WASHINGTON, DC – Thousands of people gathered in the nation's capital Saturday afternoon to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. This marks about three months since Israel began its military operation following Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.
A sea of red and green Palestinian flags covered Freedom Plaza east of the White House as demonstrators gathered in downtown Washington, DC to protest Israel's ongoing military operation that has left over 23,000 people dead and even more from starvation The small Palestinian territory with 2.3 million inhabitants is at risk of disease and disease.
Demonstrators unfurled a huge Palestinian flag in the center of the square. Many in the crowd wore keffiyehs, traditional black and white Palestinian scarves.
Some protesters held signs reading “End the war on Gaza” and “Let Gaza live.” Other signs criticized U.S. support for Israel and President Joe Biden with messages such as “End all U.S. aid to Israel.”
Several Palestinian Americans spoke to the crowd about the devastating toll the Israeli siege on Gaza has taken on their families.
“President Biden has the blood of my family on his hands,” said Alaa Hussein Ali of Michigan, whose brother was killed as he tried to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip with his pregnant wife and children.
In addition, Ali said he lost 100 family members, including over 60 children, and half were buried under rubble by Israeli airstrikes.
A group of protesters pushed into the middle of the crowd and chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” to the beat of drums as others joined in.
The anti-war protest was part of a global day of action that also included demonstrations in London, Paris, Rome and Dublin, the Associated Press reported.
Jewish demonstrator feels “uniquely committed” to the march.
Brandon Heiblum, 25, told USA TODAY that as a Jewish person, he felt a special obligation to participate in the march and show solidarity with Palestinians.
“As a Jew, I grew up with a narrative that I gradually learned was false, and I feel a special obligation as a Jew to publicly fight against Zionism.”
Heiblum said his view of the conflict changed after spending six months in Israel on trips often sponsored by the Jewish community in his hometown of Miami.
“You go there and see it firsthand,” he said. “You see, Jews are allowed to worship very easily at the Western Wall, but at Al-Aqsa Mosque there are IDF soldiers stationed everywhere.”
Heiblum, who has since moved to the Washington area from Miami, said he believes both a ceasefire in Gaza and a path to Palestinian statehood are also in the best interests of the Jewish people.
“Until Palestinians have either a state or full human rights, anti-Zionism will continue,” he said. “Unfortunately, this will give rise to anti-Semitism, and Jews and Israel will not be safe until we stop oppressing Palestinians.”
US-backed attacks in Yemen were criticized at the march
U.S.- and British-backed attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen, including on Friday evening, threatened an escalation in the region. The Houthis, who control part of Yemen, have attacked busy shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden 28 times since late November. The Houthis claim the attacks are a response to Israel's invasion of Gaza.
Unlike a multitude of signs reading “ceasefire now” or “free for Gaza,” Wafa Aziz’s sign read “Houthis are heroes.” Aziz, 20, said she got the idea for the sign from Twitter. She said the Houthi rebels were one of the few forces in the region “standing up for Palestine.” Ikram Mezghami, 30, who came to the march with Aziz, said she was “disappointed and angry” about the Biden administration's decision to launch attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has issued an urgent call to action following the attack on sites in Yemen. The council, one of the march's organizers, said the Biden administration's decision to fire on the rebel group without congressional approval risked a “regional war.”
“This president is unnecessarily, illegally and dangerously risking the loss of more innocent lives – including the lives of Americans – in the interests of Israel’s genocidal government, all without congressional approval,” Nihad Awad, national executive director of CAIR, said in a press release.
CAIR is one of more than 200 organizations across the country supporting the march, according to the American Muslim Task Force on Palestine, a coalition of Muslim advocacy organizations.
Protesters and organizers want an immediate ceasefire
“Our demand is simple,” Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy director of CAIR, told USA TODAY. “End the violence, ensure a ceasefire, ensure the release of all hostages and all political prisoners, and then resume efforts to secure a just and lasting peace by ending the occupation.”
The march takes place two days before Martin Luther King Jr. Day and is inspired by “Dr. King’s legacy of speaking out against the Vietnam War and mobilizing other Americans to do the same,” Mitchell said.
Two nurses from California said traveling across the country to join the march was the least they could do amid the flood of disturbing images of destruction in Gaza.
“The more I see the people coming out of Gaza, the videos online, the more horrified I become every day and I'm outraged that my tax dollars are being spent on genocide,” Abby Wolf, 51, told USA TODAY.
“I will not be able to vote for any candidate who has not supported a ceasefire, because I truly believe that a ceasefire is the bare minimum at this point,” Wolf said.
“Politically, I have never had less confidence in our system than I do now,” she added.
Tom Vanden Brook contributed to this report.