, promising to protest “’til victory is won,” a nod
to the lyrics of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a hymn known as the Black
national anthem.

Mbaru Sesay, 24-year-old social worker from Silver Spring, Md., said her
first protest was in 2020 after the murder of Mr. Floyd. Her decision to
attend Saturday’s protest “wasn’t a hard one,” she said.

“It feels empowering,” she said, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt adorned
with the Black power symbol of a fist in the colors of the Palestinian
flag. “It’s easy to feel helpless when you’re on the outside looking in. I
want to use my voice” to support the people of Gaza.

Ashon Crawley, 43, a member of the group Black for Palestine, said he felt
compelled to return the support that Black Americans have received.

“It’s important to be here to stand in solidarity with Palestinians, as
they stood in solidarity with Black folks in the United States and
globally,” he said. “They are another group that suffers under the violent
power of occupation.”

*— **Clyde McGrady* <https://www.nytimes.com/by/clyde-mcgrady>* and Darren
Sands*

Shawn Hubler contributed reporting.
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