The same week Israeli officials and Hamas leaders entered a cease-fire, bringing a tenuous halt to 11 days of fighting, two events in Nashville drew crowds in support of Palestinians, who have suffered the brunt of the conflict’s casualties and destruction.
On Friday, more than 200 people turned out for a rally and march that began at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building on Broadway and included a stop for speeches and prayer in front of the Tennessee Capitol. Attendees waved signs and the Palestinian flag and chanted in English and Arabic, and many wore black-and-white keffiyehs to show their support. Protesters denounced the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians, citing the poor conditions and treatment facing residents of Gaza on a daily basis, and condemned the bombings that claimed the lives of more than 200 Palestinians in recent weeks (far more deaths and injuries than what Israel has suffered in recent fighting). Organizers led the way and kept the pace in a pickup truck, leading chants along the way.
Some raised signs reading “Free Sheikh Jarrah,” referring to the Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem that is seeing its residents evicted and displaced. The removal of six families was one of several key events in the lead-up to fighting between Israel and the militant group Hamas. A police raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first day of Ramadan back on April 13 was another contributing factor.
Hamas launched rockets at Jerusalem on May 10, and the Israeli government responded with bombings that decimated Gaza. According to the Associated Press, at least 230 Palestinians were killed, including 65 children and 39 women, with 1,710 wounded. Twelve people in Israel, including two children, were killed. The cease-fire began early Friday morning.
Protest and march in support of Palestinians on Friday
Friday’s event was organized by Free Palestine Nashville, a group established by four young women: Sarah Alzabet, Bushra Alammouri, Haneen Ahmad and Fatima Razzaq. Not all of the organizers were Palestinians, and the crowd was also diverse, including teenagers and older adults.
“Every single day innocent men, women and children are dying,” said Alzabet in a speech at the Capitol. “They are being imprisoned, they are being evicted from their homes.”
“We know that in Gaza they’re bombing hospitals, their COVID clinics,” said Alammouri, who also described her own experiences visiting the region, including a visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Earlier in the week — days before the cease-fire agreement was reached — there was a vigil for killed and injured Palestinians. A candlelight vigil Tuesday night, also in front of the state Capitol, was barely underway before state troopers approached attendees and told them to put their candles out. Apparently open flames are not allowed on the plaza, though the rule has been selectively enforced in the past.
The group of a couple dozen Palestinian-Americans and others improvised, turning instead to their cellphone flashlights (a few scofflaws relit their candles after the troopers left) as speakers called on the United States to stop supporting the Israeli military.
Some passing cars honked in support of the group. One woman on a passing party bus started but suppressed a “Woo!” once she realized she was directing it at a vigil.
“It’s a very simple issue,” said Issam Bahour, an organizer of the Tuesday vigil. “It’s one where there’s state-sanctioned terrorism. It’s one where there’s apartheid and there’s people being oppressed and given a separate set of rights. It shouldn’t be difficult for the State Department to stand up and say, ‘The killing of innocent children is wrong, and we condemn that.’ It shouldn’t be difficult for our elected officials to say that Palestinian people are humans and they deserve human rights.”
Vigil for Tuesday
