As Israel continues brutal action in Gaza, scores of people gathered in major US cities over the weekend to support the Palestinians.
On Tuesday, Palestinian death toll rose to 212, including 61 children and 36 women, according to health officials in Gaza. Ten people have been killed in Israel so far, including two children.
According to CNN, protests in solidarity with Palestinians stretched from California to New York over the weekend. “Saturday marked the 73rd anniversary of “al-Nakba,” or “the catastrophe”, when more than 700,000 Palestinians were driven from or left their homes during the war that created the state of Israel,” says the CNN report.
While some demonstrators showed up with handmade signs, others marched and chanted through megaphones. However, their message remained the same: to “stand in solidarity with the Palestinian community”.
In California, 23-year-old Adil Abbuthalha grabbed his camera and made his way to downtown Sacramento on Sunday, motivated to march the streets of the state’s capital in solidarity with Palestinians.
“As a Muslim, our prophet (PBUH) teaches us that humanity is like a body — when one part hurts, the rest of the body hurts,” he said. “And now our brothers and sisters are bleeding across the world.”
Meanwhile, 33-year-old Nader Mirfiq, who joined his city’s protest Saturday afternoon, said that he’s disgusted and he wants to “open people’s eyes worldwide on the injustices happening in Gaza and Palestine.”
“This is about being human beings and fighting for what’s right,” he said. “We want justice and we want it now,” Mirfiq rued.
Similarly, Febi Ramadhan, 27, and his wife, Annisa Mawarni, 25, took to the streets of downtown Chicago and posed for a photo with handmade signs.
“I was saddened and enraged by these continuous acts of violence, and I participated in the rally in downtown Chicago to fight together with Palestinians against this pogrom until the liberation of Palestine actually happens,” Ramadhan said.
