Dozens of SLU students joined nearly 2,000 pro-Palestinian supporters in a rally downtown against recent Israeli military escalation in the Gaza Strip.
The protest on Oct. 15 comes amid rising death tolls in Gaza, where 2,670 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 1 million displaced. Israel declared war on Gaza after more than 1,400 Israelis were killed in a surprise Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
Ahead of the march, organizers spoke in Kiener Plaza Park, where the rally began a block from the Arch, about the loss of innocent lives in Israel and Palestine.They also spoke about the dehumanization of Palestinians in the Gaza trip facing relentless bombing and denounced the ongoing siege of Gaza and Israel’s planned ground invasion.
Organizers called on the international community to intervene to stop the humanitarian crisis by calling for a ceasefire for both parties.
Dozens carried signs while many others raised Palestinian flags as they chanted “Free Palestine” and “Not another nickel not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes.”
Fatima Alasady, a freshman political science major, said she is appalled by the military escalation and suffering of Palestinians in Gaza this week.
“We are witnessing a real time mass genocide, and we need to do everything in our power to spread awarness against the injustices happening in Palestine,” Alasady said.
A SLU junior studying accounting, who requested to stay anonymous, joined the protest with her siblings and friends. Her family is from Bieten, a village in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s latest war on Gaza has been traumatizing, she said.
“Kids don’t deserve to die. Palestinians don’t deserve to die,” the junior said. “We need to end the occupation.”
(Nadia Abusoud / University News)
Numerous protesters have families in Gaza who they are worried about. SLU alumnus Mohammed Ashkar is thankful his family members in Gaza are safe for now, but he is worried about what is to come.
“I am here for my people. I am here for Palestine [and] to support all humans who are being oppressed in this world,” said Ashkar.
On Oct. 9, Israel enforced a total blockade on Gaza. This blockade, according to Yoav Gallant, Israeli defense minister, consists of the banning of food, water, fuel and electricity. Palestinian advocate, Mohammed Ghannam, shares disappointment in this announcement.
“The civilians of Palestine should not be the ones to suffer for what happened between the armies,” Ghannam said. “This should not be the way the government is acting withholding the water and the electricity and the food, this is against human rights, this is against humanity.”
The majority of protestors were of Palestinian origin, but the crowd included Muslims of various ethnicities and many allies as well.
The United States’ backing of the Israeli military response sparked strong condemnations from many protestors. From the St. Louis branch of the Party of Socialism and Liberation, Amicia, thinks there is more underlying to the U.S. response.
“Israel is really an extension of U.S. imperialism to pretty much protect U.S. interest in the region,” Amicia said. “We know that this is not about defense, there is this lie that there is this old fight between Jewish people and Muslims, when really this is a question of colonists and the colonized.”
Protesters argued that the Israeli state is rooted in the colonization of Palestinian land and its people. They pointed to the history of the Zionist movement and the ongoing Israeli occupation as the root causes of the recent war. Some international human rights organizations have declared Israel’s occupation illegal. According to a United Nations report in 2022, “Israel’s occupation is illegal and indistinguishable from a ‘settler-colonial’ situation”.
Sophomore Sahra Shah hopes the protest will change the St. Louis community’s narrative about the war and educate them about what is happening to Palestinians.
“It’s all about helping everyone and making sure no one else is killed anymore,” Sahra said as she marched downtown.
The protest was organized by a coalition of groups including American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace-St. Louis, Council on American Islamic Relations-Missouri (CAIR-Missouri) and the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee.
On the morning of Oct. 15, the Jewish Federation of St. Louis held a rally in support of Israel outside of their headquarters. Around 500 protesters attended, and put up signs for individuals who have been taken by Hamas, with the headlines being “kidnapped,” according to local news reports.
Amid rising tensions in the U.S., CAIR-Missouri secretary Komel Choudhary told the crowd report to the advocacy group incidents of Islamophobia or harassment for expressing solidarity with Palestine.
Palestinians at the rally believe that being loud and proud is the best way to help their loved ones back in Gaza. Palestinian protester Maram reiterates the importance of showing up to support.
“I am very happy with the turnout today. I am very proud of my people, very proud of Saint Louis,” she said. “Very proud of the Palestinians, and very proud of all of the other cultures who came and showed out for us.”
Acea • May 7, 2024 at 4:46 pm
The Jewish people on the whole are not out to kill or hurt anyone for the sake of it. The IDF tried to warn, evacuate and aid the people in Gaza. Hamas restrained their own people from leaving. Hamas attacked the Israeli humanitarian aid convoys. Hamas hides behind its own people and then cries foul, creating body counts without documentation. The media swallows Hamas numbers whole and rebroacasts them seemingly without examination. Useful idiots, young children, opportunists, the misinformed, the coerced and fearful repeat, amplify, obey and spread evil.
Do you think Israelis want to see people in Gaza suffer? Don’t you think it would be better if they could live in peace? For Israelis the rockets have been just another fact of life for many years. Some neighbors. Hamas couldn’t remain at that level though. October 7th 2023 they proudly massacred, kidnapped, raped, burned Israeli civilians because ??? And when Israel fights back poor Hamas cries foul and goes into victim mode hiding behind their own people who they apparently do not care for. To them their own people are disposable. So sad.
Brian • Oct 19, 2023 at 1:41 pm
This article made me think and to study the history of Palestine. I learned that the region is indeed rife with colonialism, predominantly Arab colonialists dating the 7th and 8th centuries. I realize that the public discourse today pertains only to colonization by the British after WWI, but that is an entirely arbitrary point at which one might begin the story of the region. The Bible places Jews in the region 3,500 years ago — before there was a Palestine, before there was an Islamic religion, and before there was any sense of an ethnicity associated with the region.
Angam Hamdan • Oct 16, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Very well written!
Maisam • Oct 16, 2023 at 4:50 pm
I love my St Louis community for standing with the people of Gaza and coming in huge turnups like so. I hope more people start learning about the issue! If anyone wants to know more please come to the MESA event at the DBG 409 on October the 18th at 5:00 PM, for Palestinian poetry night, where there will be discussion about the issue.
Raneem • Oct 16, 2023 at 2:36 pm
amazing article, very well done!