Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters flooded the streets of downtown Washington DC on Saturday for what organizers anticipated to be the largest demonstration in the United States since Israel launched its airstrikes on Gaza in response to Hamas attacks last month.
Related: Pro-Palestine protests continue across UK over Israel-Hamas war
The march, dubbed the National March on Washington: Free Palestine, saw the crowd waving Palestinian flags, brandishing posters, and chanting slogans. It was one of many similar events taking place across the US and around the world.
The organizers, representing numerous pro-Palestinian groups, guided the marchers to Freedom Plaza in the nation’s capital before leading them past the White House.
On its website, the Answer coalition from Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (Answer) called for immediate action. “Now is the time to stand with the besieged people of Palestine! Gaza is being bombed by the hour. Its people are denied food, water, and electricity by Israel. Tens of thousands more people are likely to die. We must ACT!” they said.
This march, alongside protests held in New York, Seattle, and other US cities, is part of a growing movement demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict and an end to US and Western military aid to Israel. Demonstrations supporting Palestine have also taken place in London, Berlin, Paris, Ankara, and Istanbul, echoing the same message to both Israel and its supportive Western governments.
Reuters reported that in London, large crowds staged sit-down protests, blocking parts of the city center, while holding placards that read “Freedom for Palestine” and chanting “ceasefire now” and “in our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians”.
Brian Becker, the director of Answer, addressed the crowd in Washington, highlighting the unprecedented public support for the Palestinian people. He drew a parallel with the anti-apartheid movement against South Africa, emphasizing that change happens through grassroots actions and community engagement.
“We’re sending a strong message, a very strong message to Joe Biden: if you stand with genocide, we hold you guilty of genocide,” Becker declared, condemning the ongoing violence committed against the Palestinians by Israeli forces.
The growing division between traditional pro-Israel Democratic party supporters and younger voters, including Arab Americans, was evident in a speech given by Nihad Awad, the national director at the Council on American–Islamic Relations. Awad emphasized that President Biden and his party should pay attention to the power of votes in the upcoming 2023 elections, warning that there would be no votes from key states if a ceasefire is not reached.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, at least 9,257 people in Gaza have been killed – including thousands of children – with 23,516 wounded and hundreds of thousands more displaced since the Israeli military campaign began nearly a month ago. The Israeli attack was in response to a Hamas assault in which 1,400 Israelis were killed and over 200 were taken hostage. The majority of casualties on both sides are civilians.
In response to the pro-Palestine march, Jewish groups advised against counter-protests or engaging with the demonstrators to avoid potential violence or the spread of antisemitic rhetoric.
Sponsors of the Free Palestine march included the Palestinian youth movement, the American Muslim Alliance, National Students for Justice in Palestine, and the Palestine Right to Return Coalition. The event was endorsed by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Palestinian American Council, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Notable speakers at the march included human rights attorney Noura Erakat, Palestinian writer and activist Mohammed El-Kurd, as well as representatives from Muslim and Arab organizations in the US.
Prior to the march, Brian Becker expressed his hope that it would go down in history as the largest demonstration supporting the Palestinian people in the United States. He criticized the Biden administration for failing to demand a ceasefire in the midst of the devastating violence.
Last week, President Joe Biden called for a humanitarian “pause” in the bombardment of Gaza, but he did not explicitly push for a ceasefire.
