Israel’s renewed attack on Gaza sparked a march and rally in San Francisco, where hundreds gathered downtown Tuesday evening at the Consulate General of Israel.
At around 2 a.m. on March 18, Israel launched airstrikes that killed over 400 and injured more than 500, breaking the ceasefire that was in place since January.
The crowd was scornful and thunderous as several members of various organizations came up to voice their fury over amplified speakers. After the speeches, the group began to move. They walked down Montgomery Street to Market Street, where the protesters blocked six lanes of traffic.
Layla Ali, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, a grassroots organization that helped to organize the event, explained why she took time out of her day to be there.
“We’re here with all people of consciousness, demanding for an arms embargo, that will be what maintains a permanent ceasefire,” Ali said. “We know that Israel is only able to continue its bombardment and restart the war because they’re still getting weapon shipments from companies like Mærsk, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon. And we are here to demand an arms embargo.”
Protests also took place in New York City, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv. According to Ali, the rally was intended to take place at a Mærsk facility in Emeryville.
“However, because of Israel’s continued bombardment on Gaza, we shifted focus to show where the people stand here today,” Ali said.
Another group in attendance was Standing Together, a social justice organization and the largest Arab-Jewish grassroots organization in the U.S. Andrea, a member of Standing Together and a San Francisco local who did not want to share her last name out of fear of retaliation, wore a purple jacket and held a sign in her group’s signature violet color.
“We are not pro-this-side or pro-that-side, we are pro-humanity, and we’re saying stop this senseless violence,” she said. “There is another way. We want reconciliation. We want an end to the occupation. So this is co-resisting together, the system everybody’s caught up in and there are so many synagogues who are also involved in this,” she said, referring to Standing Together’s partnership with the American Friends of the Parents Circle Family Forum, a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization made up of over 800 bereaved families.
“Parents Circle are people whose family members have been killed in this conflict,” Andrea said. “So they lost the most precious thing, and they are coming to talk to us in person saying, ‘no revenge.’”
The march affected people who were unaware of the protest, as buses stood idle on Market Street where the mob walked. A group of on-lookers smoked their cigarettes and stood outside a storefront as the swarm went by.
Sven Hoffmann was in town from overseas, and the protest did not seem to bother his evening.
“I’m from Germany and there are protests happening frequently, so I’m used to it,” he said. “I personally think that being able to protest for whatever you want to protest against is valuable. I don’t necessarily need to agree with what they’re protesting on. But I appreciate people who are politically active raising their voices. It is part of democracy.”
There is another rally scheduled on March 29 at 6:30 p.m. in front of Davies Symphony Hall to protest the Israeli Philharmonic, according to community activist Mama Ganuush.
