Thousands march in S.F. to show support for Palestinians
A large crowd marched passionately Saturday in San Francisco to support Palestinians struggling to flee areas of the Gaza Strip targeted by the Israeli military as the Middle East conflict escalates.
Holding placards that read “No more human suffering” and “This is not war. This is genocide,” a throng gathered at Justin Herman Plaza and marched up Market Street during the “All Out for Gaza” rally, which was organized by several Bay Area organizations supporting Palestinian rights.
The march, which drew thousands, closed Mission and Fourth streets before heading back to the Embarcadero.
Palestinians are grappling with a growing shortage of water, electricity and medical supplies ahead of the Israeli military’s expected ground offensive in response to a deadly surprise attack by Hamas militants last weekend.
Hamas’ attack on Israel last Saturday killed more than 1,300 people, and the Israeli military’s retaliation has claimed more than 2,300 lives in Gaza. The conflict has killed 29 Americans, with 15 unaccounted for, according to the U.S. State Department, which is assisting Americans trying to leave Israel.
The Gaza Strip is home to more than 2 million Palestinians, about half of them struggling to evacuate to the south ahead of Israel’s expected invasion. President Biden has pledged U.S. support for Israelis, condemning the “evil” perpetrated by Hamas.
While Hamas’ attack on Israel instilled the Bay Area Jewish community with grief and fear, but also unity, participants in Saturday’s rally stressed the pain and desperation felt by everyday Palestinians in Gaza.
“What’s most disturbing for us beside the worry and concern is that the U.S. and other countries are urging this on and sending aid to Israel and they’re not mentioning de-escalation and they’re not mentioning Palestinian civilians,” Wael Buhaissy, an electrical engineer from San Ramon whose extended family lives in the Gaza Strip, said during Saturday’s march.
Buhaissy’s cousin and two other relatives died Friday in a bombing, he said, and he received a text from another cousin, who told him water and food are running out.
“They are waking up every day not knowing if they’ll make it to the next day,” he said.
Asked how Palestinians received news of the Hamas attack last weekend, Buhaissy said: “People don’t have time to think about Hamas. People understand that they were evicted from their homeland in 1948.”
An estimated 700,000 Palestinian Arabs — about half of prewar Palestine’s Arab population — fled from their homes or were expelled by militias during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
“We are standing in unequivocal solidarity with Palestinians demanding an immediate end to the genocide that is occurring against Palestinians,” said Ariel Koren, an organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace.
“Our elected officials are funding this genocide,” Koren said. “As we speak, the United States government provides $4 billion in military aid to Israel every single year. … We are also calling on officials to stop making us all in this country complicit.”
Suzanne Ali, an organizer for the Palestinian Youth Movement, a transnational group of Palestinian and Arab youth, said: “We want to call attention to the fact that it is unconscionable for the U.S. to fund the massacres and genocides of Palestinian people. The root of violence is the occupation. We want all people to live freely.”
Ali, whose extended family members live in southern Gaza, said she hasn’t been able to reach them for two days.
“I have no idea how they’re doing, because the Wi-Fi is so unstable,” she said. “The shock that I feel the most is that Israel is able to commit massive war crimes.”