People from across Southern California gathered to join Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow LA in the call for a “Ceasefire now!” on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Protesters wore all black as they marched through the streets of Hollywood, shutting down the intersection of Highland Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard.
This protest had over 500,000 RSVPs, as people marched in solidarity with Palestinians over the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, despite pouring rain throughout the duration of the event.
“I am here today because I am grieving,” said presenter and organizer with Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow LA Michal David. “I am grieving the loss of Palestinian life. I am grieving the loss of Jewish life. I am grieving the loss of so many shattered families and so many shattered dreams.”
What first started in De Longpre Park in Hollywood was taken to the streets after an hour of speeches and attendees singing songs in Hebrew and protest anthems. Chants “not in my name” and “let Gaza live” rang out as well.
According to Jewish Voice for Peace, this was “the largest Jewish-led action in solidarity with Palestinians in LA history.”
“I come to you as a Palestinian made a refugee before I was even born. I come to you as one who was born in Gaza,” said speaker Hedab Tarifi who is also a part of the Islamic Center of Southern California. “I come to you as one who has already lost more than 100 members of my family in Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza. I come to you as a human being with a broken heart, but never a broken spirit or a broken voice.”
As the protest made its way to the Highland and Hollywood intersection, a few counter-protesters yelled “no ceasefire” to the large group. However, volunteer marshalls for the original protest established a barrier between the original march and counter protesters.
On Oct. 7, the militant group known as Hamas killed over 1,200 and kidnapped over 230 people. This action led to a breakout of war between the Israeli government and the group. The airstrikes used in Gaza by the Israeli military have been a factor as well. The airstrikes are reported to have killed more than 11,200 Palestinian citizens. Protests like the one on Wednesday have been popping up all over the country, with one leading to the death of a Jewish man protesting in solidarity with Israel.
The protest on Wednesday happened just before Israeli soldiers seized the largest hospital in Gaza. According to Israeli intel, soldiers were searching the building for traces of Hamas. If members were found, this would support Israel’s claim that the hospital was being used as a Hamas command center.
“I come to understand the Israeli-Palestinian crisis through my own heritage and through my own history. It is a betrayal of my own history as a Korean American if I understand this Palestinian crisis outside of any relatability to me,” said protester Clint Choi. “It is ‘free Palestine’ until it is backwards.”
“What we are witnessing right now, it is not normal. Do not let them make you believe that this is normal,” said artist and BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors. “I wake up every day and pray for the 4,500 children killed in Gaza. The one million children still living every day in fear, who were born under occupation, who have only ever known the crushing weight of occupation.”
According to The Washington Post, one out of every 200 people in Gaza has been killed.
After shutting down the intersection, the protest kept on until around 6:30 p.m. People who had been prepared to be arrested sat in the middle holding flowers. The flowers they were carrying stood for all of the Palestinian lives lost in the war.
According to LAPD, the protest was entirely peaceful, and no arrests were made.
During the protestors walk to the intersection, Choi led a chant that went on for about a minute. This chant has been heard throughout recent protests that have been going on: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Hannah • Nov 19, 2023 at 4:21 pm
Amazing Coverage!!