Greater than 1,000 individuals protesting the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza crowded UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza on Tuesday afternoon, holding indicators resembling “Faculty and Staff for a Free Palestine” and, over an image of Kamala Harris, “No Votes for Genocide.”
The protest adopted a name by Nationwide College students for Justice in Palestine for college students throughout the nation and world wide to “rise together for a week of rage” from Oct. 7 to Oct. 11.
Hamas attacked Israel final Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 individuals. Israel responded with a bombardment and invasion of Gaza that has killed greater than 41,000 individuals, in line with the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Well being. Hamas took 254 individuals hostage, together with 12 Individuals, and an estimated 101 hostages nonetheless stay in Gaza, in line with the U.S. State Division. Hamas — designated a terrorist group by the USA, Canada and the European Union — has been accountable for Gaza since 2007.
Tuesday’s protest adopted memorial gatherings and ceremonies Monday at Jewish establishments across the Bay Space on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 assault. In Palo Alto, greater than 2,500 individuals attended the Oshman Household Jewish Group Middle, listening to speeches and singing a track for hostages nonetheless in captivity. Many attendees stopped on their method into the occasion to mild candles and consider an exhibit by photojournalist Zia Koren.
For hours on Tuesday, demonstrators at UC Berkeley chanted and cheered in help of Palestinians and listened to speeches from college, college students and activists detailing the violence inflicted on Gaza — and in some circumstances expressing help for Hamas, which they described as resistance fighters combating imperialism.
A UC Berkeley pupil of Palestinian descent stated on the protest that 22 of his cousins and aunts have been killed within the first two weeks of the conflict. “I have to go to class, finish my education, be strong for them, and all my other classmates can go on like nothing happened,” stated the scholar, whose final title is Elbakri. He didn’t need his first title revealed for concern of retaliation.
Elbakri stated that he was grateful that his members of the family who died early within the battle didn’t must witness Gaza’s being turned to rubble.
“They didn’t have to see the whole world turn their back on them,” Elbakri stated. “I’m worried more for the people that are still there and don’t have a voice.”
Among the many protesters have been Jews against the conflict. “The steadfast people of Gaza have shown the world that resistance to Zionism is not only necessary, but possible,” Sara Kershnar, co-founder of the Worldwide Jewish Anti-Zionist Community, informed the group in a speech.
A Berkeley Revolutionary Pupil Group flyer handed out on the plaza — an iconic protest web site because the Vietnam Warfare — at Tuesday’s occasion celebrated the Hamas bloodbath, named “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” by its perpetrators. The flyer concluded with the phrases “Long Live Al-Aqsa Flood,” a slogan additionally showing on a big crimson signal held by two protesters in crimson bandanas.
Quickly after the demonstration received underway, 4 pro-Israel demonstrators with Israeli flags walked throughout the steps of Sproul Corridor and have been swarmed and jostled by a dozen booing anti-war protesters and informed they didn’t belong on the occasion. Ethan Tallman, one of many pro-Israel demonstrators who wore an Israeli flag tied round his neck, stated he felt unsafe when surrounded however that calling consideration to the tragedy of Oct. 7 was vital.
“This is for the hostages,” the UC Berkeley junior stated. “This is for my family. This is for my people. This is for the world to see.”
The protest largely dispersed after official programming ended round 4 p.m.
The Bay Space Jewish Group Relations Council stated Jewish individuals within the area nonetheless really feel anguish from the Hamas bloodbath. The group, in an announcement, acknowledged “the pain and suffering of those in Gaza and the greater region” however stated “calling for a ‘Week of Rage’ that coincides with this tragic anniversary is insensitive at best and abhorrent at worst.” Rhetoric at such occasions makes many Jews really feel unsafe, the group stated.
“We are actively encouraging university administrators to increase public safety measures on campus to ensure all students feel safe and supported,” the group stated.
The Oct. 7 assault, and Israel’s response, generated worldwide political turmoil and protests throughout the U.S. within the streets and centered on universities, together with these within the Bay Space. Tent encampments sprang up at San Jose State College, UC Berkeley, Stanford College, the College of San Francisco and UC Santa Cruz.
Whereas pro-Israel counter-protesters provoked violence at UCLA, Bay Space campuses remained usually peaceable, though 80 anti-war protesters have been arrested at UC Santa Cruz, 13 have been arrested at Stanford, greater than three dozen have been arrested after blockades of I-880 in Oakland and the Golden Gate Bridge, and three individuals have been harm in confrontations between protesters and counter-protesters at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza.
Vociferous protests towards Israel have given rise to allegations and reviews of anti-Semitic conduct, together with at Stanford and in Berkeley Unified College District. In February, a San Jose State professor was suspended over an obvious bodily confrontation amid a protest over the go to of a Jewish research professor from Cal State Lengthy Seashore.
In Palo Alto on Monday, the Oshman Household Jewish Group Middle hosted “An Evening of Remembrance and Hope.” Many attendees stopped on their method into the occasion to mild candles and consider an exhibit by Koren memorializing the assaults.
“I wish I was in Israel right now with my family and loved ones,” stated Daphna Bhajayo, who attended the occasion and is from Israel. Her cousin’s son was kidnapped and declared “dead kidnapped” after he went to defend his kibbutz, or Israeli neighborhood.
“There is not one family in Israel that did not suffer after Oct. 7 from at least one family member being touched by these horrible, horrific events,” she stated.
Speaker Uriel Bohbot informed attendees that his brother was kidnapped whereas working on the Nova Music Pageant, the place Hamas terrorists killed greater than 380 individuals. Bohbot stated he discovered in regards to the abduction by seeing his brother in a video posted by Hamas. “That is the start of a nightmare that my family (has) been suffering ever since,” Bohbot stated.
Eytan Berman, one in all two Israel Protection Forces troopers who spoke on the occasion, urged members to “hold your head high, walk with pride and never hide your identity, especially at these times.”
The opposite, Ariella Ruback, informed attendees that she misplaced associates within the Oct. 7 assault. “It’s been 365 very long days since I saw my friends’ beautiful faces for the last time. I miss them deeply,” Ruback stated. “It was the last time I felt innocent and only knew simple happiness.”
Employees writers Jason Inexperienced and Caelyn Pender contributed to this report.
