Pro-Palestinian Protest

Monserrat Rivera
Staff Writer
      On Oct. 18, thousands of activists marched through Chicago, protesting Israeli aggression against Palestine. The protestors criticized the U.S. and Israel, marching down Michigan Avenue and Congress to Federal Plaza chanting “Free, free Palestinian”, “The people united, we’ll never be defeated”, “End the occupation now”, “Israel, we can see you are no democracy”, “Hey, Israel, what do you say? How many kids have you killed today?”, and “Palestine will never die.” Many of the protestors wave around Palestine’s flag and signs that read “U.S.A. fund education, not massacre” and “Solidarity with Palestinian People.”
      These thousands of protestors demand an end to the Israeli occupation in Palestine along with putting an end to the Unites States’ support of Israel’s violence against Palestine. The media has a tendency to focus on the seven Israelis killed by Palestinians but never mention the forty-seven Palestinians killed and one thousand injured by Israelis. The media has also given little to no coverage on the rally in Chicago. There have been numerous protests against Israel’s violence, but Chicago is the largest so far. The large rally in Chicago consisted of a wide variety of people including Muslims, Jewish activists, students, and professors. Anyone of any age, gender, occupation, race, and religion was welcome to come show their support for Palestine.
      The protest was hosted by the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine; the rally was most likely triggered by the increase in violence these recent weeks, including knife-wielding and car-ramming Palestinians. These attacks occurred after rumors that Israel had plans to take over the Temple Mount, which is viewed as the Al Aqsa mosque in the Muslim faith. Although Israel denies these rumors, many still believe they will limit Muslims access to the site, which is considered to be holy to both Jews and Muslims. The rally that had brought thousands of people together had speakers from American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Students for Justice in Palestine, and the Jewish Voice for Peace.