by Jeromey Russ
Boston University News Service
A cool rain drizzled over Copley Square as hundreds of pro-Palestine Bostonians chanted and waved signs in front of the Boston Public Library.
“No peace without justice, no justice without return,” one sign read.
“Land you have to kill for is not yours,” said another.
As of October 18th, more than 3,000 people have been killed in Gaza since war broke out between Israel and Hamas on October 7th, according to the United Nations. The White House has been steadfastly supportive of Israel.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation hosted the protest alongside the Palestinian Youth Movement and student groups from BU, Wellesley, Tufts, Emerson, MIT and Harvard.
Party organizer Amrita Dani says much of the bloodshed in Gaza is at the hands of Israeli and US politicians.
“We’ve got to go all out for Palestine right now because it’s our government that is supporting and providing Israel with both political cover and military aid to continue to bombard Gaza,” Dani said.
She said the unwillingness of US and local politicians to support Palestine inspired these local groups to take to the streets. She added that although US support of Palestine seems unlikely, she hopes the “power of the people” will be enough to “put some pressure on our government to stop supporting Israel.”
Governor Maura Healey tweeted last week calling Hamas’ attack on Israel “unconscionable.” Healey also condemned the graffiti defacement of the Palestinian Cultural Center and Boston Islamic Seminary as “sickening” on Twitter.
One protester, a BU grad student with Palestinian heritage who didn’t share his name, said he worries for his family, for Palestine and for the state of the world.
“Where are the level-headed politicians?” said the protester. “I don’t want to go to another war, we already have Ukraine. What’s to come next?”
Dani said many of the protestors were not Palestinian. Among the crowd were army veterans, families with kids and local college students.
Elsa, who lives in Jamaica Plain and didn’t share her last name, wore a black t-shirt that said “Jewish Voice for Peace.”
She says she grew up with parents who were Holocaust refugees.
“I know that this sounds really weird, but I sort of feel like if the Israeli state is now committing genocide, Hitler has won,” Elsa said.
The protest came just two days before President Biden announced a plan to send 100 million dollars in aid to civilians in Gaza.
